Star Alliance (9 page)

“Like we’re finally doing something constructive,” Kaylan said. Katie nodded as she came over to them.

“And if what you intend with the Mardoxian chamber doesn’t work?” Hicks asked.

Kaylan shared a glance with Katie and swallowed hard. “Then we’ll need to accept that Zack is gone.”

*****

Kladomaor growled. “Stop the jump clock and figure out what happened. How were they able to break free from the tether?” he said, and turned toward Ma’jasalax.

“It’s time to see if you can live up to the legend,” Ma’jasalax said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kladomaor asked.

“You said you couldn’t face the Xiiginn warships and protect the Humans. Well, now they’ve gone on their way to Nerva,” Ma’jasalax said.

“Not for long,” Kladomaor said. “Execute an intercept course with the Athena.”

“Don’t do that,” Ma’jasalax warned.

“You’re just buying them time to get away,” Kladomaor said.

“Perhaps, or you’re too stubborn to admit you’ve been outmaneuvered,” Ma’jasalax said.

“With your help,” Kladomaor said.

“I may have pointed them in the right direction, but they were already withdrawing from us before this. You should have realized that when Kaylan had all the Humans report back to their ship. Now, instead of racing off after them, let’s try helping them,” Ma’jasalax said.

Kladomaor glared at the main holoscreen that showed the Athena moving away from them.

“Let them go,” Ma’jasalax urged. “Give them the time they need to try and find their missing crew member.”

“What would you have me do?” Kladomaor said.

Ma’jasalax’s gaze swept past all the Boxans on the bridge. “Remind the Xiiginns that they are not unopposed. This is a stealth ship. Make the Xiiginns fear the shadows. Make their strength their weakness.”

Kladomaor felt a burning in his chest and an eagerness to enact retribution against those who had made their race suffer—made
him
suffer. As Kladomaor glanced at his fellow Boxan soldiers, he could see the same yearning reflected in each of their eyes. One by one the Boxans on the bridge rose to their feet, grasping their elbows with each of their hands, and bowed their heads.

“Battle Commander,” the Boxans murmured.

Kladomaor looked back at Ma’jasalax, who also brought her arms up and clasped her elbows, bowing her head. It was an ancient form of salute that the Boxans reserved for their most revered leaders.

“Return to your stations,” Kladomaor said. “We have Xiiginns to hunt.”

C
HAPTER
T
EN

Z
ACK
AND
E
TANU
left the safe confines of the cave. Zack had slept for hours and had awakened bruised and stiff. He didn’t feel like moving all that much, but Etanu said they couldn’t stay in the cave, so Zack grudgingly got up and tried to work out some of the stiffness that had set in from sleeping all night in a damp cave.
 

Etanu told him that it would be dawn soon, and Zack wondered how the Nershal could tell the time. He was hungry and couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. Etanu had no food, and they’d only been able to find small amounts of water. The forest around them was deserted.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything dangerous around?” Zack asked and glanced around.

The darkness of the night sky was fading to a pale gray with hints of red.

The Nershal glanced back at him. His fierce orange eyes under his furrowed brow clearly conveyed his thoughts about Zack’s question.

“I get it,” Zack said. “We’re never not in danger as long as we’re held captive here. But where did everything go?”

Etanu continued walking and Zack followed. “They’re gathering on the far side of the pit. To the place where they feed us,” Etanu said.

Hearing there was food got Zack’s attention; however, Etanu’s ominous tone didn’t fill Zack with a lot of hope. Zack had strapped his PDA to his wrist, even though it wasn’t working. He didn’t have time to look at it, and it didn’t appear that Etanu was willing to give the time.

“Is there any way you can contact other Nershals nearby?” Zack asked.

“There aren’t any nearby. At least not that I can tell,” Etanu said.

Zack had to believe the others were looking for them. They needed to send some sort of signal that would let them know they were alive.
How long will they keep looking before they believe we’re dead?
Zack wondered.
 

“What can you tell me about this place?” Zack asked.

“There are walls that surround the entire perimeter. Go far enough in any direction and you’re bound to find the wall. We can’t fly out of here. At least I can’t fly out of here. I’ve seen different kinds of mutants that have banded together. You’ve already met the blind mutants. They’re pretty good at tracking but won’t throw themselves at you if you fight back,” Etanu said.

Zack frowned. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that if you kill a few of them, they’ll leave you alone,” Etanu said.

Zack took a deep breath. Last night when he’d been chased by the blind mutants he had thought they wanted to kill him, but the more he thought about it the more he was convinced he could have been wrong about them. “What else?” Zack asked, preferring not to press the issue.

“There are the silent hunters. They will kill anything that wanders into their territory, with the only exception being the giant mutant, although I’ve seen them trade blows with it,” Etanu said.

This place just gets better and better
, Zack thought. “What do the silent hunters look like? And this may seem obvious to you, but why do you call them silent hunters?” Zack asked.

Etanu came to a stop and surveyed the area in front of them. They were leaving the hilly area. Zack glanced above the trees, trying to catch a glimpse of the tower he’d seen last night.

“They are all Nershals,” Etanu said. “All the mutants I’ve seen so far have the traits of my species, with the exception of the giant. The silent hunters never speak. They don’t make a sound, not even when they’re wounded. I’m not sure if they’re
able
to make a sound. Sometimes they communicate with each other with gestures, but I think they might be connected with neural implants. The ones I’ve been able to see up close have extensive scarring,” Etanu said, and brought his hand to the side of his head.

“So they might have been enhanced somehow,” Zack said.

Etanu considered this for a moment and nodded. “Enhanced? Yes, this is correct,” the Nershal said, and his gaze hardened.

