Chapter Seven
The thing stepped out into the light, and Laurants took a step back, clutching his gun. The creature that emerged was almost comical looking. It was a furry animal that resembled a prairie dog standing on its hind legs. It wielded a heavy length of pipe that was stained with alien blood. It began to squeak in some kind of language that Laurants didn't understand. He looked at it in a daze for a moment and then remembered his compad. He pulled it out and fiddled with its buttons, trying to activate the translator. The compad was a little banged up from the journey, but eventually the translation program came up. As the thing spoke, the translator compared it to any known language or dialect on Earth.
The native creature spoke for several minutes and made some gestures with its pipe and its four‑fingered hands. Even without the compad, Laurants could guess that it wanted him to follow it. Looking towards where he had left Lisa, Laurants reluctantly followed the direction that it was waving its pipe. He wasn't sure if any more of these things were in the shadows, and he didn't want to kill it until he found out something more about it. It seemed to be the only intelligent life that was native to the planet thusfar.
The prairie dog walked ahead of Laurants and then it stopped at a branch of the river. At the water's edge the city seemed to end abruptly. He wondered where they were going, and then the creature moved something aside and revealed a trap door buried in the dirt. It motioned for Laurants to go down the hole. He shrugged and then complied, slinging his gun on his back. At the base of the hole, the prairie dog took the lead again and led Laurants down a system of dark, winding tunnels. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and he saw that the tunnels were lined with stones that seemed to be arranged in some strange order, almost like signs pointing the way to somewhere. He checked his compad and was dismayed to see that they were traveling away from the ExoArmor signal. The trip seemed to last forever, but eventually the prairie dog stopped and pointed to a doorway carved into the rock. Laurants stepped into it and saw a dim light casting a faint glow in a huge cavern.
A beeping came from the compad and Laurants grinned in the darkness. The compad had been able to decipher parts of the alien speech, enough so that he might be able to communicate with the prairie dog alien. The creature stood in the doorway and then it went down on one knee, bowing to some unseen figure. Shadows seemed to blur and whirl until finally Laurants saw a shape coming towards him. It seemed tall and mean‑looking and Laurants fought the urge to pull out his gun and begin firing. The shape finally stepped into the pale light and Laurants was shocked.
It was an old man standing there, human in appearance. He stood a few inches taller than Laurants and had a shock of white hair that seemed to cast its own faint glow. For a few seconds the two stood there, sizing each other up. It was only then that Laurants saw more of the prairie dog‑like aliens standing behind the old man. The man began to speak in a high, nasal voice and it took the compad only seconds to figure out what he had said.
“Welcome, friend,” he had said. Laurants saw on the compad that the old man was using a language similar to the ancient Greek tongue on Earth.
“Hello, sir. I am from a distant planet and come in peace,” Laurants raised his hands in a symbol of goodwill and the old man nodded.
“I am Lothgamm, the last of my race. To whom am I speaking?”
“I am Ensign Jack Laurants from the starship Explorer. I come from a planet called Earth that is far from here.”
“I see. You seem like a decent enough lad. Come and sit down so that I might tell you why you have been brought here and why you are so desperately needed.” Lothgamm motioned to a chair made of stone that had until now been hidden by shadow. Lights came on as candles were lit, and Laurants saw that a small army of pipe‑wielding prairie dog creatures were standing in the cavern. Lothgamm sat in a similar chair and Laurants wondered what was going to happen now.
“Gethol saw you fighting those despicable aliens in the old city. I instructed him to bring you here so that I could gain your help in driving these aliens from off this planet,” Lothgamm began.
“But what happened to the people who built that city in the first place? And why haven't you just attacked the aliens yourself?” Laurants interrupted, knowing that each minute wasted was a minute that could be used to rescue Lisa.
Lothgamm leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. “A long time ago my people were like yours, exploring the stars, building cities, making scientific and technological achievements. But then a great war erupted as various factions fought in a brutal civil war. Almost the entire planet was destroyed, and all of our once great fleet of ships was destroyed.”
“Those who wanted peace came down here, to live under a barren desert. Here we lived for a long, long time. Then scouts were sent to the surface, myself being one of them, to see what had happened to the planet. In our absence we found everything obliterated. There was no sign that anyone had ever even existed. Forests took over the rubble of our cities and deserts covered the battlefields. I returned to the city with the other scouts and found that the city's people were gone. A mysterious disease had killed them all in the years that we had been gone.”
