Authors: Dodie Townsend
“Put that blaster away, Elias Abrams. I mean you no harm!” said a whispery voice.
“You’ll have to forgive me if I tend to think otherwise,” Elias returned quietly. His fingers caressed the trigger of the hand-blaster.
“After all, you did steal an MBryO shuttle craft and escape Terra with four cloned teenagers. There’s a bounty on your head Capitana Melara Sivanza…dead or alive! Terran drone ships are scouring the galaxy for you as we speak.”
“Yes,” Melara nodded, flipping the light switch on the wall. Elias blinked his eyes to adjust to the unexpected glare. “That is all too true. And, I am sure there will come a time when we will have to deal with all that!”
“But right now, we need to talk about how we are going to free the ‘Old One’. We both know that Maxim Bryant is a diabolical monster. Make no mistake, my friend! He has no intention of ending the MBryO project…until one of his experiments kills her.”
Speechless at the beauty of the universe spread out below, Pax Vitar watched as the multitudes of brightly colored galaxies streamed past the space-hoppers aft window. Swallowing hard, he choked back both the fear and exultation rising simultaneously in the back of his throat. He had finally gotten his wish to leave his Nyla 6.
They had been traveling at light speed for the better part of two days. The form-fitting recliner had molded itself around his large frame the instant he sat down in it. The seat reminded him of the medi-beds back at the bunker. Rib-like fingers with suction cups on the ends embraced him from inside the leather seats and attached to various pulse points at his temples, chest and thighs.
The wires were attached to small monitors embedded in the walls beside the seats. If the bleeps and lines on the monitors were anything to go by, his system seemed to be adapting to the pressurized cabin very well.
Except, maybe, for the rapid acceleration of his pulse and his purple fingertips clinching the arms of his seat! He forced his breathing to slow, watching the beep-beep of his pulse line slow as well. Then he mentally pried his fingers from the arms of the recliner.
Had it only been a few short weeks since he had watched the Terran spaceship streak across the heavens and crash land on Nyla 6? It seemed far longer than that.
He looked around at the faces of the other occupants of the ship, gauging the intensity in their solemn expressions. Elias had his reasons for selecting which of them would accompany him on the rescue mission and which ones were to remain behind.
Joshua and William sat across the aisle from him. They, too, were hooked up to monitors identical to his. A glance at the quiet blips on the machines assured him that, unlike him, neither of the young men appeared to be excited or upset at the moment.
If things went wrong, the psy-talented youngsters would find themselves back in the hands of an evil tyrant.
It had been decided that those left behind were the most vulnerable to Maxim Bryant’s sadistic plans. He could not be allowed to get his hands on them again.
Sasha, Ian, Dogg and Gayla had remained behind at the bunker under the watchful eye of Calista. Just as Dogg was never far away from Gayla, the empathetic feline was never far away from Sasha.
The one they called the ‘Old One’ had supplied the DNA for their creation. But by all accounts she was very weak. Another of Maxim’s so-called ‘extraction processes’ could end her life. Then, he would turn to his greatest cloned success this far, to continue his evil work.
And that was the incredibly beautiful Sasha. Pax knew they must avoid that at all costs!
The others would have value to him of course. Gayla was an earlier model. She was like Sasha in every way except for her doll-like size, therefore she was flawed. If the ‘Old One’ died, and he could not get his hands on Sasha, then Gayla would obviously become Maxim’s next victim.
Elias had decided that Dogg would be more hindrance than help on the rescue mission. Pax knew that Dogg would defend both girls with is life if need be. But the mutant’s immense size and canine looks would attract a lot of unwanted attention.
Ian was hardly more than a child, simply too young to accompany the group. But Pax was betting on the super-intelligent youngster to come through for them if, Zander-forbid, their plan went awry. Under Ian’s supervision, all of the bunker’s robots were in excellent shape. Pax couldn’t remember the bunker ever running so well.
Melara’s bright red curls caught his attention up ahead in the cockpit. She was occupying the co-pilot’s seat of Elias Abram’s stolen space-hopper. She appeared quite confident and capable as she adjusted the switches and dials on the console in front of her.
