The Red Rover: Frequency Of Distress

Quaye slowed the vessel to a deliberate pace. They were approximately halfway between the Nemosolas and Felicity. He activated the vessel’s auto-function before relaxing his restraints. Vasudevan sat beside him, rubbing his chin. Quaye turned in his direction.

“You look concerned.”

“I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that the auto-function gives me pause. Putting my life in the hands of a metalloid—is not something I enjoy.”

“Always the worrier, Vasudevan. Relax. I promise you; we won’t be that long.”

Quaye flashed a devious grin as he raised both eyebrows.

“Rather, I won’t be. Feel free to take as long as you deem necessary. I won’t stop you.” He went on.

Quaye rose out of his seat. He lightheartedly squeezed Vasudevan’s shoulder on his way back. Vasudevan sighed, before removing his restraints and joining his jackal-in-arms. The Draconoires had one rigid decree that could never be denied. Everything they did—they did together or they didn’t do it at all. It was one of the primary reasons their stripe had survived the harshness of space for as long as they had. They were united under Naqwin—dedicated to a common goal—to advance the stripe by any means necessary.

Vasudevan entered to see Quaye standing at the vessel’s control panel. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms while he waited for him to deactivate the ion cage. Quaye did so, revealing the two females.

“Okay sepulwan—which one of you is ready to please me first?” Quaye said.

A look of contempt could be seen on both of their faces as Quaye casually glanced at him. Vasudevan removed the fettacle control from his hip, toggling it upward to weaken them. They both fell over in pain.

“Gotta love that. I like this one.”

Quaye pointed to the short-haired sepulwan, grabbing her by her boots. He easily pulled her out of the ion cage area as she was powerless to stop him with the fettacles initiated. Vasudevan crossed to the control panel and re-activated the cage, trapping the second one inside.

“Leave her alone.”

Vasudevan chuckled at the determination of the sepulwan because he knew their efforts would be for naught. There was nothing they could do to overcome the fettacles.

“Help me with her.”

Vasudevan turned to see Quaye struggling to lift her. She was putting up a surprising amount of resistance. They snatched her to her feet as Vasudevan held her from behind. Quaye immediately began probing her body.

“Get this uniform off.” He growled.

He began unzipping the top of her uniform as she resisted them at every turn.

“Do you want me to increase the fettacle?”

“No. What’s the point if she dies before I’m finished?”

Quaye unzipped her uniform just below her chest area, opening it out.

“Look how hairless she is, Vasudevan.”

Quaye’s temperature was intensifying. He stroked the sepulwan’s body with both of his hands as she shivered. He was really enjoying himself as she finally relaxed. Vasudevan released her hands figuring the fettacle had finally done its job subduing her.

He was mistaken. The sepulwan moved both arms above her head giving the two jackals free reign to her body. They didn’t notice that she had clasped her fingers together. She brought them down, bashing Quaye on the side of his head.

She attempted to do the same to Vasudevan, but he deflected her attack, pushing her into the ion cage which electrocuted her as she fell to the floor.

Quaye checked the side of his head for damage. There was none, although his pride had no doubt been injured.

“Filthy alien strump.”

He climbed back to his feet and began repeatedly kicking her lower torso.

“Stop it you bastard!”

“Quiet sepulwan or you’re next!”

Quaye pointed at the second one. He gave the first one another swift kick for good measure. He was about to unload on her again as Vasudevan stepped between them, pushing him back.

Quaye relented, checking the side of his head once more. The sepulwan had actually chafed him. Plasma was beginning to leak. He showed his hand to Vasudevan.

“Look at this. Look at this.”

“Not a chance. I haven’t even gotten started yet.”

Vasudevan leaned closer to him, holding eye contact.

“If you kill her, Naqwin will have our heads.”

Quaye breathed in deeply, snarling in the process.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

Quaye angrily shrugged off his grasp. Vasudevan put his hands up in restraint. He was uninterested in engaging Quaye—especially over this sepulwan. Quaye stared at her for a moment before deciding to re-enter the cockpit.

“Some other time sepulwan.”

Vasudevan turned back to the fallen one with disgust. She was still unconscious. He turned off the fettacle and walked to the control panel. He deactivated the ion cage and looked at the second one.

“If you don’t want to be jettisoned, I suggest you pull her back in with you.”

The second, darker of the two sepulwans immediately did as instructed. With them both back inside the cage field, Vasudevan reactivated it. The transport resumed its previous pace as he sluggishly ambled his way back to the cockpit. Quaye would not be good company from here to the Nemosolas.

Marius groaned as he laid face-first on the floor of the cargo ship cockpit. The backpack had been slightly covering his head as he pushed it away. He brought his knees to his chest, which improved his breathing. He then flipped himself onto his backside and checked his surroundings. Jovan and Gordie were still strapped into the pilot seats.

“Oh. We really gotta stop doing that.” Jovan said.

“Is everybody all right?” Marius asked.

“Define all right, sir.” Gordie added with a groggy tone.

“Yeah, you’re all right.”

Marius chuckled as he gingerly rose to his feet. His body had seen better days and this time it had nothing to do with age. He looked over top of Jovan. He was trying to work the ship’s module. At first it made some noises, but within moments the entire module went silent.

