HUMANITY: A Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Novel (12 page)

O
nce they were out danger
, Walter placed the starship on autopilot and retreated towards the passenger wing of the Zatyr.

Scraggs was sitting beside Tristyn with his arm extended behind her back. “C’mon, I know you saw how good I was back there. If it wasn’t for my disrupter, we would’ve never been able to save you, babe.”

Tristyn rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. You did well. But if it wasn’t for Mich, we would’ve never been able to get out of the cell.” She glanced across the table towards Mich and gave a warm smile.

Mich could feel the energy radiating between him and Tristyn, and he knew then why he left the miholo village and risked his life to save her. He didn’t quite understand the feelings he had, but he knew that something he hadn’t felt before was there.

Scraggs frowned and was about to speak until he noticed Walter walking in.

Walter pulled up a seat and sat down at the edge of the table with the other 4 crew members and stroked his white beard. “There’s a lot to talk about, but before we get into anything else, I need to ask you about what happened back at the cell.”

Mich smiled. “It’s something that I’m just beginning to learn. I’m not even good at it yet.”

“Yes, but I’ve only seen one other human who’s been able to channel their energy the way that you did back there. What you did was special, Mich.”

“It’s really nothing. It can be learned by–“

“Show ‘em,” Earl interrupted and pointed towards Mich’s back.

Mich nodded and reached under his linens to reveal the copper sword he had recovered. When he placed it on the table, Walter, Tristyn, and Scraggs all seemed stunned.

“Holy shit...” Scraggs said.

“Where’d you get this?” asked Tristyn as she reached out to touch the blade.

“He fought a fuckin’ Keeper is what he did,” Earl said with a toothy grin.

Everyone sat bright-eyed, but Mich held up his hands in protest and then began to clarify. “I never fought a Keeper. I was kidnapped by a Keeper and watched two of them fight. One of them tried to save me.”

“Tamor fucking Landry,” Earl added.

“When the kidnapper saw that he couldn’t win, he impaled me with this thing, and I fell over a waterfall. I’m lucky to be alive.”

Walter flicked his eyebrows. “Lucky is an understatement.”

“Mich said he’ll let us sell the sword. It’ll be enough for us to rearm the rebellion.”

“Really?” Tristyn straightened her back and beamed a huge smile. Scraggs and Earl gave each other high fives and excited grunts.

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with the sword yet,” Mich corrected, his tone unsure. “Maybe…” he gave a slight shrug. “Maybe I’ll keep it.”

The mood of the party went from overjoyed to disappointed in a split second, but no one spoke against Mich.

“Why did you save us, Mich?” Walter asked. “You’re not a part of the rebellion.”

“But I’m a human, and you’re my only human friends. Besides,” Mich shrugged, “before I woke up with this sword in my body, I had nothing. I still have nothing to lose. I lost everything the moment I stepped into that cryonics chamber.”

“You’ve got a skill that’s uncommon amongst humans. If you learn to master that skill and join the rebellion, you could be a great asset to our cause.”

Mich put a hand up and shook his head. “I’m not a solider. I want to become a better fighter, but I don’t want to go about fighting any space wars.”

“You think he could become a Keeper?” Earl snickered and rolled his eyes. “Forget about it! Let’s sell the sword and buy the rebellion weapons and armor.” All but Walter and Mich shook their head in agreement.

The head rebel let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. For a long moment, he paused before speaking again. “You should keep the sword, Mich. Outfitting the rebel soldiers would do us no good.”

“What are you talking about?” Earl snapped and creased his brow.

“It’s been so long… You three have no idea. Fighting the throne with an army was never the intention of the rebellion. Even if we outfitted everyone with up-to-date weapons and armor, we would still be no match for the Queen. We’re 100,000 strong on our best day. The Queen has pretty much the whole galaxy behind her.”

“So you’re saying that everything we’ve been doing up until now was for nothing?” Tristyn asked, a confused and hurt look on her face.

“No, not at all. You all remember Snake, don’t you?”

Earl nodded. “You founded the rebellion with him years ago, right?”

“Snake, Stryker and I all three founded the rebellion. We realized early on that there was no way we were going to make a difference through strength alone and decided that we would have to go through the route of diplomacy, infiltration, and sabotage.”

“But Snake and Stryker left the rebellion years ago,” Tristyn said.

“Stryker left, yes. He was the first human to learn how to tap into the unused portion of his mind, just like Mich here has learned to do. After he tasted a little power, he decided that continuing as a part of the rebellion was not in his best interests and left Rashada to follow his own path. But Snake never quit the rebellion.”

“What do you mean he never quit?” Scraggs asked. “He hasn’t been around for years. I don’t understand.”

