Page 41 of Uncovered By the Alien Commander
“Yeah Tyrxie, it’s dangerous around here,” Kaanus remarks, still engrossed by his wrist console.
More dangerous than him?
Hyanxa tosses her head, sending red hair swaying with the motion. “Where the void are we going?” She asks rhetorically, with shifty eyes.
As we travel without direction, the disrepair of the buildings becomes obvious. Cracked walls and broken polymer windows,frame dirty streets littered with rubbish and debris. It’s not long before we attract curious glances from various haggard species watching as we pass. A few eyes dart towards me, accompanied by whispers and shocked expressions. But most look toward our cargo with naked greed plastered on their faces, instilling me with a sense of dread.
Displaying our goods with such boldness is a terrible mistake, like light circling around a black hole. “We’re supposed to meet with the Suns of Omega,” Kaanus answers absentmindedly, still glued to his wrist console, obvious to the escalating tension. “But void if I can get my bearings in this...” he trails off, lifting his gaze. “In this monotony,” he concludes with a sneer of disdain.
Amidst the kaleidoscope of graffiti adorning the crumbling walls, a symbol or logo almost obscured catches my attention. Squinting, I can just make out an image of Omega Flux Station surrounded by stylized suns inlaid with fierce faces. “Is that what you’re looking for?” I ask, gesturing towards the logo.
Kaanus frowns, though I cannot discern with precision where his milky white eyes are focused. After a moment, he laughs. “That’s it, that’s the one. Well, spotted, Tyrxie,” he praises with an eager smile, but it does little to dispel my growing unease.
“Come on, let’s get this trade done.” Hyanxa shifts her eyes over the street, mirroring my apprehension. “Then get the void out of here.”
The closer we draw towards the ominous Suns of Omega logo, the scrutiny intensifies. Curious onlookers peer at us from shadowy alleyways and the countless windows of decrepit buildings. I’m filled with a sense of nervousness which pricks the hairs on the back of my neck. A sticky heat and the lack of wind exacerbates my uncomfortable feeling in this tainted recycled air, causing a light sheen of sweat to cover me.
A sudden commotion behind jolts me to attention. “Get off, little znats!” Quad bellows, his voice laced with irritation. Atopthe hover platform, dozens of children of various species laugh as they pull and haul at the trade goods. Some wield broken white paved stone, attempting to smash open the wooden crates.
“Void’s sake! Get off, you little bastards,” Kaanus curses as he rushes to aid Quad, who has four of the squirming brats dangling from each hand that shout and kick, filling the air with chaos.
I rush over to help, grabbing the back of a small Argorian boy dressed in tatty old clothes, pulling him from the crates onto the ground. He yells before righting himself, then kicks me in the shin, causing me to exclaim, more in shock than pain. “Void you! You ugly alien bitch,” his cruel laughter rings out as he flees into the crowd.
Our group wrestles with the aggressive horde of youngsters, yanking them off the platform to the ground. Hyanxa and Kaanus do so with escalating hostility, slamming the youths onto the unforgiving white paved streets. Their victims limp off, clutching injured arms and legs. As I glance around at the growing thong of children, some are now throwing stones in our direction, forcing me to take refuge behind the goods. I fear we may never survive this place without escalating to more violence.
The danger is building; I need to escape.
Kaanus must have the same idea, as he brandishes his hefty plasma rifle, aiming it at the largest concentration of the youths. “Get the void back or I’ll voiding shot you all,” he demands, roaring. But still the chaos ensues as the children lack a leader, only driven by a gleeful greed and mindless menace.
Amidst the confusion, I notice I’m near a dark alleyway that beckons. My chance for escape has never been easier. As my heart pounds in my chest, sending adrenaline swooshing through my veins. I do it! I dash into the passageway, towards my impending freedom.
The cacophony of laughter and taunts fades into the background as I navigate the shadowy lane, relief washing over me as the darkness envelops me like a protective shroud. Until I see a group of males with fierce faces, wearing yellow clothes and brandishing menacing weapons, marching down the alleyway towards the beleaguered crew.
I’m always trapped!
I scan the area with frantic eyes, desperate for an escape. On my left, a door awaits, beckoning with salvation. With panicked breaths, inch by inch, I crawl on my hands and knees, feeling the filth and debris muddy my palms, but it’s worth it to remain hidden. But as my trembling fingers grasp the handle and attempt to wrench it open, a wave of despair washes over me. It’s locked, like my hopes of freedom, barred to me.
The approaching footsteps of the males grow louder, only being huddled within the narrow confines of the doorway, prevents them from noticing me, but in a few moments, that’ll change, and void knows what they’ll do to me. With trembling hands, I fumble for my hypodriver, shoving it into the slender gap beneath the frame and the door, working the tool back and forth.
A wave of dread washes over me, prickling my skin. It’s almost as if I can feel their breath on my neck now.Please, please, please.I plead wiggling my hypodriver with desperation, unsure if what I’m doing is having an effect. “Hey, you. Stop!” a gruff voice demands, spiraling my panic into full-blown terror. From the periphery of my vision, I see them running towards me with weapons raised.
Freedom brings death.
In a frantic bid for survival, I redouble my efforts, the urgency of escape lending strength to my trembling limbs. And then, with a suddenness that threatens to send me sprawling, the door gives way, swinging open to admit me into its sanctuary. With amad panic, I scramble into the dim interior, finding myself in a corridor decorated in rubbish and graffiti upon the same bland pale paved walls that blight this entire tier.
Doors numbered with faded etchings are littered throughout the corridor, all barred to me as I rush past them in a frenzied dash. “Come on, leave the female,” a voice echoes through the walls, giving me a faint trace of relief. But they might be lulling me into a false sense of security, so I press onward until a stone stairwell appears before me. With urgency, I leap up the steps two at a time, my muscles straining from the exertion.
I lose track of the number of floors I’ve ascended, but as my legs shake with effort and my lungs burn, urging me to stop. Noticing an open window in the corridor overlooking the street, the sound of the crew’s alteration is still playing out below. As I approach the opening, I know I shouldn’t care, I should just keep running and never look back, but still I can’t resist. The temptation is too strong.
Down in the street, Kaanus fires a warning shot from his formidable plasma rifle aimed upward. The sizzling blue bolt casts an ominous azure haze over the area that distorts the air before the weapon’s menacing muzzle aligns with a cluster of youths below. “If you don’t void off, the next one is all yours,” he roars, his blue tinted scales shimmering with rage.
“You would harm the Suns of Omega?” a solemn voice echoes off the paved buildings, as Kaanus and his crew cast glances attempting to find the source. Moments later, from amongst the alleyways, various aliens spill out, dressed in the same yellow armored outfits of the males that almost caught me earlier. They appear raggedy and ill-equipped, many with knives and bats, yet they leer with menacing fearless faces. “But I would expect nothing less from a dirty slaver,” the voice accuses.
Am I a slave?
A footstep followed by a dragging sound repeats and the Suns of Omega part with hushed whispers, revealing a hunched figure draped in a yellow hooded cape obscuring his identity. He shuffles forward, limping with the aid of his silver cane, his face shrouded in shadows.
“I’m no slaver!” Kaanus shouts back with defiance directed at the newcomer. “Where the void is Telik? It’s him I’m here to see.”