Chapter 99

An alternate source of power

Zohe made her way down to the end of the corridor. She had taken the officers dagger and side arm. She wished she still had her light saber right now. She could deflect any shot away from her easily in these close quarters with it if need be. This would be the first battle in a long time she had fought without it.

She peered around the corner down the passageway. There was only one doorway in it as far as she could see. This would give her and her crew an advantage early on. It meant there was less of a chance that the first assault would be witnessed by anyone except the soldiers in the room she was about to enter. Speed and stealth would be their best bet for success.

Zohe handed Gemmah the pistol in case she was killed in this first attack. Zohe crept up to the doorway and looked inside. Her Feloid hunting instincts gave her the agility to move almost completely silently. Inside the room were two technicians replacing one of the components in the air filtration unit. Zohe waited a few more minutes until they finished before she struck. Might as well let them finish the job since they knew what was wrong with it. If things went badly they might have to stay on this ship so it better be working correctly.

The technicians finished bolting the hatch closed and turned to see Zohe crouched in the doorway. Her teeth were bared and her tail was twitching wildly in anticipation of what was coming next.

“Hey you’re not supposed to be here.” Was all the first technician got out before she pounced.

Zohe leapt silently pushing herself upward tucking her legs tightly beneath her and then kicking out violently at the closest tech striking full force in the chest and riding him all the way to the ground. A quick precision slice with the dagger silenced the second before she tumbled off the first and landed crouched to finish the first. He lay gasping for air looking up just in time to see Zohe plunge the dagger between his eyes.

She quickly went through the tools pulling out several long screwdrivers for the rest of her crew to use as weapons. The dark work ahead of them was to be done quickly and quietly. It was never a good idea to use pistols and blasters inside a ship because of the risk of damaging vital controls and systems. Only highly trained military personnel like the Royal Guardsmen or Stormtroopers had such training. This left only one option, hand-to-hand combat.

Zohe could easily have killed everyone on the ship herself but her goal was to take the ship before any of the Imperial crewmen could send a distress message.

Zohe came out of the room and crouched next to Gemmah.

“Can you take the engineering section? We need to make sure the power to the communications array is shut down before we finish the job.” Zohe asked whispering.

Gemmah looked at the blood soaked knife in Zohe’s hand.

“You all said you would help me, now is not the time to get wet panties.” Zohe said seriously.

Gemmah smiled as Zohe’s words calmed her. She was right. It was too late not to do the job they signed on for. Besides, these were only Imperial troops, they all needed to die.

Gemmah looked at the tools turned weapons in Zohe’s hand. She selected the longest one and smiled. “I’ll take care of engineering.” Gemmah said smiling.

“No shooting.” Zohe whispered as Gemmah sneaked down the hall.

Gemmah reached the engineering section and looked in. Two men were sitting at the control consol watching the monitors. She took a deep breath and walked in the room smiling. She held the long screwdriver behind her back out of sight.

Both crewmen looked at each other puzzled.

“You’re not allowed in here.” One of them asked trying to sound tuff.

Gemmah walked right up to the closest one still smiling. She was too nervous to reply so she just kept smiling as she jammed the screwdriver into the front of his throat and twisted it ripping out his voice box.

The second tried to stand to better protect himself but the Feloid was faster and pushed the tool up under his chin into his brain. The whole thing only took a few seconds.

Gemmah took a step backwards shaking. She let out a slight laugh surprised at how simple the whole thing was. Blood had shot out and onto her coveralls and hands. She choked back the bile that had risen in her throat and went to the controls. She found the instruments to the communications array and switched them off. All she had to do now was keep anyone from coming in and turning them back on.

Gemmah stuck her head out of the door and gave Zohe the high sign. She knew it was safe if she made some noise now. Nobody would be sending any messages today.

They had killed five of the crew leaving about eight or nine to be dealt with. Zohe thought back to what the Empire had cost her. They killed her father and attacked her and the rest of the Clans just to show they could. They had been the ones that killed Neeka and left her child motherless. It was because of them she had been captured and turned into a drug crazed sex toy to a psychotic Bounty Hunter and then sold as a slave and left to die on some long forgotten Feloid planet at the end of space.

It was time for revenge. She had intended to see how her new crew did in a fight but she had changed her mind. There would be plenty of time for that later. She motioned to the others to wait as she started off down the hall.

Lennut immediately understood what was about to happen and signaled to the rest to wait where they were. She knew that no matter what happened Zohe had to regain her confidence. She had to reawaken the part of her that was Lionette Ty if she was going to be the leader they needed.