“Snake is the silent leader of the rebellion and always has been. The rebel base, the rebel army… It was all built up as a distraction to draw the attention away from Snake and his activities. So long as the Galactic Council and the Queen had their eyes focused on me and whatever we were doing on Rashada, they paid no attention to the stray human’s travels and activities. They assumed he had defected just the same as you all thought. I’m sorry we mislead you. It was done solely for the good of humanity.”

Confusion was etched across the faces of the three rebel soldiers. “So where is Snake now?” Earl asked.

“It’s been a while since we spoke, but last time we made contact, he had just made his way back into our solar system.”

“
M
y Queen
,” Lena said with a slight bow as she entered the Queen’s personal chambers.

The room was filled with copper ornaments and large paintings of past queens adorned the wall. The Queen was laying silently on a massive, canopy-covered bed, and across the room was a wide, freestanding bathtub made of porcelain with copper etching.

Lena scurried over towards the tub and turned the water on, then added a variety of soaps and scents to the quickly rising liquid. She turned back around to the Queen. “Are you ready for your bath, your majesty?”

Queen Vashalla pushed herself up on the bed and then let out a deep sigh.

“Is there something wrong?” Lena asked.

The Queen stood and slowly pushed the edges of her royal gown off of her shoulders. “No, it’s quite alright, Lena. There’s just a lot on my plate today with the Council coming to the capital. I received some rather troubling news.”

Lena cleared her throat. “What is that, may I ask?” For a moment, she wondered if she was overstepping her bounds.

The Queen stared off into the eyes of a previous queen, who was painted and immortalized for her power, staring back at her with a disapproving glance, then slowly pulled the rest of her dress down until it fell into a hump on the floor. There she stood naked, with her perfect skin and body on display, and wondered if she was worthy of the huge responsibilities that had been bestowed on her. “The rebellion was flushed, but our targets managed to escape. A simple occupancy of a fragment planet turned out to be a failure.”

“Your target escaped?”

“I’m sure you know of Walter St. James. Somehow he managed to slip out of the containment cell before he could be brought to trial.” The Queen shook herself as if she was relieving herself from a trance. “But anyway… It’s not important. The Council will be disappointed that the leader has escaped and will be expecting answers. They’ll probably demand heavier occupation due to all the illegal weapons that were confiscated. It’s embarrassing nonetheless, as I acted without consulting the Council.”

“That certainly sounds like a complicated situation. Matters above my head.” Lena waved her hand towards the tub, inviting Queen Vashalla inside.

The Queen gave a half-hearted smile and strutted over to the bathtub before leaning over to test the water temperature with her hands. “Lena, this water is quite hot. You know that alor skin is far too sensitive for–”

The Queen voice was quickly muted as Lena’s strong hand reached around and covered her mouth. Lena pulled the Queen’s head back so that her ear was right up against her lips and she could see the blaster pistol that was pressed to the side of her temple out of her peripheral vision. “It’s quite hot alright. And things are going to get much, much hotter if you don’t do exactly as I say. Do you understand?”

The Queens eyes were wide with fear, and she nodded the best that she could between Lena’s tight grip.

“It would be a shame to kill such a beautiful thing,” Lena said and a long, thin tongue with two pointy tips slithered out of her mouth and against Queen Vashalla’s neck. The Queen flinched but held in her scream.

Lena lifted the hand holding her blaster pistol and pressed a finger against her own temple. “It’s ready,” she said to her hidden communication device.

Within seconds, another Lena opened the door and slid into the room, then walked up to Lena and the hostage. The two Lenas nodded to each other, and then the new Lena placed her hand on the Queen’s shoulder. Slowly the new Lena’s body started shifting and changing before their eyes. Within a few moments, she looked exactly like The Queen, stark naked and beautiful. The fake Queen blinked, and for a moment, Queen Vashalla saw a flash of crescent yellow eyes.

Shapeshifters
.

She had heard stories of Shapeshifters, but never in her galaxy–at least during her reign. So where did they come from and why were they there?

The fake Queen began dressing in the gown that was on the ground, and the real Queen was lead to her change of clothes that were hanging on the wall, forced to dress with a blaster pointed in her direction.

“You’re going to go exactly where I say, and this,” Lena hissed and shook her pistol slightly, “will be right behind you the entire time. Raise any sort of suspicion, and a single shot will end your reign as Queen.”

The Queen gulped and nodded, then walked with Lena out the door. The impostor Queen gave a sinister grin as she looked around her new chambers.