“Amidst all of our pain and sorrow, we found one cause for hope. We found a map that showed the way to a secret place where the Last Ship, the Avenger, was berthed. It was the last of the great fleet of ships and we boarded it eagerly. But we soon learned that we didn't have enough people to man it, and it couldn't fly. In the memory banks a message had been left. It said that one day war would again ravage the planet and a great race from the stars would come and claim the Avenger and lead her into victory over evil. Your people are that race; we must help you free them so that the Avenger can take flight.”
“It was after we left the ship that we found Gethol's people. They lived in primitive holes underground and were the only animals left on the entire planet. At first we left them be and went back to the city, where we destroyed all of the dead bodies and lived in a pitiful existence of scavenging. A couple of my friends went mad from this lifestyle and killed themselves. There were soon only a few of us, and we knew that we weren't going to make it. We searched the city for supplies and then drew lots to see who would be the one to wait for the race from the stars. I won and watched the rest of the group plunge daggers into their hearts. I disposed of their bodies and then left the city. I sought out the Glan, Gethol's people, and lived with them. I learned their language and customs and befriended them. We have lived in quiet isolation since then, waiting for you. Now that you have arrived, we must hurry and free the rest of your people or else soon these aliens will find you, me, and the Glan and exterminate us all.” With that Lothgamm pulled a small black pistol out from the dark blue folds of his coarse robe. Laurants could almost feel the excitement in the air, and knew that he could rescue Lisa now. Lothgamm led the way out of the cavern with Laurants and Gethol following behind him. Further back was a swarm of Glan, all of them clutching pipes.
***
S'Revlar was worried. He couldn't raise the other two scouts on the comm. He was alone with this prisoner and was afraid that there was someone else in this city. He looked down at the human female and grimaced within his helmet. She looked so pathetically pale and frail, much like all of this species. They had shown themselves able to fight, and yet their bodies didn't seem well‑suited to it. His people were stronger, better, and smarter, and yet they kept being defeated by these puny things. The prisoner stirred and he helped her to her feet, wanting to get out of this city. When he got to the surface he would be able to contact S’Olonny and then the city would be swept by a horde of soldiers. Then whatever else inhabited this area would be destroyed.
Lisa felt her head clearing and she looked up at the menacing black‑clad alien soldier. She stood weakly and brushed the dust off of her uniform. Then she looked around for the other aliens that she remembered seeing, or any sign of Laurants. Not seeing either, she hoped that he hadn't been caught yet. He was their only hope for escaping, unless she could find some way to get away from this alien. She looked for a weapon but there was nothing that she could use. The alien pushed her back towards the entrance to the city and she stumbled forward, still feeling a little weak.
It was obvious now that the other two aliens were either dead or had been sent on some other errand. It was just her and this single enemy soldier. If she could take him down then she would be free. This strengthened her will and resolve and she quickly made a plan. She pretended to fall forward, and when the alien went to grab her arm she turned and slammed into him with all of her weight. They both toppled over and she tried to grab a hold of the alien's neck. S'Revlar grabbed her wrists and tried to push her away. Doggedly she stayed on top of him, her hands clawing at his throat. Finally he jerked a leg up and his knee crashed into her midsection. She fell sideways and he stood. Lisa got to her feet, determined to fight to the end.
Enraged, S'Revlar charged at her and took a swing with a gauntleted hand. Lisa ducked and went under his blow and landed a punch on the base of his helmet. Her knuckles cracked and bled and she knew that they wouldn't do any good against the alien's armor. So she tripped him with one leg and pushed him to the ground with both hands. He fell face‑first and she sat down on top of him. Then she looked around for his gun, but it was nowhere to be seen.
S'Revlar struggled to free himself, feeling the human on top of him. Just then he heard a shout and a laser blast flew past and hit the entrance. Lisa turned and saw Laurants at the head of a large column of creatures. Using the distraction, S'Revlar triggered his mini‑jetpack. The heat burned Lisa's legs and she screamed, falling off of the alien. S'Revlar shot into the air, surveying the crowd below, and then rocketed out of the city and up to the surface. It was then that he stopped and landed, activating his comm.
“Captain S’Olonny, this is Tracker S'Revlar. There is a large group of aliens under my position. The others have been killed and I am requesting that you send reinforcements at once.”
On the bridge of his ship, S’Olonny digested this information. He had suspected that there were more of these humans, and now he knew that he had been right. He would have to send most of his troops to deal with this menace. From S'Revlar's report, these humans were underground. The ship's sensors had been unable to penetrate much of the planet's interior, but that was chalked up to volcanic disturbances under the crust. Obviously the clever humans had shielded some kind of underground fortress where they could stage a counterattack.