Zohe stopped in front of the door to the mess hall. Four Imperials looked at her confused. She slowly took off her jacket and boots and let them fall to the floor. They asked what she was doing and ordered her back to the sickbay but she ignored them completely. Only she understood what was about to happen. She didn’t want to get blood on her nice new jacket and she would need to have the claws on her feet exposed. She crouched and hissed baring her teeth sending shivers down the spines of these men who moments before were giving her orders and commands. They realized now what was happening but it was too late.

Lionette sprung on top of the closest one and sunk her claws into him as he screamed. Her teeth found the man’s throat and bit deep into the flesh and tore out a chunk of meat. She had become a wild thing in her anger and pain from what they had done to her. The remaining three fell back in shock as Zohe spit the piece of the man’s throat at them hissing. She leapt at them slashing and clawing as they tried to maneuver in the small room. She used their number against them as she pushed them back into a corner. They tried to fight back forgetting their training completely. They weren’t fighting a soldier they were fighting a crazed animal.

Zohe tore at their uniforms causing terrible wounds on each of them. She was shredding them to bits and blocking their attacks with her superior skills and training.

She had been trained in combat since she was a child. It was like a game to her…they never stood a chance.

Zohe stood over top of the four bodies. She looked at her hands now covered in blood. Her heart was pounding and her chest heaved. The Feloid battle lust was up filling her with endorphins giving her a sense of euphoria she hadn’t felt in a long time.

She was now down on all fours stalking quietly up the hall 

towards the bridge. She knew they must have heard the screams from the men in the mess hall. They would be waiting for her but she would be quicker. They would have pistols and blasters but she didn’t care anymore. She would see them all fall under her claws. These men would be the sacrifice to quench her pain and sorrow for the Empire’s deeds.

Suddenly the lights all over the ship went out. It had become pitch black.

“Gemmah.” Zohe said to herself smiling.

Gemmah knew Zohe would need an advantage by now. She also knew Humans had poor eyesight in the dark. But more importantly she knew Feloids had excellent night vision.

The remaining crew understood they were trapped. They shouted commands to move the ship or to close the doors but Gemmah had taken care of everything. All the technology these men depended on was now gone. It would be a primal combat.

Zohe crept into the room on all fours without a sound. She was looking up and held her tail close to the ground. She made her way around the edge of the room picking out her first victim.

Zohe carefully stood up behind the man farthest back in the corner. He appeared to be the second in command after the Captain. She grabbed him from behind and hissed loudly. The panicked men turned and opened fire riddling him full of holes. Zohe held him in front of her as a shield and then lifted her powerful leg and placed her foot in the small of his back and shoved as hard as she could launching him at the others. His body smashed into the rest knocking them down.

“Three to go.” she thought to herself. Zohe tumbled behind one of the control panels as several random shots slammed into it. Knowing the Imperials would expect her to continue in the direction she entered behind the panel she immediately reversed direction and dove out back the way she had come. The flashes from the weapons firing only helped to disorient the men making it take longer for their eyes to adjust to the dark.

One of the men made a break for the door. Zohe let him go to aid in the panic. From the floor she could see the other two. One was fumbling to reload his pistol and the other was looking in the wrong direction. Now was her chance. She shot across the floor and landed on top of both of them. There was a quick struggle and it was over.

Zohe took off down the hall after the man that fled. When she turned the corner she found that Reddarh and Tessen had captured him. He was trying to get free from their grasp but was held firmly in place. Zohe walked up to the frightened crewmen. She was covered in the blood of his shipmates still fresh and dripping. Zohe looked him in the face as she breathed heavily catching her breath.

“You alien scum. You’re all savages. This is why we need to get rid of your kind.” The crewmen spat ushering up what little courage he had left.

Zohe didn’t reply. She just thrust the dagger into his chest and grabbed his face pulling it close. She watched intently as the life slipped from his body. Tessen and Reddarh released the man letting his body collapse on the floor.

Zohe stepped back and rested her back against the wall for a moment still trying to catch her breath. She slid down to the floor with her knees up under her chin leaving a trail of Imperial blood smeared on the wall behind her.

“What are your orders Captain? Tessen asked respectfully.

“Strip the ship of all her weapons and stow them in our ship for now. Take every thing of use, droids, food, uniforms, water…you know what we need Tessen. Reddarh you help him.

Have Gemmah get the power back on and strip the engines for any spare parts we can use.

Tell Doc to take any medical supplies we may need or can sell and have Sister help her.

Lennut will have to check the last out going messages to see if they told anybody about us being stopped for inspection. If they did then we can deal with that latter.” Zohe said as she began to breath normally.

“What do you want Gayjee to do?” Tessen asked.

“Tell her to come here and bring me some water. I just want to sit for a while.” Zohe’s emotions began to catch up with her now. She had taken her revenge on these men but she knew it would only be the beginning. There would be many more days like today until she would be satisfied.

