Chrysalis
Book One: Trial by Fire
By: Jessica "Allronix" Krucek

Chapter Six

  Niko was gone. Either she was dead, or hiding. If she was dead, then a promising prospect was lost. If she was hiding, though, there was a danger that it was in the hands of BETA, or worse. Of course, they would be so cowardly as to make a token offering like that little girl, and call it "aiding" her enemies. The Queen smiled a little. Well, soon the whole universe would be under her command. Andor and Kirwin would pay for their rebellion, and Earth would be her richest feeding ground.

  But humans, for all their power, had unexpected entanglements. The Gherkins were a pacifist people. It was easy to destroy their individuality and turn them into part of the chorus. They weren't strong, but they were useful. Humans were strong, and violent. They resisted. She'd have to break them by torture first. That was her mistake with Eliza.

  The Queen's lip curled in distaste. She was every bit as frustrating as her mate, but she proved a most effective weapon against him. Comparing her to the Gherkins was like comparing a searing scarlet to a muted pink.

  But soon...soon she would break Zachary and parade him in front of BETA. Then, she'd have no further use for Eliza. She'd crush the crystal herself. The rage surged through her. The Queen grasped it, and held onto it, meditating and swimming in it.

  Oh, yes...soon...

********
  Zachary still ached all over from the beating, but he forced himself to get out of bed and pace the cell to get those weary muscles moving. He hadn't received any broken bones or serious injuries. Just enough bruises to turn most of him black and blue. He had to get out of here or do something. But with that camera watching him...

  Wait a minute...the camera!

  It was recessed into the wall behind clear plastic. But the plastic wasn't unbreakable, and Zachary could examine to configurations of the camera if he craned his head just right.

  *Why,* he thought with a small smile. *It's not much different from GV's internal cameras!*

  His mind whirled with plans. Now, what was it that Jessi had shown him? She'd rigged GV's cameras to transmit her science project data. Maybe, just maybe, he could do something similar, or at least trick the camera into thinking it saw something else. "The camera never lies," the old cliché said, but in reality, the camera could lie like a politician and none would be the wiser.

  It wasn't an easy reach, and Zachary nearly got his hands stuck, but he managed to dislodge the camera from its base. He pulled a wire, hoping to disarm it, but the light started flashing red! Oh, oh. He'd have to think of something - QUICK! He pressed himself up against the jutting door frame, and waited.

  The guards, a robot and a Dathian, came in, rifles drawn. They looked around the room, checking.

  "Where did he go?" the live one asked himself as the robot scanned.

  Zachary leapt out from his spot near the door and whacked the robot at a critical junction. It went down spitting sparks.

  The live one whipped around. "What the -?"

  Zachary saw a live wire on the fallen android. He dove for it, snatching it a split second before the guard ran near him. Striking quickly, Zachary jabbed the live wire into the crack between the guard's chest and hip armor.

  The guard jerked and appeared to dance obscenely for a moment before falling to the floor. Zachary tossed the live wire aside, and proceeded to strip the Dathian guard of his armor. The guard was only stunned. That meant he didn't have much time. Making sure to cover his face with the helmet's face shield, Zachary picked up the guard's blaster and stole out of the prison.

********
  He walked the corridors, not daring to try and access a terminal or talk to other guards. He tried to blend in as much as possible. So far, so good. No one was noticing him. The problem is that he had no idea where the hell he was.

  "Hey, you." yelled a junior Crown officer. "You're new here, aren't you?"

  Zachary turned, startled. The officer grumbled, "Damn robot. You, come over here. The hyperlink is not functioning right. You'll have to realign the chips."

  *Hyperlink...communications chips! Maybe a way to get out!*

  Zachary walked over and knelt by the officer. "Process this. Now, the chips on the top are hyperlink directional chips. I want you to pull out the damaged ones and take them to recycling. I'll be back later. You got that?"

  Zachary nodded, and knelt by the exposed panel. Just what he needed! This disguise was proving useful. Zachary pulled a few damaged chips, and a couple chips that weren't damaged. Zachary carefully concealed them in the cuff of the officers' uniform. They would be needed later in case he didn't make it to the shuttle bay.