After several tense minutes, the Queen was lead to a basement room of the palace, and Lena pushed aside an old bookshelf to reveal a hidden chamber that Queen never knew existed. Inside was a large, poorly lit space with a metal cage to one side and a small, wooden table on the other. At the table was a man reading a parchment, his face hidden in the shadows, and inside of the cage was Lena–the Queen could only assume it was the real Lena–sitting quietly on the floor, disgrace etched across her face.

The imposter opened the door to the cage and then pushed the Queen inside. Lena immediately stood and bowed. “I’m sorry, my Queen,” she said solemnly.

“Queen Vashalla!” the man at the table cooed cheerfully with his gristly voice. “It’s a pleasure to finally be of your acquaintance.” The man scooted his chair forward and away from the table so that his face finally caught the light. A large scar formed an “X” on one of his cheeks, and he wore a single goggle over his left eye.

“Who are you?”

“Well…” The man hesitated and ran his hands through his slicked, black hair as if he had to consider the question. “It depends on who you ask, but most people call me Snake.” The man turned his attention to the imposter Lena who quickly shifted into a reptilian creature with green scaly skin, large yellow eyes, and no hair. “Did anyone notice you?”

“No one took notice, Snake…” the snaky voice hissed.

The Queen placed her hand on Lena’s shoulder. “What do you want from us?” she asked. “You’ll be sentenced to death once the Council finds what you’ve done.”

“Oh, I don’t want anything too complicated, and I’ll do my best do my best not to hurt you.” The man stood from his chair and walked slowly over to the cage, strength emanating from his tall, burly frame, the spurs of his boots creating a wicked rattling sound with each step. He leaned into the cage and gave a tooth-stained smile. “I want you to give us humans the freedom that we deserve.”

The Queen swallowed at his words. She wondered if she had made a mistake by ignoring Kyrle Yago’s warnings.

“
A
tlantos
?” Earl asked. “We’ve blown half our fuel to come here?! There’s a hundred moons we could’ve landed on that would’ve been more discreet and far less expensive.”

“Atlantos has a strong black market with wealthy enough dealers that Mich can sell his sword if he wants to, and there’s someone in particular here that I’d like for him to meet,” Walter said pointedly. “Go ahead and bring her into port.” Walter patted Scraggs, who was now sitting in the pilot’s seat, on the shoulder.

After landing the starship, the group set out on the small, water-world of Atlantos. The entire planet was covered with water, save for a single, sprawling, man-made city that appeared as an island when viewing it from space. Across the galaxy it was known for housing gamblers, shady dealers, and other wealthy individuals who had made their fortunes through less than honorable means.

As Mich stepped into the city, he noticed that it had an incredible clean and upscale feel. Expensive speeders passed by, and humanoids of all types wore fine linens and jewelry. A large, wretched looking creature with flabby stomach, orange skin, and spotted tentacles for hands and hair passed by, walking arm in arm with an attractive young woman. A foul stench filled the air.

“Ew, rothor,” Scraggs said as he pinched his nose.

“They say if you have enough cash you can buy anything in Atlantos,” Tristyn muttered coldly.

“You three, go find us a quiet place to stay, and keep a low profile. I’m going to head out with Mich and see if I can find what we came here for,” Walter said.

The three nodded and headed towards the city center while Mich followed Walter to cab that would take them to their destination. After several minutes of coasting between sparkling towers with beautiful fountains and pristine streets lined with lush vegetation that made even Nerria look drab, the cab stopped at a large, circular building that had tinted windows and single entrance which was watched over by two armored guards. The guards were large, roughly the same physical appearance of Tamor Landry, Mich thought, and muscles could be seen rippling through their expensive business suits.

As the two humans approached the door, one of the guards held his arm up to block them. “Let’s see what you got,” the guard ordered.

Walter pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and opened it to display a stack of credits. The guard seemed displeased with the amount that they would be bringing in, but it was enough for him to open the door anyway.

The pair stepped inside, and Mich was brought back to a familiar place. Throughout the room, women of all types were dancing nude or topless on various stages, some twirling on poles, while male patrons of various species sat in couches and lounge chairs that were speckled around them. Lights of blue and red hues flickered and discoed against the walls.

Mich followed Walter to a small table in a far corner, and as soon as the two sat down, dark-haired, busty human woman, wearing a maid’s uniform and carrying a tray approached and asked them for their drink order.

“Two shockers,” Walter chimed.

“What’s a shocker?” Mich asked.

“You’ll understand when you drink it. But it’s rather flavorsome and has a great aftertaste.”

Mich panned the room and studied the dancers. They were far more beautiful than the girls he remembered at similar places on Earth, and all but a few of them were human. “I thought most humans stayed on Rashada?”