Mykala, Destriss, Haven, and the Doctor Verrad Dagrid had all gone back to Haven’s quarters. It had been decided to explain the situation to him so he understood the choice he was about to make. He was told about Mykala’s ability to survive any fatal wound and how they thought there was something about Haven that drew Mykala back to her across time and space only to be resurrected each time.

“I must say this is a lot to take in all at once. I don’t even know what to say about the whole thing.” Verrad said.

“We don’t expect you to make your mind up about what to do at this moment but we will have to leave shortly if you get my meaning.” Destriss said.

“Yes of course. Your options are limited by your circumstances.” Verrad said. He was a well-spoken individual and obviously educated. He was tall with dark hair and green eyes. Verrad Dagrid’s clothing seemed better maintained that most peoples stuck in his situation as a Rebellion Doctor. He didn’t seem to have had military experience like most of the other Doctors that came from mercenary units or now defunct militaries that had been beaten or disbanded by the new Imperial order.

“What were your plans for once this base shut down completely? Where did you intend to go?” Mykala asked.

“I was going to stay and help as long as I could. I was going to go back to Imperial space and settle on one of new colony worlds somewhere. I just want to go where I’m needed.” He replied.

“If you were to come with us you wouldn’t be able to practice much medicine. We are going to disappear into the Feloid expanses, lots of worlds to hide on there. Unfortunately Feloids don’t trust Human or any other Doctors but their own. We would have to come up with an alias for you also.” Destriss stated.

“Yes but there would be one major advantage to it.” The Doctor said smiling.

“What’s that?” Destriss asked.

“I’d be with Haven. I guess that’s what this all boils down to anyway right? Do I choose Haven or my career?” He asked.

“Yeah, that’s the big question. Sorry to stick you on the spot like this but…” Mykala began.

“I chose Haven.” He said suddenly cutting Mykala off in mid sentence.

Haven covered her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes with joy.

“I could have never asked you to give everything up for me.” Haven sobbed.

“The way I see it I haven’t given up anything. I’ve come out ahead.” Verrad said smiling.

“That’s a very sweet thing to say but we need to be realistic. If you and Haven are committed to this then all the better but I really can’t emphasize enough how dangerous this could be one day. This decision can’t be taken back if things get too intense.” Mykala said.

The Doctor turned to give his full attention to Mykala and Destriss. “Two years ago my wife and children were on a trip to Vestula. The Empire thought the ship was carrying escaping Jedi and destroyed the ship killing all hands on board including my family.

“I spent the next year trying to find a Rebel group that I could join so I could help to bring the Empire down. I understand your concern about security completely so I hope these credentials are good enough.” He said trying to be calm and not sound too defensive.

“You can trust him Mykala. He’s a good man and has given everything to this cause.” Haven added.

“Forgive me if I sounded overly suspicious Verrad. I’m sure you understand just how sensitive these times are. We’ll only get this one chance to make these decisions that will control our lives for the next few years. We have to be careful.” Destriss said.

“You have my loyalty. As long as Haven needs to be protected then I have no other option. I’m in love with her.” Verrad said calmly and professionally.

“We need to try to settle somewhere soon, I’m going fucking crazy on this ship.” Bronski said walking into the room suddenly.

He had surprised everyone with his appearance. After leaving the planet where he had miraculously been able to convert their credits into untraceable currency Bronski had locked himself in his room for two days.

“We’ve been looking at star charts while you’ve been away. There’s an agricultural world with a small population not too far from our position. We thought it was worth a shot.” Matt said.

“What’s so good about it?” Buck asked as he spun one of the chairs around and sat down.

“Small population, self supporting…not too many visitors to keep an eye on. Good hard working folk for the most part.” Matt explained.

“What aren’t you telling me?” he asked.

“A Religious group founded the colony. Anybody is welcome but you have to abide by their laws in public.” Matt replied waiting for Bronski’s protest. He wasn’t the Religious type.

“Hmmf sounds nice.” Bronski said.

Matt looked at Pep.

Pep looked at Matt.

“What?” Pidge asked.

“Bronski at a Religious colony? That’s just wrong.” Matt said smiling.

“No…it’s not like that anymore. We gotta lay low for now. Beside I need to start taking it easy from now on. This sounds like a good place to get some peace and quiet for awhile.” Bronski said.

They all sat silently for a few minutes glad they had finally found a place to settle.

“It really is going to be different now isn’t it?” Pep said unsure.

“At least for a while. There’s always going to be a chance that someone might find us but I can’t see that happening here, at least not for a long long time.” Matt said leaning back and putting his arm around her. Pep slid close to him and smiled.

“Wow, you guy’s must have been through a lot huh?” Pidge asked. The release of tension in the air was so resounding that even she felt it. They could finally rest and take it easy, at least for now.