“Ship’s not responding to commands sir.”

“So we’re stranded?” Gordie blurted out.

“Hold on. Let’s just take a beat. The lights are still on in here. That means we’ve still got some juice.”

“But what difference does that make if it can’t fly?”

“That we can still open the ramp, Gordie.”

Both cadets spoke in unison while looking at one another. Marius paused a moment. This was nearly the same situation they had encountered when they crash landed on Araneus. The only difference being that the Draconoire ship still had some semblance of power.

“Guys, you’re killing me. I just need you to check and see if the ship can still fly.”

“What are you gonna do?” Gordie asked.

“I’m gonna look for some alternatives. Where’s the backpack?”

Gordie pointed as Marius turned around. It was on the floor behind him. He knelt over it, unzipping it. He searched for his sidearm. The initials DM were on it. He re-zipped the backpack and set it on the floor. He attached his sidearm to his hip.

“Doctor Marius.”

He turned back to Jovan, who held the Draconoire helmet out for him.

“You’re probably gonna need this.”

Marius accepted the helmet before exiting the cockpit. He stopped at the divider between the cockpit and the cabin and put on the helmet. Gordie was onto something regarding these filthy things, but hygiene was the last thing on his mind right now. He walked to the cabin control panel.

“Doctor Marius.”

He turned to see Gordie standing behind him without the helmet on.

“You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“It’s okay. I need you to stay here with Jovan. If anything happens to me, you two are all you got.”

“That’s comforting.”

“I think we’re beyond me selling you bullshit. Don’t you think?”

Gordie nodded. Marius bent down and grabbed one of the Draconoire weapons. Now he had two. He kicked the other one over to Gordie.

“You two figure out how to get this thing in the air. I’ll be back. I promise.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“What if there isn’t any oxygen out there?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Well, you’re taking one of the helmets. If there isn’t enough oxygen, one of us is gonna suffocate in here.”

Marius paused. Gordie had raised a serious issue.

“Okay. After I open the ramp, we’ll know for sure. If it’s a problem, you’ll close it immediately.”

Marius turned back to the control panel. He hit a few buttons, unsealing the rear ramp. He could hear the howl of the planetary winds even from still inside the ship.

“Can you still breathe?”

“What about you Jovan?”

“All right. There’s our answer.”

Marius breathed a sigh of relief. If they weren’t able to right the ship both literally and figuratively, at least their cause of death wouldn’t be due to suffocation. He came down the ramp to the ground. He was still indoors, albeit it was hard to tell where exactly. There were no lights as far as he could tell. He cranked his right shoulder a couple of times.

“Shit, that hurts.”

He touched his right pectoral and felt the spacesuit push in somewhat against his body.

“What the hell?”

He released it. Lo and behold, that part of the spacesuit was actually a flashlight. He didn’t even know it was there.

“Well, that’s better. Now where the hell are we?”

He scanned the area around him. It was empty and filthy. There were damaged columns holding up the edifice. The exterior whistling captured his attention as he moved toward it. The closer he got to the exit, the more the Draconoire boots crunched. This area was covered in shattered glass.

He stepped outside. Calling it a ghost town would be a compliment. There were massive sink holes in every direction he looked. He turned back at the edifice’s exterior to remind himself of where he had left Jovan and Gordie. Landmarks were important and unfortunately, the large hole created by the Draconoire ship wasn’t enough of one. The majority of these structures were crumbling in the same fashion.

“Where do I even begin?”

Marius tapped the sidearm, making sure it was still attached to his hip. He carefully began moving away from the edifice, doing his best to steer clear of any sink holes while he searched for an alternative way out.

Rio filled the bucket halfway with a clear substance that had a similar appearance to water, but its aroma was noxious. Almost like ammonia. That smell killed any temptation for her to taste it, no matter how thirsty she was. She closed the spigot and moved the bucket over to the second one. Blue liquid flowed out of the spigot, changing the composition inside the bucket. With the bucket nearly full, she closed the spigot. She tried to lift it, but now it was too heavy.

She put it back down and looked up the ladder.

“God, you’re such an idiot. Why would you fill it to the top? You act like you couldn’t make more than one trip. And why are you still talking to yourself? Stop it.”

Rio looked around the laboratory. She was all alone. She looked down at the bucket and sucked her teeth. For such an easy job, this sure was a pain in the ass. She lifted the bucket one more time, using both hands as she waddled it over to the ladder.

She brought the bucket up to her waist level on the ladder step. The fumes from the solution were toxic, but she would just have to soldier on. After numerous stops and starts, she finally reached the ladder’s apex, setting the bucket on a plank that fit its dimensions exactly.

“Seriously, for as technologically advanced as the Felicians say they are, they couldn’t have figured out a more efficient way to do this. This is bullshit.”

She got herself situated before looking down on the roof of the glass tube. She flipped open the chute compartment and grabbed the bucket, making sure not to spill any of the solution. She tipped the bucket over the chute as the solution oozed out. No wonder it was so heavy. It was no longer fluid.

