Deceptive Stars, page 14
“Do you think you can get away free after what you did?” Tara asked. “Those species that you attacked will always come for you.”
Celeste frowned and turned to Tara, who got the message and kept quiet.
Eric waved his hands. “Which is why we are having this meeting here. I want a deal that gives me safe passage back to Titan 43. For me and my crew.”
“And then what?” Celeste asked.
Eric could not be that foolish. Even if he got back safely to Titan 43, he would never be safe from those he had hurt. In fact, his return to Titan 43 would only put a target on the human colony.
“Oh, you are smart,” Eric snickered. “After I return to Titan 43, I want my mother and I to take another vessel with our crew and leave the colony forever. No one is to follow us. We will leave you alone then. I am sure that would satisfy you. No one would then come to attack Titan 43.”
Tara shuffled her feet. Eric’s arrogance was astonishing in setting the terms of his deal. Who did he think he was?
“If this is a deal, what do I get in return?” Celeste asked.
“Your father and the Titan Caspian,” Eric said, calmly. “I am sure that is more than sufficient for you.”
“I can’t broker a deal without talking to the Titan Council,” Celeste stated.
“Of course,” Eric said. “I did not expect any less from you. Like father, like daughter.”
Celeste ignored his snide remark.
“You must talk not only to the Titan Council, but to the Imperium Alliance,” Eric added. “Even if the Titan Council agrees to the terms of my deal, there is nothing to stop an alien vessel from destroying us on the way back to Titan 43.”
“I can’t promise such things for you,” Celeste countered. “I have no voice in the Imperium Alliance. The Zoktum are in charge.”
“Weren’t you just present at their inaugural meeting?” Eric asked.
It confirmed Celeste’s suspicions. Eric had supporters in that auditorium. Why would other species come to his support remained a mystery. Yet, it hinted at the fact that Eric and Skyles had been able to gather other species in alignment to their galactic view. The Wekon species they had encountered in the Zandrax colony may have only been the tip of their alliances with other species.
Tara shot back. “How do you know that?”
“I don’t need to tell you anything,” Eric scowled.
“Is my father in the vessel?” Celeste asked.
“Do you think I am that foolish?” Eric glared.
Tara crossed her arms. “We never know. Humans are known to do many foolish things.”
“You seemed to have spent too much time around the wrong humans,” Eric said.
The anger between Tara and Eric was getting no one anywhere.
“I will let you know …,” Celeste’s voice trailed off.
Eric grabbed his throat and collapsed to the ground.
THIRTY-FOUR
Celeste dove to the ground, as weapons fire erupted around them. She felt herself being dragged away. Celeste glanced around, only to find Tara pulling her back under the shelter of the Titan Chronos.
“Take cover!” Tara yelled.
Eric’s dead body lay in a large growing pool of blood. Celeste sighed. That was the end of any deal. Someone must have detected the Titan Caspian on the surface. The vessel began to lift off the ground, leaving behind its dead Captain. Celeste got onto her feet and bolted back into the Titan Chronos with Tara beside her.
“What the heck happened just now?” Tara asked.
“Someone found them,” Celeste sighed. “And Eric paid for it with his life.”
“He was a fool to think he could get a deal.”
Tara’s resentment had not diminished. Even at Eric’s death. Celeste didn’t know how she was going to explain this new development to Commander Santiago. She pushed that thought aside. Finding her father was the priority now. If he wasn't on the Titan Caspian, he was being held somewhere else on the planet.
Celeste rushed into the cockpit. “Follow the Titan Caspian. I believe they will take us to where my father is being held.”
Phog turned to her. “You mean your father isn’t in that vessel?”
Tara came and sat down. “Not according to Eric.”
Red sirens wailed on the console, as a shudder rolled through the Titan Chronos. The vessel lifted off and began traveling along the surface.
“Who is shooting at us?” Celeste asked.
“Unable to identify them, but there are two of them along the upper atmosphere,” Phog replied, as the Titan Chronos accelerated.
Celeste felt her body slam against the chair, as the vessel lurched forward.
“Why did they hide your father away from the meeting point?” Asta asked.
“No one can understand the mind of Eric,” Tara said. “And now no one will.”
Commander Skyles was going to be furious once she got news of her son’s death. However, it was her fault in the first place to use her son in this madness. Nevertheless, Skyles would never see it from that perspective. Instead, she would blame Celeste and the rest. Even when Eric’s death had nothing to do with them. Eric had requested for the meeting, and it had cost his life. The galaxy was a dangerous place. If Skyles and Eric had wanted to play in the galaxy, they had to live by its rules and accept the consequences.
“How far ahead is the Titan Caspian?” Celeste asked.
“Sensors are still tracking them,” Phog replied. “But one of those vessels is now targeting all their weapons and firing at them.”
“Can we fire back?” Tara asked.
