AKLESH (Under Strange Skies) (16 page)

Kai’s heart sank. His method of escape was gone and soon his people would be annihilated.

Feeling relatively secure for the moment he decided it was time to Reach and find Gar. Kai closed his eyes and pulled the prince into his mind.

He focused on the dark hair and exotic green eyes. Then he brought in the soft, pale skin lightly brushed with dark hair. He added his frame and the way he stood, the fire in his expression when he was angry. Lastly, he brought back the feeling he’d felt from him in his cell, when Gar had searched for him and made contact…that overwhelming feeling of triumph.

***

Gar, Tyro and Caen had been back at the camp for nearly three hours.

Evening was beginning to set in and the whole place was getting ready for an attack on the spaceship. Gar had strongly urged them against such a fool-hardy mission and although he was now being shown much more respect, since Caen had come back singing his praises and describing the sights they had witnessed, the warriors would not head his warning.

Vol’s word had been final; they were to attack the ship that night.

At that moment the young prince was sitting on a large log that stretched out by the edge of the water, skipping stones over its surface while he waited.

There was much he was glad about. He had found the ship and he knew the location of their missing tribesman. Still, he was still troubled because he had such difficulty contacting him again. Doubt hung in his mind that they would ever find Kai. Despite the Healer’s reassurance, his greatest fear was that they were already too late.

Just then his whole body charged with a shot of internal electricity. The feeling was so sudden he almost fell off the log, but its meaning was clear.

Kai had
found
him.

Gar felt a rush of the same feeling he had when he had first located Kai while standing at the top of Keep. It was a combination of elation and joy, but this time mixed with relief. The young native was not dead. But, the situation was still urgent.

Gar! They know where you are. You and the
tribe are about to be attacked!

Overjoyed to hear the voice of Kai in his head, the young prince sprang into action, practically stumbling over himself as he ran to the warriors preparing for battle. They had been packing up the animals with shielding and weapons, every available tribesperson in full armor.

“I’ve found…that is, he kinda found me…

there was a…” he sputtered breathlessly.

“You’ve contacted Kai?” asked Tyro urgently, having guessed what had occurred. Gar took a moment to breath. Everyone stopped what they were doing. All eyes were fixed on him.

The moment he could speak again he relayed everything that Kai was sending to him. He felt like a two-way communicator but he didn’t have time to dwell on the oddness of it.

“Kai says they’ve sent a full regiment, about twenty men with weapons and that they’re already on their way here. They mean to take some of you and kill the rest.”

“Not without a fight!” Shouted one of the warriors. “We have over twice their numbers. We will meet them head on!”

The rest of the warriors took up their tribesman’s cry. Gar knew this was a recipe for disaster. They might be strong, brave men but none of them had ever encountered the forces that were coming for them. In a straightforward battle the technically advanced artillery of the off-worlders would wipe them out.

Then the prince got an idea.

As they were cheering Gar climbed the wagon filled with weapons until he was the highest person in the camp and could be seen by everyone.

The Healer’s eyes were fixed on him as he desperately attempted to get the attention of the warriors. She nudged Tyro who was nearby and indicated that he should step in. Finally, Tyro’s booming voice calmed down the encampment so the young prince could be heard.

“You don’t understand what you are up against,” Gar announced over the throng. “You are angry and you have a bloodlust and rightly so.

They have taken, tortured and murdered your people and you want revenge. But, listen to me when I tell you that even though there may be more of you, these Others as you call them, have weapons you have never seen before. I know these weapons and what they can do. They have guns that will blast you into dust. But, you have something they don’t have. The element of surprise and a knowledge of the land. We know they are coming and we can use that against them so they are never even able to fire off a shot.”

“Do you really suppose we’d allow an outsider like you will lead us into battle,” accused Vol incredulously. Some voiced a similar opinion.

“Think we’ll catch any before they all scatter like bugs?” said Reese over the comlink.

His squad of mercenaries skulked through the forest, cloaked in the darkness of the night.

Reese heard the low laughter of his comrades over his earpiece.

With him were twenty men, but he thought that number was far too many. They could have done the mission with half as many. It was a simple bag-and-tag job. Every soldier was armed with a flash canon, but he was certain after the first shot was fired the cavemen would cower in fear or run. All information they had gathered on the savages, when there had been time, indicated they were hunter/gather types and peaceful ones at that.

Really no better than animals and not an actual threat. The crew had minimal protective gear on, just what was required for a basic mission.

Besides, sticks and rocks would have no effect against the armory they were carrying.

Their weapons were set on stun. No real fun could be had till enough specimens were gathered.

Then the party could begin. He looked forward to a good hunt. His men had gotten restless, their only target practice had been dumb herd animals and the occasional stray humanoid that wandered too far from his village. The soldiers had grown incredibly bored. Reese really didn’t care what the science-types wanted with these humanoids, all he cared about was getting paid and itching his under-used trigger finger.

This exercise was just what his men needed. It was better than cattle, but not by much. It was a shame that the whole thing would be over before it even began. The pitiful wretches didn’t even know what was coming.

“Man, I hope they put up a fight!” said Davis through the comlink, echoing the sentiments of the crew. He was driving the small hovervac following behind the company. Due to the dense trees they couldn’t bring any larger vehicles.

“What’s the intel from control?” asked Blake on his right.