“I'm putting you in charge of a half division of men as well as escort ships, should you need them. I want you to make sure that they are destroyed and their base obliterated,” S’Olonny commanded.
“Yes sir,” S'Revlar mumbled.
“The assault force will assemble at the collection plant. I want you to meet them there.” S’Olonny broke off the communication and S'Revlar calculated that he had enough fuel left in the jetpack to get back to the collection facility. He took off, knowing that he would soon be back.
On the ground, Lisa was sprawled out, unconscious. Laurants was at her side, examining the burns. They looked bad, at least second‑degree but probably third-degree burns. Lothgamm knelt down next to him and shook his head. “The poor girl, take her somewhere where I can tend to her,” he ordered and Laurants and Gethol hauled her to a house and laid her down.
“You're a doctor?” Laurants asked hopefully.
“A healer of sorts, but I'm not sure that I can help her, her wounds are very serious. I'll do the best that I can,” he began to chant some strange words and Laurants wondered what was happening. To his astonishment he saw the burns begin to heal. “My people have telepathic abilities which can be used to heal damaged body tissue. The chanting is really nothing more than a formality. I'm afraid that's all I can do for her for now.” He leaned back against a wall, tired. The wounds on Lisa's legs looked better, and Laurants was almost certain that she would pull through now. He couldn't remember being so scared then when he saw Lisa lying on the ground, her legs and uniform scorched. He was beginning to think that neither one of them was going to make it through this mission. They had already cheated death too many times, eventually there was going to be that last throw of the dice, and then they would lose it all. He clutched his rifle and looked outside of the house at the flock of Glan milling around outside.
That brought him back to the problem at hand. That alien was probably going to come back with a lot of friends. They had to move soon to get the ExoArmors, or stay and fight. Either way seemed hopeless now. If they fled then the Glan, Lothgamm, and he and Lisa would be hunted down and killed. If they stayed then they would face an enemy horde with superior firepower that would eventually overwhelm them. Looking back at Lisa, he knew that they couldn't run. She was in no shape to travel in the kind of high‑speed chase that would be required.
And what about Lothgamm and the Glan? It was because of he and Lisa that the aliens had found the underground city, so he had the responsibility of making things right again. And to add another wrinkle to the whole mess, there was the strange ship that Lothgamm kept mentioning. To man the ship they would need to find Lieutenant Rosaro and the others and rescue Arsa. No matter what they did here, they had to survive in order to make that happen. Laurants wished that Lisa would wake up again to help him find a way out of this dreadful mess that he had gotten them into.
***
Manny woke up and saw the aliens waiting for her. The short one grinned at her and then signaled to the tall one. She knew that she was in trouble now and closed her eyes, trying to play possum.
The aliens weren't fooled and S’Tallen signaled for S’Olonny to begin the interrogation. He nodded and knew that he would get information from Manny this time. “Are you ready to cooperate?” He asked her with S’Tallen interpreting.
“Never,” Manny hissed, feeling a cold feeling in her stomach. Just then S’Tallen pushed a button and something extremely hot and painful jabbed her. A blunt rod sparked with electricity and sent a charge through her body. Manny winced and barely kept the pain under control, not wanting to appear weak.
“It seems they are tougher than we thought,” S’Olonny grumbled. “Increase the voltage.” S’Tallen nodded and S’Olonny asked the question again.
“I'm not going to cooperate with you, even if you kill every last one of us here. Some day you bastards are going to meet your match!” She spit at the tall alien and he laughed amusedly and then signaled for S’Tallen to shock her. Manny felt pain in every nerve in her body, overwhelming her mind so that she let out an unearthly howl. S’Olonny merely laughed and then S’Tallen turned the rod off. Manny's head sank to her chest and her world began to go gray. She felt dizzy and light‑headed.
“Next time it will be higher,” she heard the alien say before she blacked out.
In his cell,
The cell was dark and it seemed at if days were passing. The effect was maddening and he could hear whimpering from the other cells where several less‑experienced soldiers were breaking. Before long they would all be broken and there would be little hope for escape. He thought of Terraz and hoped that she would find a way to rescue Arsa. Maybe she could even find Captain Shaw, but as for them, they were finished. Shaw had been right after all, they should have gone for the weapons.