  Zachary was lost, though and if he spoke to any of the guards here, he'd give himself away in seconds. He was walking further and further into the palace, relying on memories that were sketchy at best.

  There didn't seem to be any guards in this section of the palace. Zachary frowned. This section of the palace practically hummed, as if above some sort of power source. There were two power sources for here, though. The fusion reactor, and the Psychocrypt. Both of which were below him. What was this? The only thing here seemed to be a partially opened door. Zachary peeked inside.

  It was just like his dream. Right down to the final details. The smell, the candlelight. And the column in the center that bathed its only occupant in the eerie light of a force field.

  Zachary stayed silent. Hopefully, she couldn't sense he was here. He watched the scene in the study with rapt fascination. He almost didn't recognize the Queen. She didn't wear her royal robes and headdress. She silently sat on a satin cushion, wearing a simple, purple robe. Her headdress was gone, revealing close-cropped dark hair that was giving way to silver.

  The Queen stood up, then walked over to the column, disabling the glowing force field. She pulled out the crystal, and closed her eyes. Then yelped, and dropped it.

  "Damn humans and your stubbornness," she said, putting the crystal back in the vault. "But I can sense you weakening, and I *will* win. Already, your husband is learning who his master truly is. I'll be able to drain your energy soon enough."

  Zachary bit back a gasp. So she couldn't drain humans! She could feed on the Gherkin crystals, but not the *humans.* The information was priceless - and useless. Maybe Niko could use have used the information...He winced. *Oh, God, Niko...* His team must have been thrown in the Psychocrypt by now, all because of his misjudgment.

  He closed the door, then sneaked away. More than ever, he had to find a way to contact BETA.

  He didn't get too far before he ran into a familiar face, and a legion of guards, all holding rifles to him.

  "Well, well, Captain Foxx. It's good to see you again," purred Orthallan. "You really didn't think you could hide forever, did you?"

  One of the guards came over and pulled the helmet from Zachary's head. Orthallan smiled. "Take that armor off him, then report to a Slaverlord. The Queen will be...pleased."

  They pulled off the armor, and equipment, but they didn't manage to find the chips. Zachary tried not to be relieved. Two Slaverlords glided in from a nearby corridor, and grabbed Zachary, pulling him away from the guards, and into the Queen's study. The Slaverlords sat him in a chair belonging to a large desk.

  The Queen's expression turned into a cold smile. "Attempting escape, Captain? You know, you're proving quite tiresome."

  "So," he said. "Why didn't you throw me in the Psychocrypt when you had a chance?"

  The Queen's face was unreadable, but her eyes took on the quality of black holes. "Don't insult my intelligence, Captain Foxx, by asking me questions you already know the answers to."

  One of the Slaverlords vanished from the room and sealed the door behind it, but the other floated over to the Queen's side. The visage rippled before him, and even though Zachary had expected it, he still gasped with shock. The ghostly form of Doc stood next to the Queen. Zachary gripped the armrest and glared at the Queen in horror and rage.

  "As you see, Zachary," she said in a mocking singsong. "I'm already victorious."

  Zachary said the only thing he could think of at the moment. "I don't see Niko or Goose."

  "Ah, yes," said the Queen. "I've taken care of the lovebirds quite nicely."

  A panel slid open on the wall, and two crystal coffins filled the alcove. Doc on the right, and Shane on the left. "As for Niko..." said the Queen. "She will serve as an 'example' to my opposition on BETA Mountain, just as you will."

  She rose from her seat and gestured for Zachary to follow her.

********
  Two sets of footsteps echoed in the corridor while two wraith-like Slaverlords trailed behind. At the end of the hall, the door opened up onto a terrace.

  Zachary could remember the Queen standing on that terrace, staring down on him and his team. Usually, she was flanked by Slaverlords. Several times, he had looked and seen that the Queen had Eliza's Slaverlord by her side, just to rub salt into Zachary's wounds, and prove her superiority over him.

