Forbidden sanctuary, p.8
Forbidden Sanctuary, page 8
part #2 of Star Lawyers Series
A raspy, high voice soon rang out in Terran Standard. “Well, well. The Matthews brothers.”
“Who are you?” Tyler said. “And what corporate cowards do you represent? My father—”
“I don’t give a fuck about your father, your fin-headed friends or your elephant freaks.”
“Let me guess,” Tyler said. “You want the Beta Site coordinates.”
“Exactly. Tell us, and you live.”
Tyler turned to J.B. “When will these jackasses realize that Dad doesn’t tell us shit?”
“Mr. Matthews, my crew killed over a hundred priests and pilgrims to get inside this temple. A few more bodies won’t matter much.”
When another flash of orange lightning strobe-lit the sanctuary, Tyler caught movement at the corner of his eye. Not pirates. A trio of priests appeared behind him the chamber. They led yet another Zyn-Vorkan captive through the shadows toward the extraction site. Did they come from the rear exit mentioned by Jazmir? If so, it was a hopeful sign that an unlocked escape route awaited. Tyler’s brain scrambled for a trick or diversion to allow his party to escape this chamber of death.
“Let me demonstrate how serious I am.” The pirate leader turned to his crew. “Seize those priests and the beast.”
“No!” Yajik shrieked in Terran.
The pirate leader sneered. “So, the freaks can speak.”
Four men pulled off the clear ponchos, slung the rifle blasters over their shoulders, and stalked the blue-hooded clergy and their captive. No resistance met, the pirates shoved the priests and the Zyn-Vorkan toward the kneeling crowd.
“Kill them, now,” the leader ordered.
When the pirates reached for their weapon slings, the priest on the far left flipped an unwebbed hand from the sleeve of the robe to reveal a high-impact blaster. The intended victim pistol-whipped the nearest pirate, breaking teeth, then gunned down all four. Full kinetic energy bursts tore through body armor at point-blank range.
Screams erupted from the Suryadivan hostages, who fled to the circular walls, desperate to escape the death zone. The pirate leader sputtered commands, but a headshot from the other sharpshooter dropped him in place. Red mist lingered above the corpse. The remaining pirates fired back, and their aim was true, but the blasts bounced off the priests like they wore invisible armor.
Before the screaming cutthroats adjusted their weapons to penetrate energy shielding, the Zyn-Vorkan beside their attackers morphed from a low, four-legged beast into a towering, long extinct carnosaur. For a moment, the pirates simply froze and stared up into the mouth of a full-grown Tyrannosaurus Rex. Sixty flesh-ripping teeth set in the most powerful jaws ever to evolve on planet Earth. Blue-green, leopard-like splotches mottled the reptile’s hide, and it smelled of coconuts.
The monster waded into their screaming midst, snatched and broke unlucky pirates with its jaws, tail-smacked would-be escapees, and smeared blood and body organs across the mosaic floor.
“Father, forgive me, for I’m about to sin.” Tyler dialed his blaster to full kinetic. He and J.B. dropped a handful of distracted pirates from the relative safety of the extraction island. Jazmir, Lox, Yajik, and the young Zyn-Vorkan huddled behind the biggest equipment available.
The third robed newcomer brandished a long, curved sword to engage three pirates armed with Suryadivan polearm blades. Yumiko! Steel clashed beneath crashing thunder. More blood wet the mosaics. Officer Matsuda rolled and bounced away from their thrusting three-pronged attacks, scoring a cut here, a slash there. When she ran one of them through the throat, between body armor and helmet, the others fled her deadly blade.
The remaining pirates attempted to retreat from the chamber. They fired wildly, hitting equipment in the extraction island and blasting holes in the lower surface of the dome. As they reached the door, the pirates concentrated fire on Lucy the T-Rex, who turned to swipe at their straggling comrades with her powerful tail.
Red-hot bolts of thermal energy tore through her chest and abdomen. She shrieked, stumbled, collapsed. Cheering pirates poured streaks of fire into her fallen body, which began to liquefy in the heat. Lucy melted into a puddle of gold that spread across the tiles like honey leaking from a smashed beehive.
Rosalie cried out, switched her blasters to full stun, and charged the pirates. Julieta joined her, and four weapons rained stun bolts on the mob who jammed the doorway in their frantic attempt to escape. Rosalie and Julieta hammered the pirates until none remained standing.