Pax had mixed emotions about the camaraderie that had sprung up between Melara and Elias. The duo had spent the last week planning the raid on MBryO; their heads close together as they studied the star maps and the blueprints of the building. The sight had caused him more than one pang of jealousy.
Their relationship seemed to be all business, but Pax couldn’t be sure.
As a non-psy-talent, Melara’s mind was an open book and Pax had no trouble reading it. Pure respect for the capabilities of the older man was all he could detect in her emotions. He wished he could determine how she felt about him. He knew she found him curious, an anomaly, having lived alone on Nyla 6 for so long. But, he couldn’t discern if she found him suitable as a male counterpart.
His gaze switched to the graying head of the man in the seat next to Melara. Elias’ thoughts were securely barred. Pax had tried several times to
feel
out the man, but every probe he had sent out had met with a steel wall.
His forced his dark eyes to focus on the star-studded panorama through the cockpit window. Planet bound all of his life, he found the sight truly amazing!
“Relax, Pax Vitar!” the tenor quality of William’s voice whispered through his head. “You need not worry about Melara. She hides it well, but she still remembers the position that Elias held at MBryO.”
“He was her superior,” Joshua reminded them. “While she was there, she was obligated to follow his directives without question. But no longer! She is as wary of him as the rest of us.”
“I do not trust him,” Pax growled. “He could be leading us all into a trap!”
“There is always that possibility,” William agreed. “But he is our best chance of getting inside MBryO without being detected. Who better to lead a mission of this sort than the person who set up the security protocols?”
“Just stay close,” Joshua’s thoughts whispered through their minds. “If anything goes wrong, we stand a better chance together than by ourselves. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Pax said.
“Agreed,” was William’s reply.
“We are now entering Terran airspace,” the tinny voice of the space-hopper’s avatar chose that moment to echo through the cabin. “Our estimated time of arrival at MBryO UNIX is twenty minutes. Please prepare for the ship to enter the atmosphere.”
Elias switched on the ship’s autopilot. His fingers tapped a command into the computer and the ship went into hibernation mode, shutting down the voice of the ship’s avatar. The space-hopper would maintain its position, hovering in the air, its components virtually asleep, until they were able to return. He had activated their cloaking device before entering Terran air space. The ship would remain in stealth mode the entire time they were here.
On cue, the cabin lights extinguished and all but the cockpit monitors went dark. Using the glow from the console, Elias and Melara left their seats and walked back to where Pax, Joshua and William waited.
“We can’t take the space-hopper any further,” Melara told them. “Someone could recognize it as the one that was stolen from MBryO. We will leave it here and return to it when we are finished.”
“In case we get separated I have programmed the ship’s coordinates into the microcomputers attached to your wrists,” Elias instructed, lifting up his forearm to display the metal bracelet surrounding his own wrist. Ian had created the small device to help them navigate on the ground and still remain in contact with each other.
Except for Pax, who had refused to don anything but his familiar brown leather jerkin and britches, they were all dressed in the flowing white floor length robes preferred by the majority of the Terran population. They wore the robes as camouflage, hoping to blend in with the crowds in the city down below, if the need should arise.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how will we get to the ground?” Pax asked aloud for Melara’s benefit.
“We will be using these,” Elias said, walking to the locker at the end of the cabin and throwing it open to reveal enough jet packs for each of the males on board. “We will propel down in the woods just beyond the new turbine construction site. We will use the shaft to gain entry to the main floor of the building.”
“What if we are discovered?” William queried.
The youngster had been created, inside the walls of MBryO UNIX. Until they had made their escape, the white walled laboratories had been his home. He would forever remember the horrors he had endured there. He, certainly, had no desire to be recaptured.
If any of them were discovered, he was sure his father would punish them unmercifully. William truly feared what Maxim would do to Melara for the part she had played in their escape.
Joshua, ever attuned to his younger brother’s distress, placed a hand on William’s thin shoulder. “It will be okay, William. The plan is simple.”
“Let’s go over it again, just to be sure,” Elias ordered.
He knew all too well what sort of evil man Maxim Bryant was. He also knew that time was of the essence, but if even one detail was left out, something could go wrong. And they would all be walking into a death trap.