***
The maddening darkness was coming abruptly to an end and Arsa saw a myriad of colors flash past her. The colors were spinning around her and she felt dizzy. At last she could begin to feel things again, tangible things, as the procedure was completed. The DNA had been reworked and all of the gaps were filled. Arsa knew none of this and she opened her eyes suddenly. She looked around and saw that there wasn't anything to see.
She was still strapped down where S’Tallen had left her, and she couldn't move any of her limbs. There were no mirrors around and no way that she could see what had happened to her. All that she knew was that she was alone in this quiet room, but at least she was alive. Still though, she felt as if a piece of herself was gone forever after the seemingly years she had spent in a dim, black world with no sight or sound.
As she lay there, she realized that now was her chance to try and escape. If she could find some way to get these bonds free, then she could be able to escape and find Lisa and the others. She tried to move her hands and found that she could move them slightly. With a great effort she tried to break free and then something snapped and her hand was able to move about. She used her free hand to remove the other bond, and then she concentrated on getting the leg restraints off. It was about then that she stopped and realized that there was something wrong with her.
Her skin wasn't smooth anymore. It was the same color but now it was scaly and slightly slimy. There was a green tinge to it and she gasped. Now she knew that the alien scientist had done something to her; he had done some kind of experiment on her. She recalled his speech and then she began to understand what was going on. Anger rose in her and she was able to easily snap the leg restraints. Now she was free and sprang off the table. That was when she noticed the long tail dragging behind her. She stopped and looked at it in disgust. It was clear what he had done, he had tried to make her into one of them. He had tried to make her this Savior that his people believed in. She wasn't going to let him keep her like this, she was going to find him and make him change her back.
Enraged, she broke down the door and then two guards skidded to a stop a few feet away from her. They gasped and raised their rifles. She barely noticed the green‑armored aliens, her mind was thinking only of finding the alien scientist. A laser sizzled past her and she stopped. The guards were terrified and shaking miserably. They were fairly recent additions to S’Tallen's guard and were unused to seeing the byproducts of his experiments. All they saw was a naked and scaly human with a long mane of dull gray hair and large orange eyes filled with fire. Her tail seemed to crack like a whip and they thought that she was some kind of evil demon coming to get them. The aliens bumped into each other as they scrambled to run away.
More guards came, these ones more experienced. They immediately realized what this thing was that was looking evilly at them. The captain of the guard took a step forward and sized up the creature before him. It looked dazed and angry, like many of the things that had just awakened from one of S’Tallen's experiments. He held his rifle up in its face, trying to get it to snap out of it. Then he signaled for someone to call S’Tallen and tell him what was going on.
S’Tallen got the call on the ship as he was readying Manny for another round of interrogation. This time he was determined to keep her conscious no matter what. He listened to the voice of one of the panicky rookies and a smile came to his face. She was awake, and ahead of schedule.
“You've got to get down here, sir,” the rookie guard squealed.
“I can't leave the ship, but I want you to stun her and bring her to me. Put her in my lab until I can deal with her,” S’Tallen broke off the communication and turned back to his work, knowing that his moment of triumph was at hand. With control of the Savior, all the people of his homeworld would praise him as a hero and he would have power nearly beyond mortal means. Then S’Olonny and everyone else would have to bow down to him. He looked at Manny and wondered what he could do with her after his experiment came aboard.
On the surface, the captain of the guards turned his rifle to its lowest setting. The creature was still standing there, unsure of what to do. The anger had left Arsa and now she was left confused and disoriented. Before the captain even took a shot she fell to her knees, her head in her hands. She wanted to cry, but she didn't have any tear ducts and all that came out was a pitiful moaning sound. The captain signaled for two guards to put restraints on her. They slapped shackles on her hands and feet and then tugged the chains. Feeling very much like a wild animal, Arsa got up and meekly followed them to a shuttle. Waves of pain and sadness overwhelmed her and in the shuttle she was able to catch a glimpse of herself in a wall of the shuttle.
The alien had turned her into a monster. She wasn't a person anymore, she thought and moaned. One of the rookies, emboldened by her sudden change in attitude, hit her with the butt of his rifle. “Shut up!” He screamed. She reached up to grab him, but then she held back. It was no good, there was nothing that she could do. The alien guard laughed and sat down across from her, realizing that she was no longer an evil demon, just another experiment gone wrong. Or right, he mused. He wasn't sure what S’Tallen was trying to create, but it couldn't be good. He had heard horror stories from some of the older guards about the experiments the scientist had conducted. Hideous monsters that would kill and rampage until they either destroyed themselves or were brought down. At least this one seemed a little tamer. The shuttle climbed into the atmosphere, heading for the alien ship.
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