“Same as before,” said Reese, checking the interface on his wrist. It showed him a topographical map and readings of the various moving people. “About forty, men and women.

They are scattered in the area. Just keep your night vision on and listen for commands. Control will keep us coordinated.”

***

Kai was still huddled under the paneling. He had warned his people but was now left with no way to escape. There would eventually come a moment when one of the people in the control room would look over and see him. Then he’d be done for. There were just too many to sneak by!

All he could do was wait, hope and take a small comfort in knowing he had helped his tribe.

The young tribesman hadn’t heard from Gar for a while. All he knew was those who had come for him were working on a plan, and those warriors had their own skins to worry about. All Kai could do now was wait.

But, fortune was in his favor.

“Captain,” said a women working at one of the consoles. “Upstairs on the third level. The lab.

“Yes,” Rhoed barked gruffly. “What?”

“I’m not sure, sir,” she continued. “Its like its under siege up there. Something’s gone wrong and they’re demand immediate assistance.” Rhoed turned to her perplexed. “What do you mean? They can’t handle a couple of animals?”

“That’s just it,” she said. “All the subjects have gone crazy, a couple of the scientists are down and now they’ve been locked in the lab.”

“What the hell!” he shouted. He turned to the rest of the crew and barked orders. “All hands, grab firearms and go up to the lab. Try to get this thing under control. We can’t have everything we’ve worked for be destroyed. This is priority.

Go! Go!”

All personnel got up from their work stations and hustled out the doorway. Kai pulled himself back as far a possible, but in their rush they didn’t notice him.

As they were running out one of the mercenaries grabbed the captain’s arm. “What about the company in the field?”

“You stay here, make sure they get all the information they need.” And with that command Rhoed dashed along behind his crew and through the metal doorway, muttering, “Stupid scientists.”

“Yes, sir!” replied the deck hand who returned to his station.

Kai’s opportunity had presented itself once the hallway was clear. He crept out of his hiding spot and moved stealthily down the corridor in the opposite direction of the troops. He was almost to a metal doorway that was on his left when he felt Gar’s mind.

Kai, we need your help. Where are you?

Can you get to the control deck?

The control deck? How would I know what
it is?
Kai asked.

It would be a large room full of lights and
screens and probably a lot of cranky people.
Gar replied.

Standing there, exposed in the hallway, Kai sighed. He knew exactly what Gar was referring to. It had been the place he had just managed to escape from and now he had to go back.

***

Night had fallen in the camp and standing on the ridge of the waterfall was Gar. The Healer was by his side, prepared to guide him.

It had taken some persuading, but eventually the warriors chose to follow his plan. Having the Healer of their tribe side with him had helped a lot. Now everything was in place, at least as much as could be possible on such short notice. The fires were out and all the Aklesh were ready. All they needed was a signal. The tribesmen stood a decent chance, but if luck was with them, Kai could make it a sure thing.

Are you close?
Gar asked.

Yes.
Came the answer.
But, there’s someone
in there.

Just one?
He asked. This surprised Gar.

Yes. The rest are dealing with something
else. What do you want me to do?

Take him out, however you can. Then shut
the door behind you so you don’t get any more
company. Once you’ve done that, go to the main
console and I’ll give you instructions. Then you
get the hell out of there.

Kai muttered a bit to himself. He wasn’t fond of violence.

Passing the cart he had hidden by earlier he grabbed a metal object sitting on top of it. The thing was roundish and had blinking red lights. He had no idea what its real use was for, but it was heavy enough for his current purpose. The man was sitting with his back to Kai, unaware the tribesman was creeping up on him. This was no forest, but Kai was still a hunter and this man was his prey. His bare feet made no sound as he slowly crept along. The helmsman so was absorbed with what was on his screen and he paid no attention to what was happening elsewhere.

The blow to the back of his head was quick and hard. His body stiffened then went limp and slumped over the control panel. Kai wasn’t sure if he had simply knocked him out or worse, but he had no time to check. He ran back to the entryway and pressed the pad on the right side as he had seen all the others do. The door slid shut with a whooshing noise.

He strode up to the large panel that faced the biggest screen in the center of the room.

What now?
He asked Gar. Everywhere he looked was buttons, colors and lights which he could make no sense of.

At this point, Gar could feel the native’s confusion and was at a loss. The young prince hadn’t counted on this. He had expected it would be easy to tell Kai what to do. Now he realized there was no way of making him understand. The technology was too far outside his grasp. Had he been there Gar was certain he could have navigated the workings of the ship’s central mainframe, but through Kai it was hopeless. He turned to the Healer with regret in his voice.

“It was a foolish idea. There’s no way I can make him understand what to do.”

They were running out of time to pull off his plan.

“Breath, young one. You will be able to do this,” said the Healer, unfazed. “Now is the time for your next lesson.”

“Now?!”

“Yes, now. It’s called Tasking. Tell Kai you want him to Present to you.”

The Healer wants to know if you can
Present to me?
Gar asked.

Of course,
replied Kai.

With a surge Gar’s mind was flooded with images, blurry at first but soon blossoming into recognizable shapes and colors. He closed his eyes to get a better grasp of the scene taking shape before him and to prevent double vision.

The control room was now clearly fixed in his mind. It was almost as if he was there. Gar now understood that Presenting meant to show what you were seeing. It was impressive feat that he’d have to learn more about. But at present he didn’t question the ‘how’, all that mattered was that it worked.