  Zachary wished for those times. All but a few times, he could still see an escape route back to the ship, and safety. But there were no escapes for him this time, and Zachary had a bad feeling about that door, as if he were walking into a trap.

  The terrace was about fifty meters from the ground, polished to perfection, and with a large throne reserved for its usual observer. Zachary stood to her side. It was so tempting. He could reach over right now with his left arm and squeeze that witch's neck. No regrets, no remorse. Just a few seconds. He thought better of it. There were armed guards all around the place, including two still at his back. There was no way he could even reach over. Even if he succeeded, Orthallan would no doubt carry out the orders of his "beloved monarch" anyway.

  He learned quite a bit during his short escape. If BETA came to her palace, they'd walk right into a trap. He had to find some way to warn them. He looked down onto the floor below, then took a deep breath, and nearly backed into the Slaverlord.

  "I told you before, Captain," said the Queen calmly. "That your subordinates will pay for any actions you do."

  She was battered, bruised, tortured. Her head had been shaved, and there wasn't an exposed inch that hadn't been bruised or cut. One of her eyes had been gauged out. An ear and a couple fingers were missing. She sagged in the restraints, unable to fight her way out. She was barely recognizable, a bloodied human wreck. All around her, guards were gathered, One, in completely black armor, and a smooth helmet, carried a huge lightsword.

  The Queen merely looked on nonchalantly.

  "Little Niko here was trying to aid the other two in escaping. They only got as far as the shuttle bay." The Queen's voice was even. "The others...repented, and were given the privilege of becoming Slaverlords. Niko refused. My guards have kept her alive only as an example to BETA...and you."

  Zachary felt bile come up his throat at the awful sight. He was too far to help her. Too far to do anything.

  Niko looked up, her ruined face staring eerily at Zachary. "I'm sorry, Zach," she cried out. "I tried..."

  "Finish her." The Queen ordered.

  The Guard's lightsword powered up. Zachary felt a scream on caught in his throat, but no sound came when he opened his mouth. He was ready to beg the Queen...PLEAD with his enemy to spare his friend's life, but nothing came.

  The Guard walked up and ran his lightsword through Niko's chest. She howled in mortal agony.

  Finally, Zachary was able to scream. "NO!!! NIKO!"

  Pulling out the lightsword, the guard finished the job by stabbing through Niko's neck. She convulsed once, then moved no more.

  "Prepare her body for transport to BETA Mountain along with a list of my demands," the Queen said.

  Zachary couldn't move, his eyes glued to the scene.

  "Consider yourself honored, Captain," the Queen said wickedly. "Not many people witness an

  Imperial execution and can live to tell about it." She turned to her Slaverlords. "Take him to his chamber." The Slaverlords did as they were told, and Zachary was too shocked and numb to put up a resistance.

  The Queen gazed down. "A most effective performance," she smiled down on the swordsman. "Especially from you. You will be promoted. Dismissed."

  The guards turned away and filed out. The Queen pressed a small green button on her holoprojector, and Niko appeared again.

  "I'm sorry Zach. I tried..." The wounds magically appeared, and she cried out. The hologram shimmered, and the tape restarted.

  "I'm sorry, Zach. I tried..."

  The Queen cut the projector. "Too bad I couldn't do that to you in real life, you little wench."

********
  The guards pushed him into the room, and sealed the door behind him. Zachary couldn't speak or move for several long minutes, and when he did speak, "Why?" was all he could say. Over and over again. "Damn you, God. Why?"

  The door slid open and a guard entered with a small trunk, setting it on the floor. "Here's a gift from the Queen, Ranger."

  He opened it up. The Queen's sheer malice was legendary, but her twisted cruelty was even more appalling. Two things lay in the box. The blood-stained uniform of a female Ranger and a long lock of auburn hair.

  Zachary closed the box slowly.

  He couldn't get the awful images out of his mind. Like some awful loop, he saw Niko's death countless times, heard himself screaming her name...