“I will remain here aboard the space-hopper,” Melara began the dialogue they had rehearsed and recited repeatedly in the last week.
Joshua, going next turned and told Will confidently, “You and I will climb through the ventilation shaft and enter through the chem-labs. We will then proceed to the caging area and liberate as many of our brothers and sisters as we can. We must hope that all of them are able to make the trip. Then when Elias gives us the signal, we will take the second floor elevator to the rooftop as Dogg and Gayla did.”
When Will nodded, Pax intoned, “Elias and I will make our way through the turbine to the elevators. We will then bypass the chem-labs and make our way to the cloning area. We will collect the ‘Old One’ and climb through the window onto the balcony. We will use the staircase to get to the roof,” Pax said with a questioning look at Elias. “And how do you propose we open the window? Will they not have bars and locks?”
“I will deal with the bars when the time arises. Let’s finish the plan. Melara, I will signal you when it is time to land the ship on the helo-pad and await our arrival,” Elias finished.
“And once everyone is aboard, we will leave this Zander-forsaken place for the last time!” Melara gritted harshly.
Pax listened to his young friends recite the plan just as they had rehearsed it back on Nyla 6. It sounded easy enough, but he had his doubts it would be that easy.
“It is as straightforward and simple a plan as we could make it. Melara, if something goes awry,” Elias murmured quietly thinking about the human factor and all the variables which could throw a spanner in the works, “Remember our contingency plan.”
“Gotcha,” Melara said, helping William into the lightweight jet pack. The small turbo boosters extended out from his slim body like bulky black wings. She moved around in front of him and began fastening it.
“Melara,” Elias questioned patiently. His own jet propulsion device was already on his shoulders and he didn’t look at her mutinous face as he finished fastening the buckles securely around his chest and waist.
He knew she did not like this part of the plan, but there was no help for it. They needed an alternative escape route in case they were somehow discovered.
“If you do not make the rendezvous at the appointed time, I will move the space-hopper into the troposphere, out of planetary tracking range. I will give you twenty-four hours to contact me with different coordinates. If you do not, then I will return to Nyla 6 without you.”
“You must keep to the plan, Melara!” Elias told her firmly. “Sasha and the others will need you to keep them safe from the Terran Guard.”
Though her beautiful face was mutinous, he could see acceptance in her blue eyes.
“Right,” Pax said roughly. “Let’s do this thing!”
He thought he remembered the line from one of the old movie vids he had watched as a child. He was about to set foot on Terran soil for the first time in his life and he couldn’t quite still the excitement in his voice.
Joshua and William looked at each other and grinned at Pax enthusiasm.
“Yes, let’s do this thing!” William agreed.
“Okay, Melara,” Elias turned and walked to the back of the ship. “Open the door.”
Melara watched as the hatch between the cabin and the rear airlock closed behind them. With a loud snap and hiss, the air pressure equalized in the aft section of the space-hopper.
She moved determinedly to the control panels. Taking a deep breath, she flicked the switch that opened the ship’s cargo bay.
Minutes later, the microcomputer beeped as Elias gave the signal that they were far enough away from the ship that she could close the huge cargo doors.
Melara was scared for the group’s safety. But she was also very aware that there was a bounty on her head. If she was recognized she would be more of a hindrance than a help to the mission.
Frustrated and pouting that she had been left to guard the space-hopper, Melara dropped grumpily down into the cockpit to wait.
“Zander’s-tar-pits! I hate waiting!” she complained to the emptiness around her.
Pax would never forget jumping from the open door of the space-hopper into the arms of the waiting darkness below. Journeying through Terra’s thin atmosphere reminded him of the exhilaration he felt when he skimmed through the forest canopy on the zip line. He could hear the blood pumping loudly through his temples.
Pax pushed the red buttons on the handles of the jet pack, slowing his descent. The air was whistling by his ears, plastering his jerkin to his body. Melara had secured his long dark tresses in a braided cue and stuffed it in the collar of his jerkin; otherwise it would have whipped backward into the fan blades of the jet pack’s engines.