SHU'KAN Page 6

  ‘Let’s talk about your future,’ she said ignoring his question. ‘I’m Brianna, and the muscle here is Wilson. You will be working in the lab just a planned. However, we’re altering your objective. You will be assisting our team to develop the bio-weapon.

  Stone sat for a moment in disbelief. ‘Are you serious?’ he asked.

  Brianna laughed. ‘Oh, I’m in full support of Earth Fleet. But, we’re going to develop the weapon first. And if we make a small profit from it … then the better for us!–So we’re changing the plan!’

  These people were crazy. This had gone too far already. He had to do something. If Shi’la refused to help, they’d kill her.

  He slowly moved to the edge of his seat waiting for the right moment. Wilson was taking his turn at some insane rhetoric, and Brianna was distracted. –The time was now.

  He shot out of his seat reaching for her gun. She must have seen him from the corner of her eye because she jerked in the opposite direction. He was only able to get one hand on the weapon and shoved it up in the air. At the same time he spun and planted an elbow across Wilson’s nose as he moved to grab him. He doubled over in pain, blood spurting between his fingers.

  Turning his attention back to Brianna, he tried wresting the gun from her grip. She fought ferociously.

  Pain erupted in his groin. She’d kneed him hard. Tears welled in his eyes as he fought to hold on to the gun. From the corner of his eye, he could see Shi’la trying to get Wilson’s gun, but he was as big as an ox. Her efforts were making little progress.

  He grabbed both of Brianna’s arms and slammed them into the Capsule wall. The second time, she released the gun with a howl of pain. He had it! He took a step back and pointed it at her. ‘Drop the gun, Wilson, or she takes one between the eyes!’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he replied. His voice resonated with the sound of a broken nose. ‘Now, sit down or I’ll kill her right now!’

  Brianna was smiling wickedly at him. He glanced over his shoulder. Wilson was standing in the center aisle. His arm was around Shi’la’s neck and his pistol was against her head. He sighed in frustration. ‘Ok … here. –Take it.’

  He handed the gun back to Brianna. She smiled in satisfaction. He sat down slowly and looked at Shi’la. She looked back with fear in her eyes.

  ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t get his weapon,’ she said softly. She had a vicious cut across her brow.

  ‘It’s alright.’

  Wilson pointed his gun at Stone. –His shirt soaked with blood. ‘Pull that crap again, and its shoot first ask questions later! Do you understand?!’

  ‘Yeah,’ he replied.

  ‘Watch ‘em,’ he said to Brianna, ‘I’m cleaning up.’

  ‘I’ll do better than that,’ she said pulling two black hoods from the overhead compartment. ‘I’ll tie’em and hood’em!’ She tossed a zip-tie and a hood at Stone. ‘Secure her hands behind her back and put the hood over her head.’ She waited for him to finish then motioned for him to turn around. She zipped his hands then jerked the other hood over his head. ‘That’ll help you two behave,’ she quipped.

  Stone sat listening to Shi’la breathe. He could faintly hear her through the hood over his head. He tried calling to her once, but was struck upside his head and told to be quiet. Now he couldn’t tell if his assailants were in the cabin with them or not.

  By his reckoning, at least two hours had passed. He could now feel the capsule doing a fast vertical drop. A few minutes later, he felt a soft bump when the capsule settled on a landing platform. He was jerked up and led down the exit ramp. He tried to listen for clues of their whereabouts, but the sounds made no sense. The only definite thing he noticed was the cold. It was numbingly cold. –Which meant they probably still landed in Iceland.

  He nudged his identichip to see if he could call for help, but there was nothing. Even when reception was down, his identichip usually at least connected. But there was absolutely nothing. It was like the Teranet wasn’t even there. Of course, he thought. They were using a dampening field. Chip dampeners were state-of-the-art. –At least military grade.