“What is it?” Zack asked.

“What the Xiiginns have done is unnatural. They are exploiting my species,” Etanu said.

“I’m sorry,” Zack said.

Etanu glanced at him. “Why would you say this? You’re not the one doing this to us.”

Zack shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. “It’s just what we do. If someone we’re with is in pain and we’re not able to do anything immediate to help, then saying ‘I’m sorry’ shows the other person that you sympathize with their pain—their loss.”

Etanu glanced at him, and Zack had the feeling that the Nershal didn’t understand.

“It’s called compassion,” Zack said.

Etanu straightened himself to his full height. “I understand the meaning. You may feel it is well placed, but it encourages weakness.”

Zack blew out a breath. He certainly knew about being weak. “Fine, it won’t happen again,” he said, and started walking.

Etanu caught up to him. “You’re angry?”

Zack shook his head. “I really don’t understand your species at all. It’s like you’re hardwired against emotion. What’s the difference between feeling a certain way about what the Xiiginns are doing to your species and me saying I’m sorry about it? I mean, how does your species make any friends if you’re always so preoccupied with whether it makes you look weak or not?”

Etanu gave him a long look. “The bonds my species share with one another are strong and are never given lightly.”

“That’s good to know. I guess I thought that since we’re stuck in this place there would be some sort of bond between us. At least until we got out of here,” Zack said.

“I’m required to protect you until I have saved your life,” Etanu said.

“Got it. Crystal clear now,” Zack said.

Etanu took the lead and Zack followed. He wasn’t sure if he just didn’t understand the Nershals or if it was just Etanu. Zack recalled how Etanu had come to stand with him against the Xiiginns on their ship. He’d stayed behind and was captured with him. Was Etanu really saying he did all those things because of some oath about protecting him? They needed to work together if they were going to get out of this alive. Zack pressed his lips together. He needed to stick with Etanu if he had any hope of surviving.
 

“Does your species use implants?” Zack asked and tapped the side of his head.

“Of course,” Etanu said.

“Then what do you suppose the scars on the silent hunters’ heads are for?” Zack asked.

“Some type of enhancement. They are quite strong but seem to stick to only one area of the pit,” Etanu said, and glanced over at Zack. “We use implants, but we do not enhance ourselves beyond the confines of what is natural.”

“So the fact that the Xiiginns are doing this to you is an even more serious offense,” Zack said.

“Of course,” Etanu said. “Do Humans manipulate their genetics to make them into something they’re not?”

Zack shook his head. “No—well I’m not sure. If someone is sick or hurt and we fix what’s broken with an artificial part so the person can stay alive, then technically we’re changing them.”

 
“I don’t mean healing. I’m referring to crossbreeding between species to create something that nature wouldn’t have created on its own,” Etanu said.

Zack wished Emma were here. He was sure the xenobiologist would be able to have a more meaningful conversation about this subject than Zack ever could.

“What do you know about the giant mutant?” Zack asked.

“Enough to stay away from it. It has a lair, and in the time I’ve been here, I’ve only seen it leave it to feed, but something drew the creature out last night,” Etanu said, giving him a sideways glance.

Zack felt a chill zip down his back. “What could it possibly want with me?”

“I don’t know, but if we see it, we do what everything else does in this place—run,” Etanu said.

They continued on and within the hour they saw the walls of the pit. The gray walls appeared to be smooth, and Zack doubted they could climb their way out.

Zack had hoped Etanu would be able to find something for them to eat, but the Nershal said nothing was safe. This place was a prison, and the Xiiginns were the ones in control. “When you tried to fly out of here, do you remember how many guards they had on the walls?” Zack asked.

“Not many, there were more automated turrets. They’re meant to keep us in. One of the other mutants must have seen me, because a number of them tried to climb the walls. Their claws were able to pierce the wall material. Some actually made it over,” Etanu said.

Zack’s eyes widened, and he glanced back at the walls. Could they climb it somehow? He felt an itch on his arm where the Xiiginns had placed their tracker.

“They didn’t escape,” Etanu said. “There were several loud pops, and after that the mutants on this side of the wall stopped trying to climb over. They knew the ones who got over the wall had all died.”

Zack kept scanning the walls, trying to force a solution into his mind, but he couldn’t think of anything. “We need more information about this place.”

“What do you mean?” Etanu asked.

A wave of hunger gathered in the pit of his stomach. He wished he were in the mess hall aboard the Athena, joking and eating with his friends. Katie would be laughing with the others while Efren tried to get her to forget about the geek she was with. Sometimes Kaylan would be with them, but he had often found her on the bridge or in one of the observatories, working away—always working. Zack closed his eyes and thought about the last time he’d seen Kaylan. He had pushed her onto the elevator and locked out the controls. She had slammed her fists on the doors and screamed at him, her beautiful honey-brown eyes wide with shock at what he’d done, but he couldn’t hear here. He thought he was going to die, and he hadn’t wanted her to die with him. She had to live. He knew she would be furious with him for what he’d done, but it was worth it. He remembered the tender feel of her lips when he kissed her, and a small pang settled into his chest.

“Zack?” Etanu asked.

Zack swallowed hard. “Sorry, I just got a bit distracted. What I mean is that if we’re going to get out of here, we need to learn all we can about this place. Including all the inhabitants, what they do, when the Xiiginns feed us—anything we could use.”

Etanu glanced at the walls. “Do you think there’s a way for us to escape?”

“That’s what I want to find out. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that no place is totally secure. There has to be a way for us to get out of here,” Zack said.

Etanu regarded him for a moment. “Strength is highly valued among my species.”