When Rosalie saw Lucy’s melted heart of gold, she fell into her cousin’s arms and wept. Julieta tried to comfort her, and then she shoved Rosalie away, pointing at the shimmering pool on the mosaic floor.
“Mira, Prima!”
Rosalie backed away a step. The shallow yellow puddle drew itself together, swelled into a blob, and morphed into a giant, feathered T-Rex again. Quetzalcoatl as the Phoenix, rising with a mouth full of knives.
“Lucy!” Rosalie shrieked. “The enemy is down. No more killing.”
The T-Rex snorted and stomped toward the bronze door where a wedge of semi-conscious, stun-blasted pirates blocked their own escape route. Lucy wheeled, raised her massive tail toward the jammed exit, and farted loudly over their moribund bodies. Loud, long, and noxious. Rotten coconuts fermented in elephant dung, with wet sputters.
Tyler groaned. “Damn, Lucy. That was nasty.”
The T-Rex hung her head like a scolded puppy and morphed into a blue-black jungle cat. Quick movement with deadly claws. She rubbed nose against Rosalie, who embraced Lucy’s head and covered the shape-shifter’s whiskered face with kisses.
Tyler approached his sister cautiously, considering Lucy’s recent spree of destruction. “How did you get here?”
Julieta answered for her. “Rosalie wanted a little stick time. We’re parked out back. Anyone hurt?”
“Jazmir’s brother,” J.B. said.
“Let me see,” Julieta said.
“Rosalie, you thought they murdered Lucy,” Tyler said. “Why did you convert your weapons to stun?”
She straightened her back, both weapons holstered at her hips. “Never kill for revenge.”
J.B. emerged from cover and embraced her. Yumiko approached, and Tyler swooped her off her feet with a hug.
“How do you feel about our profession now?” Julieta said.
“Better ask him.” J.B. nodded toward Yajik.
His large brown eyes filled with tears. “So much pain—I have brought death upon living souls…”
“You didn’t want this,” J.B. said. “Neither did we.”
“Dr. Solorio, how is Kedak?” Jazmir said.
Kneeling beside the patient, Julieta shook her head. “Not good. Lost a lot of blood. The wound perforated the lower quadrant of his secondary heart. He will not likely survive without immediate surgery.”
Jazmir’s head fin drooped. “Can we take my brother with us?”
Julieta shook her head. “Kedak won’t survive if we move him.”
“Jazmir, I’m sorry,” J.B. said. “But we have to go.”
“Wait!” Father Yajik and the smaller Zyn-Vorkan waddled across the blood-stained mosaics to Kedak. They whipped their double trunks toward the domed ceiling, then smeared drool on Kedak’s exposed flesh. The wound bubbled and instantly healed. Magically, Tyler thought. But it was the chemistry of those Zyn-Vorkan enzymes.
Kedak mumbled something to his brother, who nodded.
“We are leaving,” J.B. shouted in Suryadivan to the hostages huddling in the shadows. “Tell your superiors Terrans stopped the pirates from destroying more lives.”
“Good move,” Tyler said. “I need a minute. Guard the door!” Julieta and Rosalie moved closer to the body-jammed door, weapons raised against possible reinforcements. Tyler flew to the torture center and searched amid blast-riddled medical devices.
“We need to go!” J.B. implored. “What are you looking for?”
“Evidence,” he lied.
He found what he wanted, stacked in a deep metal drawer. Tyler grabbed a handful of plastic packets filled with processed elixir and stuffed them into the pockets of his robe. He checked the location of his team. Good. No one had a good sight angle to witness what he took.
“Evidence? It’s illegally obtained,” J.B. shouted. “Inadmissible.”
“Only you would cite the rules of search and seizure in a genocide factory.” Tyler waved at Rosalie. “Where’s the Sioux City?”
“Moored at the closest docking pylon behind the temple,” Rosalie said. “Follow me.” She started briskly toward the far side of the sanctuary.
“What docking pylon?” J.B. said.
“Under the lake,” Julieta said. “It’s the only ship down here, but we’d better not dawdle.”
