Son of Justice (29 page)

The fourth Zrthn fell backward awkwardly and was spared from the blast of deadly metal. Eli watched the now-scrambling creature as its tentacles wriggled in fear. The slick gore that coated its body and the floor was making escape difficult. This one’s body showed tints of light blue, he noted, which contrasted with the other three. Perhaps he was the leader. Unfortunately for the squid, his blue was now liberally painted with bits, pieces, and spray of grisly gray blood.

Eli moved closer to the struggling alien and took aim.

Do not kill him!

Aank’s mental plea was both heard and felt. It was also something of a surprise as the short alien had been instructed to remain behind. Eli’s initial reaction was to ignore the Waa, but a mental vision of the little green male’s reasoning halted the squeeze of his right forefinger. Barely.

“Hold fire!” Eli ordered to those behind, as he sprinted forward.

He jumped over the pile of Zrthn dead and landed next to the still-struggling Zrthn. He put an armored boot on the alien’s (chest?) body and pointed the Ginny at the gray dome of the alien’s head.

“Don’t you flocking move.” He had no idea if the alien could understand the words, but something got through. The squidlike being stopped struggling and lifted both arm-tentacles in the air. The six finger-tentacles spread out in a wide pattern. To Eli, it looked like the human equivalent of “Don’t shoot. I give up.”

That is exactly what he means, Captain.

So you can read their minds too?
Eli remembered to “speak” with his mind as he had been instructed earlier. It felt strange, but it would help maintain the Alliance’s secret and would prevent getting weird looks from his soldiers. Talking to himself might have that effect, he guessed.

Of course. That is why I did not want you to kill him.

Good call, Aank.

Five minutes later, Eli had his troops deployed outside the entrances and down the nearest hallways. The Zrthn was no longer pinned under Eli’s boot, but was closely guarded by two Minith rangers. Satisfied that their position was secure for the time being, he turned his attention to Aank.

Weren’t you and Ta’an supposed to be on the far side of the portal?

Ta’an is there now, awaiting further instructions. We felt it best to keep the portal open, seeing as how it acts as a doorway between our present and prior locations.

Eli bit down on his tongue and stared into the Waa’s large, black eyes. Aank and Ta’an’s instructions had been clear. Wait for the last soldier to cross over, then shut down the doorway. Seeing as how it was their only way home, though, Eli admitted it made much more sense to leave it open, as long as both sides were guarded. Once again, the tiny Waa’s thinking had been ahead of his own, and he had acted in their best interest. That bought a lot of leeway and forgiveness. Still, orders were made to be followed, not ignored.

Aank blinked once. Twice.

You’re reading my mind right now, aren’t you?

Again, two blinks. Eli thought the action probably stood for “yes” or “understood” or something similar that meant no real response was needed. So why even ask?

He received two more calm, even blinks and couldn’t help but growl, much like a Minith.

So, what’s our next step, Aank? We need to locate our people and find out as much as we can about this ship. Also, if we discover what the Zrthns have in mind that would be great.

“I will interrogate the prisoner now, yes?” Aank’s words were gentle and issued in a near-whisper. It was obvious they had to speak out loud so as to not draw attention from those around them. The secret of their mental communication had to be kept, and Eli kicked himself for not thinking of that not-so-small detail before the Waa.

“Yes, Aank,” he replied, his voice tight and controlled. “I assume you speak Zrthn?”

“I speak enough,” Aank answered, then turned to the alien who still had his arms raised and fingers splayed. He began talking to the Zrthn in a chirping-squealing-chattering fashion that reminded Eli of the sound made by the dolphins or whales of Earth. The slimy, grayish alien responded in a similar fashion. Eli had an ear for language and followed the back and forth closely, trying to pick out patterns that would translate to understanding. The Zrthn appeared to be repeating the same patterns over and over, and Eli wondered what he was trying to communicate.