  They entered a building. It was large from the echo of their footsteps. –Through another door. The echo’s ended. They must be in a smaller room now. They walked for several minutes. –A hallway of sorts. They stopped him and turned him to the left. He heard the beep of a door reader. He was shoved from behind and almost fell over his own feet. -A cry from Shi’la, then he felt her slam into him roughly. He lost his footing and they both tumbled to the floor. His head hit the wall and his ears started to ring.

  ‘Cut their hands loose!’ Brianna ordered.

  He felt someone tug at his hands then heard the snip of cutters. His hands fell free. He sat up and pulled his hood off. He blinked away the bright lights and tried to focus. Wilson was cutting Shi’la’s hands free. She sat up and pulled her own hood off.

  ‘I suggest you two get some rest,’ Brianna said. ‘We’ll be back in the morning so you can get an early start.’

  She turned and walked out with Wilson behind her. The door slammed and he heard the electronic lock beep. The room went black.

  Stone’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light. He could see Shi’la rubbing her wrists.

  ‘You ok?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m unharmed. So, what do you think happens from here, Lieutenant Stone?’ She looked at him angrily. ‘-Should I prepare myself to be tortured as well?’

  He couldn’t blame her for being angry. She’d been betrayed. We were supposed to be cooperating peacefully for mutual survival. ‘I’m sorry this is happening, but you have to understand this isn’t our governments or Earth Fleets fault. Whoever these people are, they’re radicals with an insane agenda.’

  ‘-These radicals … why are they not abiding by your governments decisions?’ she said with exasperation.

  ‘Because, that’s what it means to be a radical. –People who sometimes take extreme illegal or violent action for a cause.’

  ‘But, was it not the decision of your Prime Minister to cooperate? Why have a Leader if humans refuse to listen to his decisions?’

  ‘Well … I … that is … I don’t really know. But humans disagree on everything. It’s always been that way.’

  ‘It just seems very inefficient and counter-productive,’ she retorted.

  ‘-Yeah, tell me about it.’

  She sat on one of the cots in the corner and put her head in her hands. She didn’t say anything else.

  Stone looked around the room. Honestly, it looked government. It had the same sterile, but efficient feel that all military buildings had. It was a safe bet they at the research facility. –Though confined to a secluded area. So far, their kidnappers were keeping their word. They were to be utilized at the research facility to do … what? The answer came immediately: To secretively do research under the radar, to the benefit of their captors. This would enable them to control the outcome without Earth Fleet interference. He pushed it aside for later and decided to finish exploring their surroundings.

  To his left was another door. He turned the knob, and looked inside. –A lavatory. They were definitely on a base. There was a toilet, a sink, and a stand up shower. The shower curtain was white military issue.

  ‘I’m pretty sure we’re at the research facility,’ he said matter-factly. ‘Everything in here is standard issue.’

  He went back to finishing his inspection. A bookshelf leaned against the wall beside the lavatory door. It was loaded with towels and toiletry articles. Back in the main room, two cots were at an angle to each other against the walls. The right wall had a holoscreen on it. He sent a nudge with his chip implant. –Nothing happened. He tried widening his chip’s reception. Maybe he could tap into the Teranet from an open communication screen somewhere and send for help. –Still nothing. It was a strange feeling.

  He walked to the com screen and looked for the manual power button. He found it and pressed. It came to life with a news stream. He found the
selector button and was able to switch data streams. There were four. –Three entertainment streams and one news. He turned it off.

  Beside the door they entered was a large dresser. He opened the drawers and looked inside. There were undergarments for a male and a female. The other drawers contained more male and female clothing. Whoever brought them here obviously planned to keep them here awhile.

  He was finished poking, so he sat down beside Shi’la. She looked up quietly saying nothing. Sunlight from the small barred window high against the back wall played across her silver hair. He looked closely at her features. She still had blood spots in her hair.

  ‘Wait here a second,’ he said.

  He went to the lavatory to wet a towel then sat down beside her. ‘Here, let me clean that blood off.’

  She jerked back not wanting him touch her. –Couldn’t blame her. They’d met less than twenty-four hours ago and were still alien to each other.

  ‘It’s ok. I’m just going to clean the blood out of your hair.’

