Chapter 98
A new order of things
The slaver ship had landed at the mostly abandoned Rebel base. Mykala was happy to finally be off the evil ship as was Destriss. Their thoughts soon turned to the task of finding Haven Dak, Mykala’s cousin.
Mykala and Destriss wandered through the large open hanger bays that at one time had been full of Rebel forces preparing their ships for the next mission. Now they only saw an occasional person carrying a box or package as they too prepared to leave.
Only a few lights were left on to conserve energy leaving the huge areas with a surprisingly tomb like feeling. The sound of their boots echoed through the chamber adding to the empty feeling.
“It really is all over isn’t it?” Mykala asked already knowing the answer.
“For now it is. Most of these people will find other groups to join or form their own Rebel bands. I never saw a coward amongst any of these warriors. They know it is time to fall back and disappear. Someday they’ll all take up arms again and fight but not for a while it seems.” Destriss noted.
“Did we really do anything that mattered? So many people have died because of this struggle, was any of it worth it?” Mykala asked.
“Only the future can tell us that. We’ve fought evil and have at least dealt them some damage along the way. Remember Mykala this isn’t over by a long shot. The Emperor is still here and so are we. Try to think of this as the end of one chapter with others to be written in the future.” He said.
They continued through the hangar bays until they reached the living areas. They knew that sometimes Haven would help at the infirmary with the wounded so they began their search for her there.
It didn’t take long to find her. She was changing the bandages on the head of one of the young Rebels that was still in the infirmary.
“Haven?” Mykala called quietly through the open door. She wasn’t sure how Haven would react to her. Mykala had neglected her for quiet some time she felt and was afraid of how Haven would take it.
Haven turned and saw Mykala in the doorway smiling awkwardly at her. Haven smiled back and motioned for Mykala to wait a few more minutes while she finished with the bandages.
“She hates me.” Mykala said to Destriss.
“No, she’s just busy you’ll see.” He replied.
Haven stood up and hurried over to Mykala giving her a big hug. “I was so worried about you. No one knew what had happened to you.” She said with genuine concern.
“I’m fine Haven, how have you been doing?” Mykala asked relieved the Haven wasn’t angry with her.
“Actually I’ve been very busy helping out with the evacuations. So many of these people are leaving to fight somewhere else or go into hiding that the main staff is very short handed.” Haven said brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
Mykala looked at her. Haven was tired. She had been left here with no real thought in the matter. Her undying loyalty to Mykala was the tie that bound them together. Haven had been the last official heir to the throne of their planet but once they found out who Mykala actually was she had insisted on finding her and giving Mykala the title of Queen of Pendor.
“Pack your things Haven. We’re taking you away from here. Destriss and myself are going into hiding and I insist you come with us.” Mykala said.
Haven looked shocked.
“But there are still things to do here. Do we have to leave this moment?” Haven asked. For the first time that Mykala could remember Haven was questioning Mykala’s orders. Then Mykala saw Haven’s eyes look past her and into the next room. She turned to see what Haven was looking at. Across the room was a handsome Rebel Doctor. He looked back past Mykala and towards Haven and smiled.
It was now clear that Haven hadn’t been sitting in her room alone just waiting for Mykala to return. She had found someone of her own.
“A Doctor huh? Not too shabby cousin.” Mykala said grinning.
“His name is Verrad Dagrid. I’ve been helping him here at the infirmary.” Haven said smiling shyly.
“Does he have feelings for you too?” Mykala asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I guess he’ll have to come with us.” Mykala said.
“Hold on Mykala, we don’t know anything about this man. No offense intended Haven.” Destriss interrupted.
“So?” Mykala challenged.
“So if we’re going to hiding then he’ll need to be checked out. We don’t know anything about him or his past.” He explained.
Mykala turned to Haven. “Is this man a good man, I mean is he trustworthy?” she asked.
“Yes. I trust him completely.” Haven replied.
“That’s good enough for me.” Mykala said.
Destriss knew it would be pointless to talk about this any more.
“There is just one more problem…what if he doesn’t want to go with us? I’m sure Haven and this man have a wonderful relationship but is he going to want to spend the rest of his life on the run with us?” Destriss asked.
“On the run? What’s this all about Mykala?” Haven asked.
“Every time I’ve been killed my body returns to you Haven. I don’t fully understand myself but there is a connection between us that causes it to happen that way. Maybe it’s because we’re related by blood or because of your unwavering commitment to me I’m not sure but that’s just how it happens.” Mykala began.