“You have no idea lady.” Bronski said smiling at Pidge.

“Here’s to friends we have lost and left behind. May they all find peace where ever they wind up.” Matt said raising his drink.

“To friends.” Bronski added raising his glass.

“Yes friends.” Pep said. She nodded too Pidge that she was included as well. Pidge lifted her glass glad to be accepted.

“What’s the matter?” Kllair asked. She hadn’t seen Adda for two days and was becoming concerned. The savage murder of the cat girl in the depths of the Palace was well known to have been done by the twins by Novuh and Elith. However Kllair had made sure Adda was kept ignorant of this fact. She was the face of trustworthiness of her crew. If Adda said something then people would believe it, after all she was a Jedi Healer. They were well known for their integrity.

“It’s that murder. It seems to have been solved very quickly…almost too quickly.” Adda replied.

“It’s not our concern Adda. It’s a Feloid matter after all.” Kllair said dismissively. “Regardless of everything else you must remember that we’re still only guests here. We won’t interfere in their affairs unless asked.”

“I know but if they’re wrong other people may be in danger if the killer is still out there.” Adda said confiding in Kllair.

“There’s no way to know that unless another girl is killed. Until then we need to focus on things that concern only our position here and where we stand.

Besides you should consider yourself lucky, all the other Jedi have to leave Ty Prime. The Ty Clan has decreed a new status on the Jedi. They are still to be helped and sheltered but no military aid is to be given to them by any Clan. They are only obligated to give safe haven and nothing else.

In some cases they will not be allowed to leave Feloid space until the Empire relinquishes its bounties on all of them.” Kllair sensed she had been successful in changing the topic of conversation.

“The Feloids are sworn to help us not imprison us!” Adda said shocked.

“They’ve taken a lot of casualties Adda. It’s time for them to look out after their own people for a change. Besides, how many Feloids should die to save you anyway?” Kllair grinned knowing she had made her point.

“None.” Adda said ashamed.

“And that’s all their doing Adda. Like I said, they have to look out for their own people now.” Kllair concluded.

“So what are we supposed to do now? The Empire is still out there swallowing up worlds as we speak.” Adda asked.

Kllair sat down next to Adda and sighed.

“It’s difficult for me being the leader of this crew to know that sometimes I have to assert my authority over one of you. If you remember you asked to join this crew.” Kllair said officially.

Adda became defensive. “I had very little choice if I remember correctly.”

“You had all the choice you needed Adda, join us or stay and die like a hero. One of the high and mighty martyred Jedi they write songs about.

You’re a very brave woman Adda but you proved you’re not a true Jedi. You needn’t feel bad about it few of us ever reach that status. The only difference is that now you know it. You gave up the battle between good and evil when you put your hand out and had me pull you up into my ship. Your allegiance is to me now so don’t forget it.” Kllair said.

“I never forget it Kllair. It’s the great shame of my life.” Adda said sadly.

“You’re not alone Adda. I snatched everyone on this crew from the jaws of death. They all had a misguided view of how things work and that’s why they wound up in the positions I found them. They all believed in one type of system or culture to protect them.

“Those same systems all made them victims under the power of someone in charge. Millions die because of that way of thinking. With me there is no system only a belief, a belief that the powerful should be punished before anyone else. If the body is sick it’s because of what the head has allowed to go inside.” Kllair was getting exited and was now standing.

“You preach only violence Kllair. There must be some other way.” Adda said.

“There is always violence Adda! The point is I decide where and when it is to be used. One quick strike and millions are saved. If I’m right then I’ve save more people than any ten Jedi. If I’m wrong then only one greedy fat bastard has been killed and another will fill that void before the first one is in the ground.” Kllair said smiling. Her point of view was radical but very hard to argue against.

“Must it always end in death? Does someone always have to die to solve things?” Adda asked.

“Not always, sometimes threats work but they can be even more dangerous than direct violence. Not everyone that is threatened is rational enough to back down. Those types always want a show of force, to push back. They just help to make my point.

The powerful never see the big picture they only see what’s on their own plate and not what’s on the table or in the pantry. As long as their plate is full and being refilled all the time the don’t care if anyone else goes hungry.” Kllair said confident she made her point.

“It’s hard to argue against that logic but why do you get to decide? Why are you the one who decides who lives or dies?” Adda asked.

“Because I’m not only willing to do what needs to be done I’m willing to take responsibility for what I’ve done. I alone am accountable for what I tell you all to do. As long as I’m the one with power over all of you then all the blame is on me just like any other person in power. That’s what makes me different. When one of my crew does something it is as if they become an extension of me, as though I’ve done it myself.” Kllair said.

 

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 03:15)