He is trying
not
to communicate.
Aank answered without giving any outward indication that he was addressing Eli
. He repeats his name, which is Ah-loon, the ship’s name—Captive Taker One—and his position on board. Apparently, he is a “senior catch sorter.” Those items of information are all he is allowed to provide should he be captured. Unfortunately for Ah-loon, I don’t need verbal answers. His thoughts are very clear.

You know where our soldiers are being held?

Aank turned away from the still-chattering Zrthn and spoke to Eli.

“All captured human and Minith soldiers are being held in pens on the deck below this one. The doorways on the far side of the room lead the way.”

The Waa sent Eli a mental picture so he would know exactly where to go and what to expect. Moving floors, similar to the one that brought them into this area, delivered inert prisoners to large round doorways set into the floor. The doorways were opened, and prisoners were unceremoniously dumped into holding pens below. To Eli, the process seemed inhumane and disrespectful. It was obvious the Zrthns considered their prisoners chattel—property to be collected, processed, and stored.

“The command center for the ship is one deck above. The ship is manned by relatively few Zrthn troops,” Aank said.

“How many is relatively few?”

“The Zrthn was not specific, but less than two dozen. None are heavily armed and most are support personnel, like Ah-loon and his sort team.” Aank waved toward the sputtering alien and his now-dead crew, tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robe.

“All right,” Eli nodded. “That’s enough to get us started.”

Benson paced back and forth along the long hallway of the ship, the solitary man in a long line of Minith walkers. The forgiving, spongelike matting beneath his feet squished as he walked, but he had learned to mostly ignore the strange surface. The fact that his armor protected his feet and legs from the damp flooring helped. He didn’t know how the alien warriors who shambled along the hallway around him could bear the stuff. Most complained constantly, and he couldn’t blame them. They had been trapped here for a lot longer than he had, and most were experiencing some form of ear mold, foot rot, or any number of other health concerns—all because of the constant, dank humidity that surrounded them.
Flocking squids and their crudding soggy enviro!

He reached the end of the long hallway and did an about-face, robotically retracing the now-familiar path. He had silently watched the Minith captives for a full day before joining their line of movement. He didn’t know what drove the Minith to move, but he was able to keep the pain of the suit at bay through action, so he fell in line.

He mulled over their situation as he paced, anxious to think of something he might have overlooked. They had tried everything they could imagine to find a way out of the hold where their captors had dumped them. After releasing the humans and the Minith from their rooms two days earlier, the group had searched for, but failed to find, a way to leave their current position. The Zrthn prisoner ship was well designed in that manner. Although they had escaped the individual rooms where they had been locked away, leaving this portion of the ship had proved impossible. The long hallway, with all of its doors, led nowhere. With the exception of the initial exam room where he had awoken and killed the three aliens, the rest of this level was nothing more than a succession of more empty holding rooms. There had to be an entrance to the exam room, but he couldn’t find it.

Apparently, the only way in or out appeared to be through circular, shutterlike panels set into the high ceiling of each room. Benson had never seen them function, but had been told new arrivals dropped into the pens through those entrances.

He was able to reach the ceiling by leaping upward, with the aid of his armor, but could find no way to open the shutters. Beating against the panels proved useless and, despite repeated jumps, his inspections revealed no way to open the doorways from this side. All he accomplished was to drain the already diminished power levels in his suit.

He was down to 10 percent charge and wondered how best to use the remaining battery life. Ramming the walls in order to break through to a far side seemed ill advised. They were obviously made from agsel, which meant any attempt was doomed to failure. Even if he was successful at penetrating the wall, how did he know he wouldn’t be damaging an outer hull?

A clamor from the direction of the cell he had first opened drew his attention. Was that cheering he heard?

He and the Minith around him raced toward the sound and, upon reaching the intersection at the far end of the hallway, turned toward the human holding cell. At the end of the short hallway, stepping from the room at the end where his human peers waited, was another armored PEACE suit. Benson could only watch as the suit approached.

“Benson, what the flock are you doing?” the suit challenged. He recognized the voice but his mind almost refused to believe what he was hearing. “You wanted to become the first Shiale Ranger to get captured by the Zrthns, huh?”