They entered an underwater airlock and boarded a clear-topped capsule for the ride to the Sioux City, which waited on the murky lake bottom at the far end of the shuttle track. Only the occasional dull pulse of neon lightning penetrated the gloom.
Tyler grimaced. “Fucking water-breathers.”
Rosalie shook her head. “Ty, you seriously need some diversity training.”
He spied Jazmir. “Sorry, man. You’re my favorite amphibian.”
The Suryadivan smiled. “Friends may grumble. And technically, I’m a marsupial with gills.”
“What did Kedak say to you?” Tyler said.
“He asked me to thank you, especially Father Yajik.”
“Think we’ve won an ally?” Tyler said.
Jazmir shook his finned head. “Just a grateful enemy.”
Tyler spoke to Father Yajik. “Can your bioenergetic form enter another computer system to regenerate?”
“Yes, yes. Any system with capacity for Artificial Intelligence.”
“Good,” Tyler said. “Now, about the lawsuit we’re arguing—I need you to accompany us to Suryadivan Prime. You are the perfect witness against the Pontiffs.”
“Yes!” Jazmir cried. “Show the homeworld who the real beasts are, starting with my father.”
“I cannot go. I have responsibilities here.”
“How about the young Zyn-Vorkan?” Tyler said.
“No,” Yajik said. “He is my son.”
“You risked entering the temple.” Tyler said. “Why not get him away from Adao-2, permanently?”
“This world has been our home for millennia,” Yajik said. “Please drop us in the forest near an access spike.”
“Father Yajik—”
“Tyler, whether a revolution or legal battle, this work is not mine to do. One cannot follow the ripples to every shore they touch.”
“Sometimes, I wonder if I’m qualified to surf ripples this big.”
“Universal Mind has brought you to this moment in space-time. Surely, you will find a way to set the people free.”
“I told you, Father. I’m not Moses.”
Yajik patted Tyler’s blond head with a wrinkled trunk. “Neither was Moses, until he became Moses.”
A few minutes later, they docked the shuttle capsule with the submerged Sioux City and scrambled aboard. Tyler and J.B. climbed to the flight deck and prepared for immediate departure.
“Ty, those pirates got here by starship,” J.B. said.
“Yeah, I know. Waiting over the neon rainbow.” Tyler punched up life support and put artificial gravity on standby. “Bounce in the woods, drop the Zyn-Vorkans, and get the fuck out of here.”
“Powering the thrusters,” J.B. said. “Pre-heating the FTL matrix for a quick jump. How long?”
“Sioux City takes twelve minutes from a cold start.” Tyler took the command seat and switched flight controls to his station.
“Any residual heat left?”
“We got water-cooled by the lake. I’m reading engine core at 482 C. We need 1,200-plus.”
J.B. tapped the last power-up sequence. “Ready for prefight checklist?”
“Screw the checklist—let’s go, one-fourth thrusters.” Tyler felt the sublight engines awaken through the vibrations in his command seat.
The scout ship rose from the depths like Ahab’s whale, but when the Sioux City broke surface, she continued rising, dripping lake water as she climbed. Neon lightning and heavy rain made visuals impossible, but the nav computer locked onto a meadow on the backside of the mountain, and in less than a minute they touched down long enough for Yajik and his son to shuffle ashore. Neon lightening flashed wildly as Tyler followed the Zyn-Vorkan into the downpour. When they were alone in the rain, he stepped close to the elephantine spiritual master.
“Forgive me, Father Yajik, for I have sinned.” He offered the plastic packets. “I stole some of the elixir.”
Yajik’s voice sounded inquisitive, not disapproving. “Why did you do this, beloved?”
“A moment of selfishness. My Aunt is dying back on Terra, but a cure produced by torture would be wrong.”
Yajik gently shoved Tyler’s hand away with a trunk. “Please keep it. Save her if you can.”
Tyler was incredulous. “Are you sure? So many of your people have suffered.”
“It will dignify the suffering of my people to know their sacrifice was not wasted.”
“Father, you are a healing spirit. Bless you and all the Zyn-Vorkans.”
“Fight the good fight, dear Tyler. Spirit will accompany you. Now hurry before your ship is detected.” He patted Tyler’s wet head. “Or you drown in this storm.”
