Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (28 page)

Green sucked on his lower lip nervously.  “If that’s the case,
being a hero is far less glamorous than I ever imagined it to be.”

Shepherd nodded.  “It typically is.  But look at it this
way,” he said.  “Once we get out of this, you’ll have one heck of a paper to
write.”

Green’s eyes lit up.  “Indeed,” he smiled.  “Why, I could
probably do an entire series based on their language alone!  I mean, sure it
would only be about vowels and numbers, but still… it might even get published
in the Valghana Quarterly!  Could you imagine?”

“I can,” replied Shepherd.  “But first, we need to get the
Princess, get Jack, and get the hell out of here.”

Green nodded.  He took a deep breath to find his courage. 
“If I’m monitoring Deathlord movement, I’ll be able to tell if there are any
headed for my position,” he said.  “I may need to switch consoles to avoid
detection at some point.”

“Do what you must to stay safe,” said Shepherd.

“You, too, dear Paragon,” Green responded.  “And good luck. 
I’ll do my best to lead you in the right direction.”

Shepherd nodded and took one last look at the schematics to
figure out the best way to get to his target.  Then he reactivated his
hologuise and headed out the door, leaving the Professor alone in the room with
nothing but his console and the monotonous hum of the generators.

After Shepherd was gone, Green looked around the cold, metal
room of the Deathlord mothership and gulped nervously.

“I just hope my best is good enough,” he muttered to no one
in particular.

The moans echoing throughout the Pit
set Jack’s teeth on edge.  The sounds reverberated off the walls and seemed to
linger in his ears even longer than they had when he’d first arrived.  He was
desperate to talk to someone – anyone – about anything just so he wouldn’t have
to focus so much on those horrible noises.

But each time he tried to start up a conversation with
Scallywag or Faruuz, they’d just shut him down and tell him to be quiet. 
They’d talked with him for a bit before the last group of zombies jumped out of
nowhere and attacked.  One of them had managed to rip out the throat of a Regal
soldier named Coakly before being put down, and after that the entire group
seemed to be on edge and opted to move in silence.

They traveled in single file, weapons at ready, with Jack up
toward the front leading the way.  Grohm stayed slightly ahead of Jack to make
sure he was protected, and for the most part Scallywag and Faruuz were right
there with him.  Major Ganix took up the rear.  Overall, no one wanted anything
to happen to Jack, since he was the only one who knew where the heck they were
headed.

As they walked, Jack kept looking at his surroundings. 
Nothing seemed familiar at all, and yet somehow there was a map in his mind
that told him exactly where he was.  How that worked, Jack had no idea.  He
just hoped the map didn’t suddenly disappear and leave him stranded in the
middle of nowhere.

For now, the map was there, and Jack kept walking in the
direction it was telling him to go, with the others following close behind.

“Are we almost there?” Scallywag muttered.

“Yeah, it’s just a bit further,” said Jack.

“You said that an hour ago.”

“And I was right an hour ago,” replied Jack.  “Not so witty
when it’s used on you, huh?”

Scallywag cracked a smile.  “Anyone ever tell ya, you can be
an annoyin’ little browner, Earthman?”

“Nope,” said Jack.  “You’d be the first.”

“Anyone ever tell ya, if this exit of yers turns out not to exist,
yer gonna get shot right in the face?” grumbled Faruuz.

“Nope,” replied Jack.

“Well, ya just were,” snarked Faruuz.  “Right now.  By me.”

“Well then, if the exit does exist, I get to shoot you in
the face,” said Jack.

“What?” said Faruuz.  “No you don’t.”

“Seems only fair,” said Jack.  “Since you’re the one
threatening to shoot me and all if I’m wrong, I should get to shoot you if I’m
right.”

“Lad’s got a point,” chimed in Scallywag, smiling.  “It’s
only fair.”

“What?  No it ain’t!” replied Faruuz.  “Whose side are ya
on?”

“No one’s side,” said Scallywag.  “Just pointing out that ya
got a fifty-fifty chance of not getting shot in the face, is all.”

“Oy, no one’s shooting anyone!” insisted Faruuz.

“Great, glad we cleared that up,” said Jack.

Faruuz blinked at Jack.  “But… no… I…”

“Too late, we can’t shoot each other,” said Jack.  “Argument
over.”

Faruuz scowled.  “Stupid Earthman,” he grumbled, opting to
nurse his bandaged arm with only a modicum of self-pity.

Suddenly, Grohm stopped, standing tense and alert, gazing
out into the darkness.  Scallywag and Faruuz instinctively lifted their weapons
as the rest of the convoy halted and reacted the same way.

“What is it?” whispered Scallywag.  “Ya see something,
Grohm?”

“Regals,” Grohm snorted.

Major Ganix strode up to the front with Sergeant Rodham in
tow, torch in hand.  “With me,” he said, as he passed by Grohm.  Scallywag and
Faruuz followed, with Jack tepidly bringing up the rear.