“I’m not sure I understand.” Haven pressed.
“If the Emperor or the Sith figure that out there’s no doubt that they’ll come after you to get to me. They might even think that if they killed you I would not come back to life. That leaves us no choice but to run and hide. We’re not strong enough to stand against all of the Emperors agents that he might send. We have to drop off the map and give him time to focus on other problems.” Mykala replied.
“I never thought about it that way.” Haven said sadly. “You’re right, we have no choice but to leave.” She said looking at the Doctor.
“Do you want us to explain things to him for you?” Mykala asked.
“No, it would be better if we just left. There’s no need to ruin his life too.” Haven said. Even though she was putting on a brave face they could see it was killing her inside.
“No Haven, you’re wrong. He deserves to know the truth about it. He should be given the chance to make the decision himself. Opportunities for love should never be taken lightly. Tell him the truth and let him decide.” Destriss said adamantly.
Bronski piloted the ship during the landing. He had not allowed his friends to know the location of the planet they were landing on at all.
It all seemed very unlike him or his personality to be so secretive. He had become very withdrawn and agitated during the last few days while they traveled to the mystery location. Although curious none of them dared press the point. Bronski said he would fix their problem and that was good enough for them. He had never let any of them down.
Bronski had never been a great pilot to say the least so as he made his approach everyone strapped themselves in and hung on for dear life.
The ship came in a little fast and skidded a bit after touching down showering the landing pad with sparks and bits of concrete.
Pep, Matt, and Pidge looked out of the view port in the galley. They were looking at one of the most beautiful homes they had ever seen. Lush green fields stretched out as far as the eye could see in the early morning light. Rows of immaculately trimmed trees and hedges surrounded the large low estate house that was nearly three hundred feet in length. The building was only one floor but it sprawled out over the land with large windows and double doors that seemed to invite you to come inside.
They turned to see Bronski standing in the doorway. He had a very serious expression on his face.
“This is as far as any of you go. Do not leave the ship under any circumstances do I make myself clear?” he demanded more than asked. Whatever or whoever was in that house had Bronski pretty worked up by this point.
“No one will leave the ship Buck…we all promise.” Pep said smiling trying to comfort him.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Was all he said as he turned and left the ship.
Bronski took a deep breath as he stood at the edge of the boarding ramp. He had sworn he would never come here years ago but this was the only place he could go to have this much money exchanged and never have to worry about being turned in.
He clenched his fists and walked towards the main door. A service droid floated out to meet him.
“How may I be of service sir?” it asked.
Bronski smiled and punched the droid in its head causing it to spiral out of control and finally smash into one of the hedges.
Almost immediately two heavy battle droids came out of the ground in front of him on secreted elevator shafts from underground. They both pointed their weapons at him and told him to stop where he was.
“Tell the lady of the house that Buck Bronski is here and wishes to see her.” he said angrily.
The droids did nothing for a moment then suddenly lowered their weapons and stood at attention. A woman’s gentile voice came over a loud speaker at the front of the house just then.
“Buck! How wonderful for you to visit. Please come inside so we can talk. It must be something very important for you to have come here to see me after all these long years.” The voice said with a coolness and compassion of a long practiced politician.
Bronski gritted his teeth as he walked into the front opening of the house. In front of him lay a large open area with polished hardwood floors and statuary lining the way towards the center of the home.
As he made his way deeper into the residence he could see other people skirting about down the side hallways. They were all scantily clad and seemingly drunk. There was the occasional tittering of laughter as someone was dragged into one of the many rooms that lined the halls.
Bronski stopped at the opening of the center room. It was like an indoor garden with flowers and even grass covered areas surrounding several pools of shimmering clear water.
In the very center of the room standing in one of the pools was a beautiful woman. Her hair was long and golden hanging down her perfectly toned back past her buttocks. She was being bathed and oiled by two slaves as she smiled at her noticing his arrival into the room.
“Buck my darling. How have you been? It’s been ages since last I saw you.” She said happily.
“Put some clothes on. You know I don’t like seeing you that way.” He said angrily.
“How stupid of me.” She said apologizing as she had one of the slaves hand her a dressing gown. She slipped on the gown and stepped out of the shallow pool helped by the two slaves.
The woman sat on a marble bench and patted the place next to her indicating that she wished for Buck to sit beside her.
“No thanks. I’ll stand. I won’t be here that long.” Bronski replied.
“I was hoping we could be civil if this day ever came. However I see you’re still as inflexible as ever.” She replied calmly as she pulled a comb slowly through her luxurious hair.