  She hesitated for a moment, and then decided he was harmless enough.

  He grabbed a handful of her hair applying the wet towel. As he cleaned the spots, he admired the silk texture of it. -Though Shu’kan males didn’t seem to grow scalp hair, females clearly had it in abundance.

  ‘Do all females have this much hair?’

  ‘Why? Does it offend you in some way?’ she said pulling back.

  ‘No,’ he replied quickly. ‘It’s just you have beautiful hair … by human standards.’

  ‘Our hair is a mark of respect and dignity for Shu’kan females,’ she said proudly. ‘No female ever cuts her hair above the shoulders. It’s considered disrespectful and shameful.’

  He finished cleaning the last spot then realized that she was looking at him. Their faces were only a few inches apart and he could smell her. She had a slightly sweet but musky odor. –Quite pleasant even.

  ‘I, uh … think I got it all.’ He got up and threw the towel in the bathroom. ‘I suggest we try to get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow may not be pleasant either.’

  She didn’t reply but stretched out on the cot. He noticed that she was shivering, so he pulled an extra blanket from the shelf and covered her. She accepted it gratefully.

  He layed on the other cot and closed his eyes. Whoever was behind this, hopefully he’d meet tomorrow. There were a few things he’d like to say.

  Tr’al missed Shi’la terribly and wondered what she was doing.

  The cold chill of the babbling stream felt good on her feet. She was getting used to wearing human clothing, but the shoes felt a little tight. She’d have to exchange them for a slightly larger pair. Everyone was wearing human clothes now. Leader Bro’na had solved the problem of identifying caste by requiring everyone to wear a wristband with their distinctive color.

  She was growing to love her daily excursions to the rain forest. It was amazing how alive it was! –And rain! She’d seen dozens of holo images from her home planet, but it was wonderful experiencing it for real!

  She wiggled her toes back and forth causing the water to ripple. The sandy, gritty sediment sifted through her toes. Occasionally, she’d capture a larger stone that warranted closer inspection. She’d pull it from the water to inspect its qualities while trying to guess its composition; then she’d give it a toss to try and mimic the skipping motion she’d learned from watching human vids. It was so peaceful here. All around her there were hundreds of plants. Leaves and pedals of all sizes shapes and colors. The variety was innumerable! She was slowly learning the different species in her Earth immersion classes. Leader Bro’na insisted that assimilation had to be the first priority, so everything about Earth and humans consumed most of her curriculum. Of the Earths biosphere’s, she was learning the rain forest first since this was their new home.

  The tree canopy was her favorite. It was amazing how much life the trees contained. They were so tall! Several species, large and small, lived their entire lives within the sea of branches. This was something she’d recently discovered while researching the types trees within the rainforest. In many ways, these creatures were once like her: destined to live within a small biosphere; never exploring beyond because of the need for survival. She’d felt that way while living on the ship. She never thought she’d be right here, right now. She suddenly felt immensely grateful. Living on Earth was going to be incredible!

  Tr’al bent over and put her hands in the water to feel it with her fingers. She shoveled the small pebbles then dropped them watching the sooty dirt dissipate. She did this over and over while continuing to allow her thoughts to wander.

  She wasn’t sure how living with humans was going to turn out. Already the humans building the barrier when she first landed had it completed. Now the only way in and out of the settlement was through a gate. Humans guarded the gate night and day. She never had trouble coming and going, but what if that changed? They were also guard towers along it every fifty meters. She expressed her concerns to her parents, but they dismissed her. They said Leader Bro’na knew what he was doing. –That human xenophobia made the security necessary. They were probably right. They usually were.

  The settlement was comfortable enough. Every family had their own shelter with power and other basic utilities. Single or non-coupled adults lived in shared shelters. There was a large community building that served as a government center as well. The Leader set up his work space there. He busily directed all the Shu’kan with daily tasks to improve the settlement. He’d stripped the ships of their functional technology. If it wasn’t flight or weapons essential, it was ordered to the colony. They now had a large medical facility composed of equipment from the ships. He also built a large agricultural research facility to test if any Shu’kan plants could be adapted to Earth.