“I would need to get to the upper atmosphere,” Phog said.
“Stay behind the Titan Caspian,” Celeste said.
Celeste wasn’t going to lose her chance of finding her father. She was so close. Eric had made the stupid decision of moving her father to a separate location. Chalk it up to being paranoid. It didn’t matter. She was going to take advantage of his stupidity. Hope had begun to seep into her very being. At this point, she couldn’t let the hope go. Although hope was a dangerous commodity to have in her present state, she couldn’t help it. She tried to dismiss it. Focus on the immediate task at hand. Find a way to get away from the vessels attacking them. If the vessels tracked them down, it would put her father and everyone at risk.
“I don’t believe it, but the Titan Caspian is heading up to the atmosphere,” Phog reported.
“What does that mean?” Celeste asked.
“I think they are abandoning your father on this planet,” Phog sighed.
Celeste gasped.
“Where is the second enemy vessel?” Tara asked.
“It is still trying to target us,” Phog said. “I managed to dodge their enemy fire. The Titan Caspian is now engaged with the first enemy vessel.”
“Are your sensors able to find any human life signs along the path the Titan Caspian had been on before heading into the upper atmosphere?” Celeste asked.
One chance remained. She clung to hope as if it was her only oxygen left. Nothing could stop her heart from pounding.
Phog snapped his fingers. “Celeste, you were right. I got a lock on a human life sign. It is faint but it should be your father. Heading in that direction.”
Tara leaned over at the console. “The second enemy vessel has disappeared.”
“They are going after my father,” Celeste said. “We must beat them to it.”
Hope jumped off a cliff as Celeste grappled with the reality that the enemy vessel also wanted to capture her father. Why would the vessel want her father? He was of no significance. Everyone was after the Titan Caspian. Nothing made sense. Fear began to grip her heart. Unless the enemy belonged to someone who wanted revenge against humanity. The Zoktum species.
THIRTY-FIVE
“We are approaching the position now,” Phog announced.
The viewscreen changed to that of a series of mountains. At the foot of the mountains stood many caves.
Tara pointed ahead. “He must be inside one of those caves.”
As the Titan Chronos was about to land, red sirens danced across the console.
“Incoming missile,” Phog hollered, as the Titan Chronos banked to the right. “I can’t land the vessel.”
“Open the hatch door,” Celeste said, as she got to her feet and raced down the corridor.
Tara was beside her. “Don’t tell me you are going to jump?”
Celeste’s heart kicked up a notch. “Is there a better way? My father is down there somewhere. I need to find him. Don’t try to stop me.”
Tara shrugged. “Who said anything about stopping you? I am coming with you.”
Celeste cast a wide grin as the hatch door opened. The Titan Chronos was several feet from the surface and swaying to the left and the right trying to dodge the weapons fire. Celeste put her hand against the wall to steady herself. “Here we go.”
She didn’t think twice, as she jumped through the hatch door. To her relief, she landed on her feet. She pulled out her weapon and flicked her eyes about. The enemy vessel belonging to the Zoktum species was close by.
“What are we waiting for?” Tara hollered.
Celeste sprinted forward to the nearest cave, as enemy fire hunted them down. At the same time, the Titan Chronos lifted away and put some distance between itself and the caves. Reaching the nearest cave, Celeste dove forward as the relentless weapons fire continued to pursue her.
“That vessel really doesn’t want us to get to your father,” Tara lamented.
Celeste got up, straightened her clothes, and peeked outside of the cave entrance. “Where is the vessel? I don’t hear it.”
“Neither do I.”
“I see it. It has landed further to our right. We need to move.”
Celeste raced out of the cave with her weapon trained in front of her. She wasn’t going to let this chance get away from her. She was so close to her father.
“Is that your father?” Tara asked.
A group of four individuals had just stepped out of one of the caves nearer to the enemy vessel. One Zoktum was leading the way, while two others were taking the rear. In between them was her father. Whoever had been keeping her father in the cave must be dead. The Zoktum had only come for her father. As Celeste willed herself to run faster, she aimed her weapon at the armed Zoktum in the front and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, her weapons fire went wide, alerting the group. The entire group ducked behind a rock formation. Celeste groaned, as she tried to get a lock on the three Zoktum guards. “I can’t get a clear visual of them.”
“Watch out! The vessel is firing at us.”
The turrets on the Zoktum vessel turned in their direction and began unleashing streaks of plasma fire. Celeste slammed her body behind a boulder, as it took the brunt of the weapons fire. Dust began to swirl around her, as the plasma fire hit the boulder and the ground around her.
“We are trapped here,” Tara shouted.
Celeste tried to poke her head around the boulder, but she pulled herself back as more plasma fire roared past her. This wasn’t happening. Not again. Her father was so close, but she couldn’t get to him. Just like what had happened in the Zoktum colony. Then, the weapons fire came to an abrupt halt.