Julieta raised the platform hatch and Tyler accepted a fluffy towel from Rosalie. He dried his face, returned the towel to his sister, and asked everyone to secure for deep space. Tyler climbed into the command chair, wet as an otter from a whitewater creek.
J.B. set inertial dampeners to compensate for acceleration to escape velocity, and they broke through sheets of flashing, yellow-orange clouds into the orange sunshine of Adao’s eternal star. As the Sioux City rose to low orbit, the Matthews brothers simultaneously spotted trouble on her tactical scanners. Five pirate ships deployed around the equator.
Seven
“Where is Suzie when I need her?” Tyler flew westward into the shadow side of the planet. He knew the hunters had them on instruments, but darkness conferred a slight advantage to a ship deploying countermeasures. When pirate sensors went momentarily haywire, the bad guys couldn’t find the Sioux City with enhanced optics alone.
“Four minutes to FTL,” J.B. reported.
“Drop ECM probes, erratic trajectories,” Tyler said. “Activate at random distances.”
“ECM probes launched,” J.B. said.
“How did these assholes get an attack squadron inside the Adaon system?” Tyler said. “This is supposed to be a sacred planet. And where is the fearsome Suryadivan Navy?”
“All good questions,” J.B. said.
Tyler tapped in a new course, straight for the north pole. “Okay, they bought the diversion. Let’s vacate the system.”
“Uh-oh,” J.B. said. “Here they come again.”
Tyler gaped at the readout. “How did they find us, with a million ambient starship signatures bouncing off every speck of dust?”
“They’re locked onto us.” Rosalie entered the flight deck and took the jump seat behind the command station. “Yumiko thinks you’re carrying a tracking device.”
“Mom put a beacon in the rear stabilizer, but I deactivated it,” Tyler said.
Julieta folded down the other seat and sat beside Rosalie. “What have you got on your body?”
“Nothing traceable,” Tyler said. “C’mon, c’mon—evasive maneuvers, J.B.”
“I’m dodging and rolling.” J.B. put the Sioux City through a sequence of random turns and altitude shifts. The pirates followed, rapidly closing to weapons range.
“This is bad,” Tyler said.
J.B. checked the readout. “Three minutes to FTL.”
“We don’t have three minutes!” Tyler said.
“They tracked you on the surface, but not us,” Rosalie said. “They couldn’t find this ship on the ground, but they found you.”
“They found J.B.,” Tyler said. “I was asleep behind a tree.”
“What do you have, Bear?” Rosalie said.
“Nothing. All I wear is my work clothes and… Dear God.”
“What?” Tyler demanded.
J.B. yanked the locket from his neck, breaking the chain. “Check this.”
“No time, sorry.” Rosalie snatched the gold heart, carried it to a bare metal spot on the floor next to a life support monitor, and smashed it repeatedly a heel.
“Yes!—they’re passing by. Must have locked onto a bogus signal.” Tyler resumed course to the planetary north pole.
“Look at this.” Julieta pried open the squashed locket with a tool from the command deck emergency kit. “Micro-transmitter. Broadcast range up to a thousand kilometers.” She handed it to Rosalie, who turned the crushed locket over in her hand.
“How do you know what it is?” J.B. demanded.
“We use them in our work,” Rosalie said.
Julieta touched his shoulder. “Sweetie, where did you get this heart?”
“I…it’s complicated,” J.B. said.
“Adelaide LeBlanc,” Rosalie said. “Lucky Star, not Kichirou?”
J.B.’s voice was just above a whisper. “The LeBlanc family coat-of-arms has a gold star.”
Julieta patted his arm. “The bitch played you, Barry.”
“I can’t believe it.” J.B. said. “What does she gain by killing us? She works for the Family!”
Julieta shrugged. “Maybe the Pontiffs made her a better offer.”
Tyler wanted to say something comforting to his brother, but clichés and false hopes wouldn’t help. Better stick to the business at hand. Let him process the hurt with dignity. Brother-to-brother talk another time.
Lox Aspi requested a place to rest, so Tyler locked him in one of the four cabins. He could do little damage if wandering free, but Tyler wanted to remind the witness he was under custody before questioning him later. Jazmir settled into the galley and experimented with the food dispensers.
Tyler returned to the flight deck to make a shipwide announcement: “Attention please. After we clear the Adaon system. I want everybody into the decon shower. Ladies first.”