As they moved forward, Jack could see some figures hunched
over by an outcropping of rocks.  There were two of them, sprawled out
awkwardly on the ground.  As they got closer, Sergeant Rodham’s torchlight
bathed the scene with illumination, showing the bloody remains of two Regal
soldiers.

“It’s Ferris and Hoyle,” said Rodham.  “What’s left of them,
anyway.”

“Blast it,” cursed Ganix.

Jack looked away from the bodies.  The sight of them made
his stomach queasy.  He’d seen plenty of dead bodies on TV shows and movies,
but seeing the real thing (not to mention smelling it) was something he didn’t
think he’d get used to anytime soon.

“This yer other scouting team?” Scallywag asked.

Ganix nodded.  “I guess I was holding out hope they may have
still been alive,” he said.

“You should learn not to hope,” replied Scallywag.

“Seems like they didn’t find much else besides zombies,”
commented Faruuz as he poked around the bodies.  “Don’t see any swag around
‘em.”

“Get away from them,” growled Rodham.

“He’s just checking for anything we can salvage—” said
Scallywag.

“Slag your salvage,” snapped Rodham.  “And slag you.  These
were good men.”

“These are dead men,” replied Scallywag.

“Care to join them, pirate?” Rodham sneered.

“Enough,” said Ganix sternly, shooting a hard look Rodham’s
way.  The Sergeant kept his mouth shut but continued to stare down Scallywag,
who didn’t seem willing to retreat from their silent eye-war either.

“Ain’t got nothin’ on ‘em worth taking anyway,” said
Faruuz.  “Don’t even have their weapons.”

“Why aren’t they rock?” asked Jack.

The group looked at him.  “What?” asked Ganix.

“The zombies, when they died they turned into rock,” said
Jack.  “So why are they still here?”

“’Cause they weren’t zombies,” replied Rodham.  “They died
like soldiers.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make any sense.  Why turn some dead
bodies into rock and not others?” asked Jack.

“We’ve found some animal carcasses and a few skeletons
around this hole,” muttered Scallywag.  “Maybe ya only get rocked if ya lose yer
soul first.”

“What’s it matter?” grumbled Faruuz.  “Dead is dead.  Who
cares if they’re rock or not?”

“Jack,” asked Ganix.  “Are we any closer to this exit of
yours?”

“About another mile I’d guess,” replied Jack.  “It’s hard to
tell.”

Ganix nodded.  “Sergeant, take point with the Earthman,” he
said.  “Scallywag, would you and your companion care to join me in the
rearguard?”

“Like yer giving us a choice?” replied Scallywag.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’ ” said Ganix.  “Let’s get
moving.  The sooner we’re out of here, the better for everyone.”

Scallywag gave Rodham the evil eye before following Ganix to
the back of the convoy.  Jack watched him go, wondering why Ganix suddenly
wanted to switch things up.  Maybe the Major thought he’d rather have his own
men close to Jack now that they were closing in on the exit?  It wouldn’t
surprise him if Ganix was worried Scallywag and Faruuz would try to leave them
behind in the Pit while they escaped, even though Jack was sure they wouldn’t
do something like that.  (Well, not Scallywag anyway.)

Grohm started walking, with Rodham falling in a few paces
behind and Jack close by.  Once the convoy was moving again, Jack looked up at
Rodham.

“Can I ask you a question, Sergeant?” asked Jack.

“What is it?” the large man replied.

“Why do you hate Scallywag so much?  I mean, he’s in the
same boat as all of us, you know.”

Rodham scowled.  “Be different if he were a Blue or a Yellow
maybe,” the Sergeant grumbled.  “But if there’s one thing you gotta learn, kid,
it’s that you can never trust a Red, even if it seems like they’re on your side;
they’ll just as quickly stab you in the back if you’re not careful.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jack.  “Blue or Yellow?”

Rodham raised an eyebrow.  “You mean to tell me your psychic
spaceship can show you a way out of here, but it can’t give you a basic lesson
on Visini?”

“Must have forgot to ask it,” muttered Jack, more than a
little annoyed at Rodham’s constant verbal jabs.

“Right,” said Rodham.  “All you ever need to know about a
Visini you can tell from the color of his skin.  Purples are supposed to be the
best of their race.  They’re their leaders, supposedly all smart, and honest,
and courageous, and whatnot.  Blues are the upper crust - trustworthy, noble, dependable. 
You can always trust a Blue to keep his word.  Yellows, they’re basically
followers, you know.  Do what they’re told, not that ambitious or smart for
that matter.  But Reds, well, they are the scum of the race… the thieves, the
murderers, the liars… any low-life character trait you can think of, the Red’s
usually got it.”

“I don’t understand,” said Jack.  “You mean just because
Scallywag was born with red skin, he’s instantly a bad person?”