Walter nodded. “Most humans have no choice, but if girl has good enough looks, she’ll sell herself off to a wealthy punter or go to work in an establishment such as this. It’s not the most desirable of jobs, but it sure beats living on Rashada and working in the factory or the mines.”

The waitress returned with their drinks and placed two tall glasses filled with a translucent, red liquid on their table. Walter pulled a few credits from his wallet and place them on the waitress’ tray, but she held out her hand and firmly said “Tip?” Walter pulled out a few more credits and placed them in her hand.

As the waitress started to pull away, Walter held firmly on the edge of the credits, keeping her standing in place. “I’m looking for someone…”

“Of course you are, sweetheart.” The waitress smiled and tilted her head in the direction of a human girl with scarlet dyed hair who was dancing furiously on a stage nearby. “Ask Jaynee. She’s popular.”

“Send her over.”

The waitress nodded and pulled her tip out of Walter’s fingertips before walking away. She stopped at Jaynee’s stage and whispered something before motioning towards the pair in the corner. Jaynee glanced to the two men, hopped off stage and covered her breasts with a bikini top that was dangling off the edge of a nearby stand.

Mich was mesmerized by the array of women, Jaynee in particular, as he lifted his drink and took a sip. He immediately got a taste of alcohol, and a shock of electricity jolted through his body, causing him to spit out a bit as he swallowed. A few dancers and patrons nearby threw Mich threatening glances, but soon went back about whatever they were doing.

“Quite the shocker isn’t it?” Walter laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

Mich reach for a napkin and started wiping the spilled liquid off his clothes when Jaynee suddenly appeared in front of him and immediately sat down in Mich’s lap. She pressed her back against Mich’s chest and gyrated her ass into his groin. She lifted her hand to his face and whispered with a needy voice in his ear, “You want a dance or do you want to have some fun? I haven’t had a human customer for a long, long time…”

He couldn’t help but feel aroused at the act. Jaynee had a beautiful, youthful face and a fit body. The smell of her vanilla lotion radiated off of her skin, and her touch was smooth as silk.

Walter leaned across the table. “We’re looking for someone. Stryker–Do you know him?”

Jaynee immediately stopped her erotic act and shifted to a more business demeanor. “What’s in it for me?”

“15 credits enough? We just need a location.”

“30 credits and I’ll escort you to him personally.”

“C’mon,” Walter moaned. “20 credits should be more than enough.”

“Alright…” Jaynee said and stood up from Mich’s lap. “You happen to be in luck. He’s just out back.”

Walter cursed under his breath. If he had known Stryker was there, he could’ve gotten the info for a one-fourth the cost if he had haggled a little harder.

The two men followed Jaynee to the back of the room, Mich trying to bring himself back down to a more rational state, and then through a door that was secured by another guard. The guard seemed to pay no attention to the two men behind the red-headed woman. Past the door was a large hall with various closed rooms on either side, and on multiple occasions Mich heard the moan of women and the growl of their customers through the walls. At the end of the hall was a neander woman who was conservatively dressed considering the type of establishment that they were in.

“Top floor. Take them to Stryker,” Jaynee directed.

The woman eyed Jaynee suspiciously, and then Jaynee turned and held out her hand towards Walter. Walter retrieved his wallet and gave Jaynee 20 credits, 10 of which were immediately handed off to the lady at the elevator.

The woman smiled and pressed the button beside the elevator before the dancer turned and headed back to the main room. Jaynee blew a kiss towards the men after she was a few steps away. “Tell Stryker to come see me sometime,” she cooed.

The two men and the attendant rode the elevator silently to the top floor, and when they arrived, the attendant stepped out first. There was large door partially opened a few meters away, and Mich could hear the sound of water splashing and women giggling inside.

The attendant pushed the door open further, and stepped inside. “You have guests, Stryker.”

Walter and Mich stepped inside just in time to see the half-confused and half-irritated look on Stryker’s face as he turned towards the door. He was sitting in below-ground spa with 3 nude ladies, 2 of them human and one of them a species that Mich didn’t recognize, having all the appearances of a human but a deep-pink hue to her skin and platinum white hair.

Stryker’s stubbly face lightened when he saw the pair. He had a handsome, defined face with a strong, straight jawline. “Well, if it isn’t Walter St. James…”

“Stryker,” Walter replied and nodded his head.

“I’d ask you how you made it up here, but they say you can buy anything on Atlantos if you have the right amount of cash.”

“Just gotta know who to ask,” Walter smiled.

When the attendant saw that there was no trouble between the three, she scuttled off back towards the elevator. Stryker waved a dismissive hand at the ladies in the spa, and they all 3 waded out of the water, making no effort to hide their naked bodies. They each picked up their towels and left for the elevator.