“You know you don’t need to do this, don’t you?”

Rio nearly dropped the bucket and fell off the ladder as the voice startled her.

“Who said that?”

She rested the bucket on the platform plank and climbed halfway down. She looked around the room while hanging off of the ladder.

“Show yourself. I’ve got nowhere else to be.”

Rio turned to the tube. Naiaxion was staring directly at her. She almost fell off the ladder a second time.

“Careful. Careful.”

“Who—who are you?”

“Aww Rio, are you really going to pretend like we haven’t met before?”

Rio shook her head back and forth. She was in disbelief.

“You’re not gonna fool me. This is a dream. Just like all the others.”

She hurried down the ladder, nearly falling a third time. She paced back and forth, refusing to look at Naiaxion.

“So I suppose you were also dreaming when you and the other members of the Red Rover were taken hostage by the Draconoires? Or maybe when you were sold to the Felicians for the specific purpose of looking after me?”

Rio stopped pacing as her eyes enlarged.

“I am not your enemy, Rio. In fact, I want to help you. But I need you to help me first.”

She reluctantly turned back to Naiaxion.

“By not being afraid. By letting me in. I need you to see what I see. Know what I know. Come to me.”

Rio approached the tube. Naiaxion put both of her hands on the glass. Rio hesitated for a moment, checking to make sure neither Coriz nor anyone else entered. She touched the glass as a chill ran down her spine.

“Now close your eyes.”

Rio inhaled and exhaled deeply. Nothing about this situation was comfortable, but at this point, she was beyond needing things to be. Now a little blind faith was needed. She closed her eyes as she felt another shiver shoot through her body.

Naiaxion stood in a blue and white gown on the balcony of the grand tower that the Herullians had erected in her honor. The sky was radiant as the millions of stars shimmered in the distance—even in daylight.

She was the chief celebrant of the peaceful world known as Heru. They were sanctified to be the closest of all the inhabitable worlds that revolved around the core energy body. In this system, it was called Genara. Genara’s blessing meant that they never wanted for anything.

Food was plentiful. As was shelter. The world was in total balance. The Herullians had achieved what other species had deemed impossible. They achieved the ultimate—bliss. Still, Naiaxion was well aware that the good times may not last forever.

As such, the Herullian council assigned one of their finest to protect her. Zchalocrii was his name. A winged archangel he was, strong and gentle. His skin was a stunning coral. He held an illuminated staff, which was his choice for defense. While Naiaxion abhorred violence, her exceptionality made her a polestar.

Eventually darkness would fill the skies above them. A storm was coming. What began with a bright light—but not an explosion—ended with Naiaxion collapsed on her palace floor. She looked to her chambers to see booted jackals walking towards her. The Draconoires.

Unable to utter a word of protest, her eyes closed. The next time they would open, she found herself trapped inside the glass tube in Coriz’s laboratory. She protested, banging against the glass as the sapphire liquid filled the space around her. The Felicians as a whole were unmoved by her protests.

They had made their decision. They truly believed that imprisoning Naiaxion would be the key to their salvation. If only they had placed more emphasis on enriching their home, rather than themselves, they would not have been in this predicament at all. And now Naiaxion would have to suffer for their hubris.

The liquid filled the tube covering her completely as she lost consciousness. Upon the tube’s closure, potency would soon be siphoned off from her—feeding into the apparatus that sat on the roof of the atrium. A sapphire beam blasted skyward.

Its energy would soon be absorbed by a giant satellite that orbited just above Felicity’s exosphere. From there, four minor satellites would redirect Naiaxion’s potency toward the four corners of the globe.

Those corners were the homes of open-ended mountains. Apparatuses had already been built inside of three of the four mountains at present. The fire mountains of the south. The mountains of wind to the west. The mountains of earth to the east. The only one still under construction was the mountain of ice and water to the north.

Once completed, the energy would create a four-pronged prism capable of eliminating the haphazard geological events that had taken over this world. Once again Felicity would be bound by servitude to a species that did not hold her in high esteem.

Over time she would become dormant and return to a beautiful blueish hue rather than the darkness that was now her current form. The remaining Felicians would finally be permitted to leave the confines of the atrium to experience the light and fresh air once more. It wouldn’t be long before they attempted to re-populate the world and resume their daily activities.

For Naiaxion, she would forever be imprisoned in this glass tube. Her energy and ability to control Felicity was too important to release. In that way, she and Felicity were sisters. Powerless to fight against the inevitable.

Rio’s eyes shot open at the sound of Naiaxion’s voice. Her breathing was heavy as she sprang upward, causing the dirty blanket to fall into her lap. She was still on the cot.

She immediately looked to the glass tube. It was darkened. She hopped off the cot, racing to it. She touched the glass. Naiaxion remained in a suspended state. Rio sported a look of confusion. She turned to the spigots. The bucket was gone. She stepped back and looked skyward. It was on the platform plank. Did she actually have a conversation with Naiaxion or was this just another lucid dream?

“Heilige Kak. Girl, you’re gonna be the death of me.”

Rio buried her head in her hands as she fell to her knees. Trying to make sense of what was happening to her was a fool’s errand.