“I see you have a new one, what number is this? Eight, nine?” he asked sharply.
“Oh don’t be so judgmental Buck. You don’t exactly have clean hands yourself. After all killing people is how you make your living isn’t it.?” she replied grinning evilly.
“There’s a difference. The ones I kill are trying to kill me. You trick yours into trusting you before you kill them. At least the ones I kill stand a chance.” He said.
“They just would have wasted what they had. They would have gotten married and pumped out a few screaming brats before they became fat and useless. I take much better care of their bodies then they ever would. I give people pleasure and happiness. You only dish out pain where ever you go.” she said.
“This one you have now, do you even remember her name? Did you ever bother to find out?” he asked.
The woman became very cold.
“Okay, I’ll tell you. This is body number twelve if you must know and no I didn’t even bother to ask her name or find out who she was. If the truth be told I don’t care anymore. She had the body I wanted to have so I took it. I’ve made a fortune giving people pleasure. If it costs some lives to do it well better them than me.” She replied.
“Besides, I’m not ready to die. Can you imagine how I would look now if I didn’t do it?” she asked.
“You’d look like my mother like you should.” Bronski said sadly.
The woman sat up straight. She seemed to be momentarily taken aback by Bronski’s last comment. She fumbled with the dressing gown making sure it covered her completely.
“Enough of this idle talk son, it’s all been said before hasn’t it.” she said looking down as if she had lost something.
“I’m sure you didn’t come here after all these years just to pass judgment on me all over again, what is it you want?’ she asked coolly.
“I have some money I need exchanged. I’m going away for the last time and I can’t afford to have it traced.” He said.
“You know I’ll help you Buck. You were right to come here.” She said smiling slightly.
“I’ll need it in cash.” He said.
“Of course, of course. Just wait in the main room where you came in from and one of my people will take care of it for you.” She said.
Bronski took one last look at the woman in front of him. She was stunning to behold. Whoever the body belonged to was long gone. His mother had been transplanting her brain into the bodies of these poor unfortunate girls for years by paying her friends in high places to have it done in return for her arranging special entertainment for them.
As a child his father had left them with nothing and his mother slowly at first and then whole-heartedly turned to prostitution to make money for them to survive. She was smart and found she had a talent for it and running it as a business and soon became quite well known. As with all women in her profession she began to age less than gracefully so she struck a deal to have her brain transplanted into a new body of a girl that had died in an accident. She became consumed by the idea of never having to grow old and had spent her life taking over the bodies of young girls for years.
Bronski smiled at her for the last time. He allowed himself to see the woman that gave him life one last time. From now on he would only see a twisted murderess with the blood of every young woman she killed on her hands. She should be stopped but that would be left for someone else to do after all she was his mother.
Bronski soon appeared walking towards the ship across the landing pad in front of the house carrying two large duffle bags full of money. He quietly walked onto the ship and found the others in the mess hall. Without saying a word he dropped the bags on the floor.
“It’s all there in cash. Every bit of it.” he said.
“Are you all right Buck?” Pep asked.
“Yeah I’m okay. Lets get out of here.” He said and left the room then walked back to his quarters and shut the door behind him.
The Feloid Captain burst back into the room where Enna and the Lieutenant had been talking. He had his gun drawn and was accompanied by two security officers.
“Stand up! I’m placing you under arrest.” The Captain said forcefully.
Enna slid down off the table slowly with her hands up as if surrendering. The Lieutenant looked at her surprised. He had felt sorry for this little pink head. He then looked back at the Captain who now was aiming his pistol directly at Enna’s head.
“Step away from her Lieutenant, she’s the murderer. She’s the one who killed those two at the breeding facility. I just spoke with the people on that facility. She was with the Human woman just before the Doctor had been killed. They said she had some sort of procedure done to her. Something done that changed her.” the Captain said.
The Lieutenant looked back at Enna. She just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s all true handsome.”
“Shut up you. Now get down on your knees and put your hands behind your back.” The Captain said to Enna.
There was a shot from behind the Captain. He spun to see one of the security guards had shot the other. They both looked at each other shocked. Then the one that had been shot pointed his rifle at the first one and shot him too. They didn’t seem to be able to control what they were doing.
The Captain turned to see Enna was now covered in a faint shimmering light. He fired his pistol at her until the power pack was completely used up.