“EJ?” Benson felt as though someone had doused him with a bucket full of cold water. “Are you here to rescue us, or have you been taken?”

“Rescue, Lieutenant Benson. Rescue!”

“Well, it certainly took you long enough,” First Sergeant Twigg growled menacingly from behind Benson. “I can’t take another minute being stuck on this damp excuse for a ship.”

“First Sergeant, I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Eli replied. “But we have another stop or two to make before we’re done here.”

“Do I get to twist a Zrthn neck, at least?”

The captain smiled and nodded. “Perhaps, First Sergeant. Perhaps.”

“Then, please. Lead the way.”

* * *

Colonel Drah marched quickly through the hallway that led to his superior’s office. As he moved, he considered the steps that had already been taken. He could not help but feel satisfied with the progress so far. He only had one remaining task to accomplish before his final plans could begin.

The warriors that were loyal to his cause—casting off the shackles of the human-led alliance and fostering a new Minith resurgence—were already in place. At over a thousand strong, the relationships and affirmations that bound them together had been carefully cultivated over the past two years. It hadn’t been easy to identify, recruit, and place so many of his fellow warriors into crucial positions, but he had pushed forward knowing the Zrthns would support his movement. In fact, their support was a critical step in its success. Taking and holding Telgora would be relatively easy once the wave grew and started its inevitable crest. That was no concern.

Drah was confident that an upswell of Minith pride and aggression would help sweep away the fraudulent “alliance” that he and his people had been forced to endure for the past twelve years. Even those Minith who knew nothing of what was about to take place would join his ranks—with both speed and ancestral enthusiasm—once they understood what was happening.

The forces and capabilities that remained on Waa were the only real concern. Would the Minith there support his movement and join it, or would they remain blindly obedient to the human leadership that they currently bowed before? He did not know, and that’s where the Zrthns came in. He needed their support and recognition to ensure Waa remained a nonissue. Once he solidified his hold here on Telgora, not even the forces of Waa would be able to unseat them.

He grumbled for a moment over the favorable trade terms he had agreed to with Oinoo. The agsel sales would provide an influx of wealth and influence to his new dominion, but he was nearly giving the ore away. He considered the potential for renegotiating once his hold on the planet was secure. He decided it would be needed and smiled at the thought of alienating his new alliance. Oh well. Such were the circumstances of trade and profit. For now, though, the future trade arrangement was but a minor detail. His primary goal was to break the subservient hold that these weak, puny humans had placed upon his race.

He approached the doorway of General Tuun’s office and paused briefly outside the large, wooden doors to clear his thoughts. He had been in this place hundreds of times over the past two years. Unlike previous visits, he ignored protocol and did not offer the perfunctory quiet
tap-tap-tap
that announced his intention to enter. Instead, he simply grabbed the handle with his left paw, gave a quick twist, and threw the door inward.

General Tuun, his superior in the Alliance Defense Force, raised his head, obviously startled by the sudden intrusion into his private work space.

“Drah! What’s the—”

He got no further with the thought or the words behind it. The blast from the pulse pistol in Drah’s right paw made sure of that.

Coup d état
, Drah reminded himself. That was the human phrase for his act of deathly insubordination. Such funny, foreign words that made no sense at all. He much preferred the Minith equivalents of “mutiny,” “overthrow,” or—his personal favorite—“taking what is rightfully mine.”

Regardless of what one called it, he was enormously pleased with how simple and fulfilling it had been to complete the final task on his list.

Now, the real fun could begin.

He pulled the communication device from the bag tied to his waist belt and activated the send mechanism.

“We will be ready in six hours.”

* * *

Eli and the eighty rangers—forty human and forty Minith—were currently holding position at the base of a long, winding ramp that led upward to the first deck and the command center of the ship. Aank’s mental interrogation of Ah-loon was thorough, and he had passed all the info he received, via mind speak, to Eli. Although he had never been aboard the ship before today, Eli knew what lay ahead and what to expect. He marveled at the ease with which it had been accomplished, but Ah-loon’s knowledge had been transferred directly into his head.