  Tr’al stretched out on her back. The forest canopy almost completely covered the sky. Glimpses of blue sky broke through as the wind rustled the thick foliage. Small birds darted everywhere through the trees, and the occasional small animal or rodent would peek from behind a tree limb or trunk to investigate her. Insects buzzed everywhere, and these fascinated her the most. The Shu’kan home world had nothing of comparison. And from what she understood, there were millions of different types on Earth. It was remarkable! One type she was not fond of; a species called mosquito. She was watching them land on her at first, but she quickly realized that the insect simply wanted to stick her and draw blood. It also left her skin irritable and itchy, so she soon learned to swat them away.

  She yawned and stretched. She was tired. It was late afternoon, and she had spent most of the day working. It seemed that every time she finished a task, she was given another. She understood that there was a lot of work to be done at the settlement, but the forest called her! Here she felt at home and enjoyed the solitude. She thought of asking Li’el to come along this time, but she felt like being alone.

  The ships were just about stripped of all the items and equipment they needed for the settlement, so one of them was going to be leaving tomorrow with a research team. They were taking it to the human military facility for research on adapting the FTL to Negrav. It reminded her of Shi’la and the work she was doing.

  She sat up abruptly. She was sure that she’d heard her name called. She waited for several seconds. Yes, there it was again.

  ‘I’m over here!’ she shouted.

  Li’el erupted from the brush looking hot and sweaty breathing hard. ‘You … you … need to come back now,’ he gasped. ‘There’s been an incident.’

  ‘What kind of incident?’

  ‘It’s your sister, Shi’la. She’s missing.’

  Tr’al took off like a bolt. She could hear Li’el hollering for her to wait up, but she sped on. Her mind was racing. Was there an accident in her lab? –Some kind of explosion? She tried not to think about it.

  She finally made it to the gate. There were more guards than usual, but she thought little about it and headed straight to her sh
elter. She almost kicked the door open. She stopped in the kitchen taking huge gulps of air.

  ‘-Li’el. –Tr’al. Come sit down,’ her mother said. She was sitting at the table with her father and an official from Leader Bro’na’s staff. She looked as if she’d been crying.

  ‘Tr’al,’ her father began, ‘Shi’la’s Negrav Capsule was found in the ocean. It was destroyed and floating debris was the only thing recovered. They don’t know if they survived, but they’re searching for survivors.’

  Tr’al tried not to cry, but it overwhelmed her. She burst into tears and sobbed.

  ‘We’ll make every effort to coordinate a search with the humans,’ the official added softly. He rose and pushed his chair back under the table. ‘Don’t lose hope. –Well, I’ll take my leave.’ He quietly left and shut the door behind him.

  ‘They’re about to issue a statement,’ her father said quietly. ‘Let’s go see if there’s an update.’

  They all went into the next room and turned on the com screen. An image of the Prime Minister and the Leader appeared. They were getting ready. This time, Supreme Leader Bro’na took the Podium first.

  ‘-Fellow Human and Shu’kan citizens, it is with a heavy heart that we report that no survivors have been found at this time. Of course, we’re still searching, but odds of survival are marginal at best in the frigid North Atlantic. It has been determined from the debris that a horrible explosion occurred. This is a tragic event and we all will mourn the loss of, not only one of our best scientists, but one of Earth Fleet’s officers, Lieutenant Michael Stone. The pilot, Mark Wiseman, and the stewardess, a … Ms. Rebecca Stiles, are also missing. The Prime Minster now has a few words to add.’

  The Supreme Leader stepped aside as the Prime Minister approached the Podium.

  ‘I’d just like to add that for every adversity, there is still hope. We must press on in the quest of saving our two species. Other researchers will be identified to continue the necessary work of achieving that goal. Meanwhile, our thoughts and prayers go to all the family members of Lieutenant Michael Stone, his pilot, the stewardess, and Shi’la, a respected scientist of the Shu’kan. Thank you, that’s all.’