Stryker reached for a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he stood from the spa and approached the two men. His body was well-conditioned, and his legs, arms and torso was covered in array of dark tattoos.

He reached for a smaller towel on a stand nearby and began to dry off his short, brown hair. “What brings you here, Walter? Did you finally give up on that silly rebellion of yours?”

“The Queen flushed out the rebel base. Didn’t have much choice but to leave Rashada.”

Stryker laughed. “Oh, I see… So you came looking for a place to stay. If you need a few credits, I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t want any Nerrian soldiers knocking at my door.”

“No, that’s not why I’m here. I came to introduce you to someone.” He motioned his hand towards Mich.

Striker finished drying his hair and tossed the towel on the marble floor, then shook his hand in confusion. “And? You want to introduce him to me why?”

“He can channel his energy. First human I’ve seen to do it since you.”

“Oh, well that’s nice. Nice to meet you.” Stryker threw Mich an unconvincing smile. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“C’mon Stryker. You know how special that is. He needs someone who can guide him.”

“Guide me?” Mich questioned.

“Yes, guide him? He doesn’t even seem to know what you’re talking about himself. What is this?” Stryker held up his hand and brought them down in a comical manner. “Some sort of ploy for you to train one of your rebel soldiers into becoming a Keeper?”

“He’s not a member of the rebellion.”

“Then why do you care? What’s it mean to you?”

“He’s a human. Even if he’s not a member of the rebellion, having one more human that can compete at the level that you do would do well for our species.”

Stryker chuckled at the idea.

“You were once a member of the rebellion. Having humans get a fair shake was once just as important to you.”

Stryker sighed and put his hands on his hips. He eyed Mich from head to toe. “Alright, well let’s see what you can do.”

“What do you mean exactly?” Mich asked.

“Show me your shit is what I mean. I want to see how well you can tap into your energy.”

Mich looked nervously towards Walter and then back again towards Stryker. “Alright, give me a second.”

Mich closed his eyes and reeled himself deep into the usually dormant part of his brain. He pushed aside his thoughts, his worries, his emotions and gradually began to sculpt a beautiful color in front of his eyes. The flame burned brighter than it had before and came more quickly. It seemed he was more easily able to send the energy from that reality through his body and into his hands.

He opened his eyes, the blue haze still surrounding his hands, and gently lifted his arms for Stryker to view. Then he let go, and the energy swiftly faded back into his body. He looked to Stryker’s eyes, anticipating his reaction.

“That’s all?” Stryker asked, and then he began to laugh. “I’ll give it to you. You’ve seem able to do something that most humans will never be able to do, but you’re far from it being anywhere near useful. You should go home, practice, and maybe in a few years you’ll be ready to bring it to the next level.”

Walter gritted his teeth. “You were once a novice the same as he.”

“Yeah, but I was a fighter as well. Can he fight?” Stryker turned towards Mich. “Can you fight?”

“I can fight a bit, I suppose. I’m not a soldier though.”

“Alright, well show me your moves.” Stryker tightened the towel around his waist and put his arms up in a fighting position. “Come on.” He waved a hand to come at him.

“You don’t have any clothes,” Mich pointed out.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that. Just come at me.”

Mich looked towards Walter, and Walter just nodded in his direction. He took a step forward and took up an offensive stance.

Styker stood firm, waiting for an incoming attack. Mich rushed forward and threw a fist toward Striker, which he easily dodged and then threw a light jab into Mich’s abs. Mich grabbed his stomach and backed away.

“He’s got nothing,” Stryker said. “What were you thinking, Walter?”

“Look, I’m sure you’ve heard about the human from E-17. He’s standing right in front of you,” Walter pleaded. “He’s a special case. And look how far you’ve came. You didn’t even have a trainer.”

Stryker dipped his head and rubbed his fingers against his chin. “You’re from E-17, huh? Frozen for 70 years or something like that?”

Mich nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Mich Sandstone.”

“Mich Sandstone? You’re kidding me, right?”

Mich shook his head.

“My granddad told me stories about a guy named Mich Sandstone. Guy was his best friend back on E-17. Said he lost him right before
The Cleanse.”

Mich pulled out his cell phone and powered it on. “The closest friend I ever had was a guy named Benny.” He navigated towards his pictures and then turned the screen towards Stryker.

Stryker swallowed and grabbed the phone out of Mich’s hand. “Well, holy shit. I never saw a picture of granddad in his youth, but that sure as shit is him.”

“Benny is your grandfather?”

“Was my grandfather. Passed away about 8 years ago. Was one of the last remaining survivors rescued from E-17.”