Rodham laughed derisively.  “Visini aren’t born with their colors,
boy,” he said.  “They all come out as Yellows at first.  But their skin, it
changes based on the kinds of people they are.  If they’re good, they turn Blue
or Purple.  If they’re nothing special, they stay Yellow.  If they’re scum,
they turn Red.  That pirate friend of yours is crimson because somewhere along
the line, he chose to be a dirtbag.  His skin just reflects what’s on the
inside, and let me tell you – what’s in there ain’t no good.”

“He seems okay to me,” said Jack.

“That’s just because he needs us to survive,” replied
Rodham.  “The second he doesn’t, he won’t hesitate to blast you away if he
feels like it.”

“I don’t believe that,” said Jack.  “He tried to help Faruuz
escape from prison, and he saved my life during the zombie attack.  He didn’t
have to do any of that.”

“Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t,” said Rodham.  “With a Red,
you never know what his motivation is until you pull the knife out of your
back.”

“What if he’s trying to change?” asked Jack.  “What if he’s
trying to be a good guy?  Can Visini do that?”

“Change his color?” snorted Rodham.  “Could be.  Though I
learned a long time ago that Visini don’t tend to change their skin.  And if
they do, it’s very rare.”

“But possible?” asked Jack.

Rodham shrugged.  “Maybe,” he replied.  “But are you willing
to bet your life on that?”

Jack glanced behind him and caught a glimpse of Scallywag in
the rear with Faruuz, strutting along while keeping a watchful eye out in the
darkness.  From where Jack was, Scallywag looked even more devil-like in the
illumination of the torches than he ever had before, and it sent an uneasy
feeling down Jack’s spine.

“Didn’t think so,” said Rodham, reading the uncertainty on
Jack’s face.  “I don’t care what color they may be, the Visini are not to be
trusted.  My father died fighting the Visini in the Great Border War when their
empire decided it wanted to expand, despite all the treaties they had signed. 
And ever since the fall of Regalus Prime, the whole kitten race has been
chomping at the bit to make new incursions into Regal space, never mind that
millions of us were brutally slaughtered by the Deathlords.”

Rodham spat on the ground.  “Whole universe would be better
off without them, if you ask me,” he grunted.

I didn’t ask you
, thought Jack.  Something about
Rodham reminded Jack of all the jock-meatheads he had known in school.  But
then again he knew very little about all the alien races and what they meant to
each other.  For all Jack knew, Rodham could be exactly right about Scallywag
and his species.  But despite it all, being the lone survivor of his own
species made the idea of genocide rather tough for Jack to stomach at the
moment.

Jack picked up his pace and moved away from Rodham to walk
beside Grohm.  Maybe he wasn’t the most talkative alien Jack had ever met, but
after his conversation with the Sergeant, he was glad for any change of pace
the Rognok could offer.

“S’up, big guy?” asked Jack.

Grohm’s red-and-black eyes glanced down at Jack briefly,
before looking back out into the darkness.  At least Jack felt that glance
meant the massive alien knew he was there and wouldn’t accidentally step on him
or something.

“So how are things with you?  Can you see okay without a
torch?”

“Grohm see fine,” the Rognok replied.

“Cool,” said Jack.  “I wish I could see in the dark.”

Grohm snorted.

“So what’s your story?” Jack asked.  “Scallywag said you
were here before anyone.  How’d you get captured?”

Grohm didn’t answer.

“Hey, you don’t want to talk about it, that’s cool,” said
Jack.  “I got teleported aboard after getting shot by a Dark Soldier.  Then,
some jack-hole tossed me on a teleporter and sent me here.  He was a total jerk
about it, too.  Say, you don’t happen to know what ‘petulant’ means, do ya?”

Grohm grunted.

“Yeah, me neither,” replied Jack.  “I’m sure he meant it as
an insult, though.  It’s bad enough they gotta go and blow up my whole planet,
but then they gotta insult me to my face.”

“Deathlords blow up Grohm’s planet,” Grohm replied.

“Yeah, I heard,” said Jack.  “Sorry about that.  Did any of
your people survive?”

“Grohm not know,” said the Rognok.

“Well, I’m sure there are more of your people out there than
there are of mine,” said Jack.  “I think I’m the only person from Earth left. 
In fact, I’m sure of it.”

Saying that out loud made Jack feel sad.  Thoughts of his
mom and his friends popped into his head, along with the realization that they
were gone, and he wouldn’t get to see them again.

Grohm looked down at Jack and grimaced at his expression. 
“Weakness,” the large Rognok rumbled.

Jack looked up at Grohm and blinked.  “Huh?”

“Memories make Earthman weak,” said Grohm.  “Earthman must
be strong.  Strong survive.”

“I’m not weak,” said Jack.  “I’m just sad, is all.”

“Sadness is weakness,” replied Grohm.

“Just because I’m sad doesn’t mean I’m weak,” protested
Jack.  “It’s okay to be sad if something bad happens to you.  Sometimes you
need to be sad in order to be happy again.”

Grohm snorted.

“Do Rognok’s have feelings?” Jack asked.  “Do you ever feel
happy?  Or excited?”