  *There's no hope, Zachary,* the invading voice spoke again. *She's dead, and they're Slaverlords. You're not going to get out of here...*

  There was only one last thing to do...no, two things.

  He walked up to the hidden camera, and took the chips he'd smuggled from the communications relay. The plastic had been replaced with a temporary force field that was easy enough to short out. The camera was linked to the Palace internal communications, and the two chips in his cuff were routing orders, telling the camera where to send the signal. The other chip he'd hidden was a recording of him sleeping.

  He prayed that it would work.

  Zachary reached behind the camera, and removed its original programming chips. the light at the top of it flashed yellow. If it didn't get a signal in a few seconds, it would alert the guards. Fortunately for Zachary, a few seconds were all he needed. The chip was inserted, and the phony image was played for the Queen.

  Now HE was manipulating HER, rather than the other way around. Zachary felt a surge of evil triumph at the thought. He placed one control chip in, then another...And the light turned yellow. Zachary immediately pulled the chips, and the light went to green. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  What to do with the chips now? Well, maybe reversing them would be the right thing to do. He put the chips in the slots, reversing the order. The light turned to a flashing yellow for a few tense moments...Then turned a steady green.

  Zachary could see the lens showing his reflection, and a flashing indicator "Hyperlink relay activated, press destination code." Using the keypad at the top of the recorder, Zachary pressed in an encryption code for BETA that was close to a Crown frequency. Hopefully, the communications monitors wouldn't recognize it as anything other than a fluctuation.

  "Begin." the camera flashed.

********

  Two Crown guards sat at their post in the communications tower of the Queen's asteroid palace.

  "Two minor malfunctions of camera H-83," one guard reported to the waiting Slaverlord.

  "Captain Foxx's quarters. Show me the last known recording."

  The camera flashed, and showed Zachary lying in bed, tossing and turning in the grip of a nightmare.

  "Well," droned the Slaverlord. "He's not much of a threat. We'll have to fix the camera when the captain is out at a 'session.'"

  "Communications are within normal frequency range," said the other guard, "But I am reading a slight fluctuation in our hyperlink transmissions. The antenna may be maladjusted."

  "Keep me informed," the Slaverlord said before floating through the open portal.

********

  After the message was finished, Zachary replaced the original camera configurations, keeping the false image of him sleeping playing in a loop for the guards. He crushed the metal and plastic chips to dust. He sat at the desk, and poured himself a glass of cognac. It would at least give him a little nerve.

  Zachary closed his eyes and thought of his children. Zachary Jr and Jessica...he'd held on so long because of them. He'd never see them again. The thought brought tears to his eyes, and the shot of alcohol burning down his throat.

  It really was good cognac.

  He could remember them as infants...holding them in his arms, trading off midnight feedings with Eliza...watching them grow up...their first steps...their first days at school...the nightmares and monsters in the closet. The family spats...watching them with pride.

  *I hope you remember,* he thought. *Remember that I love you both.*

  He poured another glass, nursing this one a little.

  He closed his eyes, and lingered over memories of Eliza. Her eyes, her smile...the way she felt in his arms...her voice...he panicked as he found himself not remembering a few of the details, but calmed himself in a hurry. He remembered their first date...their wedding...a few petty squabbles...the mixture of awe and nervousness at learning she was pregnant the first time...kissing her...Seeing her bound and gagged on the bridge of Kidd's ship, and him being too helpless to do anything for her...Holding her body in his arms while her life-force crystal sailed upward into the Queen's hand...

  The final image brought him enough mad strength to do what he had to do. His bionic hand tightened, crushing the glass. It was real glass. A large shard rested in his hand, and his palm was cut. Zachary picked up the shard, and turned it until he found the sharpest edge. Turning over his hand, he slashed his right wrist almost to the bone.

  He slumped in the chair and just let the blood pool out onto the desk. Even if the Queen was monitoring, hopefully, she couldn't get him in time.

  As he lay back and let himself pass into unconsciousness, he felt a small surge of triumph.

______________________________________________________

On to Chapter Seven!
Back to Allronix's Fics!
Back to Authors Page!