She just stood there smiling at him. The Captain drew his dagger and slowly dragged it across his own throat. He twisted and screamed as he tried to fight the force that was making him kill himself. It was all over quickly. Blood spurted from the open wound as he finally collapsed on the floor dead.
The Lieutenant thought about grabbing his own weapon but he thought better of the idea not wanting to end up the same way as the others. He was shaking all over. He had been told his whole life that powers like the ones this slave possessed were the things of children’s stories and didn’t really exist.
“Are you scared Lieutenant?” Enna asked.
“Yes.” He said before he had even realized that he had said it.
“Who are you?” he asked still shaking.
“I am the liberator of our race. I have been given the power to set things right with our people. My kind was meant to rule over yours but because of fear we were betrayed and made into your slaves. The order in the Galaxy has been perverted long enough.
My kind will soon bring order and unity to the Clans. We will smash the walls of isolation and bring order to all the races of the Galaxy. The Feloid banners will fly over the capitol cities of every planet in the Galaxy.” She said smiling.
“What are you going to do to me?” he asked nervously.
“The decision is yours Lieutenant, will you serve me and my cause over all loyalties you have sworn previously?” she asked.
“I have an oath to the Ty Clan. I can’t break that oath. With all your power you could help millions. Why would you want to bring such pain and horror to so many?” he asked.
“It’s the only way people listen. If you give people a choice of what to do they always pick the one that only benefits themselves even over their own families and friends. I will make them do the right thing; I will make them maintain order and civility. They will be given only one choice.” She said becoming angry.
“Why not just kill us all then? Why not start all over?” the Lieutenant asked becoming braver.
“I’m doing this for all of you and your children’s children. I want only what is best for us all. I alone have the vision and clarity in my mind to sees what must be done. I am here to lead not destroy.” Enna said.
“The Clans will try to stop you. No matter what the cost the Clans will not give in to you.” He warned.
“I don’t care what the Clan leaders want or will do. The only thing the Clan Leaders want is to keep what they have or steal more from another Feloid. They are the ones that must be brought down. They are the ones that have given us this stagnant society we have now. If we all are to prosper we must expand into new areas of space. We need to bring order to the entire Galaxy. It’s because of this system and the Clan Leaders that we have to hide in isolation in our tiny piece of space. It should be us that has the huge fleets that dominate the Galaxy not the Humans.” she said.
“What of the Humans? Their Emperor has great powers like yours I’ve been told.” He asked.
“Yes but he enslaves his people. I will make the new worlds that fall to us equals. They too will be citizens of the new order like everyone that came before. My way will be seen as the only choice. There won’t be any choice but to join us or him.” She said smugly.
“And what of the Feloids you killed here today? If you’re here to lead us then why kill those men?” he asked.
“They pointed their weapons at me first if you remember. Don’t I have the right to defend myself? If I allowed them to take me away I would have been thrown into prison and left to rot without ever being able to bring my message of greatness to our people. Look at yourself. Have I harmed you in anyway? Have I told you to be silent?
No. I have let you question me unhindered and without threat of harm. I have learned through my own past mistakes that force must only be used as a last resort or in self-defense. I will not lead by fear because it only creates enemies. Even with my growing powers I will still need the efforts of my people to make things as they should be. Now will you join me Lieutenant?” she asked.
“I can’t. I can’t break my oath.” The Lieutenant said nervously.
Enna took a deep breath and sighed.
“If I tried to leave would you attempt to stop me?” she asked.
“Is there any way I could stop you?” he replied.
Enna smiled and winked at him. “No…there’s nothing you could do so please don’t try. I don’t want to have to kill you. You seem to be very intelligent and level headed. I’ll need Feloids like that when I’m in control of things.” She said.
Enna pulled her dress up over her shoulder and calmly fastened the buttons up on the back. She walked over and found a long coat that had been hanging on a hook on the wall and put it on.
“I’m leaving now so would you please ask the guards on the ship to help me load some supplies, you know, food and fresh water for the rest of my journey?” she asked smiling at the Lieutenant.
“Yes I’ll tell them but only to save their lives. You know I’m going to have to report all of what happened here after you’ve gone?” he asked still nervous.
“I understand you will have to be shown the full extent of my powers before you’ll start to listen. So will everyone else. Just be sure to tell them I warned them not to try and stop me. However if they try to attack me in any way I’ll kill every last one of them.” She said.
“Your powers are that great?” he asked in disbelief.
“You’ll see for yourself soon I’m afraid.” She replied.
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.
Once again thank you for your support.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 10 September 2013 03:14)