“The group has disappeared,” Tara hollered.
Celeste peeked around the boulder and sprinted forward. The hatch door in the Zoktum vessel was closing. Her father had been taken inside the vessel. She had lost the opportunity to rescue him. Again. Tara scurried up beside her and began firing at the Zoktum vessel, but to no avail. The Zoktum vessel ignored their weapons fire, lifted off, and left the vicinity. Celeste kicked the dust on the ground with her boots.
“Celeste, I am sorry …,” Tara’s voice trailed off.
Celeste cut her off. “Phog, can you pick us up quickly?”
“Affirmative,” Phog replied.
An hour later, Celeste sat alone in the compartment in the Titan Chronos. By the time the Titan Chronos had picked them up at the caves, the Zoktum vessels had disappeared. Phog had done his best to get into orbit as quickly as possible and used the long-range sensors to search for the vessels. However, it was too late. The sensors picked up nothing. The Zoktum vessels must have slipped into hyperspace. There was one stark reality Celeste had to face. Her father was now a prisoner of the Zoktum species. Being abducted by Skyles’ group had been one thing. Celeste was able to deal with it because she felt Skyles’ group wouldn’t harm her father. But being a prisoner of the Zoktum was on a completely different level. The Zoktum were ruthless. She didn’t want to imagine what Ruhem had planned for her father. The Titan Chronos was now on the way back to Titan 43 as there were no other leads to follow. The Titan Caspian had also disappeared and would probably find a new planet and lay low for a while. Other than Eric’s death, the entire meeting with the Titan Caspian had amounted to a colossal failure. A buzz on the console yanked Celeste out of her thoughts. A comms from Commander Santiago. Celeste gritted her teeth. She wasn’t in the mood to talk with him. Despite that, she pressed on the console.
“Celeste,” Commander Santiago said.
“Yes, Commander.”
“I got your report on what transpired on Jofaxit. It is unfortunate that Eric was killed. Are we certain it was the Zoktum species?”
“Yes. When they took my father, we observed several Zoktum guards surrounding him.”
“I am very sorry to hear that.”
Celeste frowned. “Did you get a chance to talk to Commander Skyles again?”
Commander Santiago offered a single nod. “All I can say is that it went badly in every possible way. Skyles was upset when I told her what had happened to her son. She went into a fit of rage. I had to get two of our guards to hold her down.”
It had to be expected. A mother had lost her only son. Celeste couldn’t imagine the rage swirling inside of Skyles.
“Skyles accused you of not protecting her son,” Commander Santiago said.
Celeste’s eyes widened. “We weren’t there to protect him. He asked us to meet him.”
“I agree. I did not elaborate on the deal that Eric demanded of us. There was no point talking about Eric after Skyles acted out her fury. From what I observed, she will always blame all of us for her son’s death.”
“It was her own scheming that got him killed. That is no one else’s fault except hers.”
“She will never see it from that perspective. Her trial has also been postponed indefinitely considering the latest events. We will keep her under constant watch in case she tries to harm herself.”
“What about her supporters?”
“They are still present outside of the Titan Council building. In fact, they are slowly growing in numbers. Most of our meetings are now held virtually, as it is deemed a bit dangerous for the Titan Council members to be physically present at the building. A few of them have begun receiving death threats. Coming back to Commander Tyron, what do the Zoktum want with him?”
“I don’t know. This isn’t only about revenge. Ruhem, the new Zoktum leader, is cunning and insidious. I am sure we will hear from him soon. They didn’t take my father for no reason. There must be a plan.”
“What are your next steps?”
“We are heading back to Titan 43. With the Titan Caspian gone, it will be difficult to track it down. I also believe Commander Skyles will no longer be cooperative with us. The death of her son has pushed her to the edge. She will be even more unstable.”
“I will make the necessary security arrangements pending your arrival. Word will get out soon that you are returning, and I suspect Skyles’ supporters will want to retaliate against you. Santiago out.”
Celeste suppressed a sigh, as the screen went blank. Of all things, now she would have to deal with the politics in Titan 43. It was the last thing she wanted to face at this moment. Nevertheless, she still couldn’t stop thinking how close she had been to rescuing her father. She had seen him with her very eyes. If she had run a bit faster maybe she could have saved him. If her initial shot hadn’t gone wide, maybe things would have turned out differently. Running through the possibilities her head began to ache. No point reflecting on her mistakes. What was done was done. Her father was a Zoktum prisoner, and she needed to face up to it. Despite how badly things had turned out in Jofaxit, her father seemed to be in good health. Eric and his crew had not ill-treated her father. However, she wouldn’t be able to say the same of the Zoktum species. Eric had needed her father to fix some things in the Titan Caspian. The Zoktum had no such needs. Their reasoning for holding her father was revenge. Pure and simple.
