Ancient Hunter

Recovering from my shock at the elder Ezaran’s pronouncement I asked. “Is this all of you?” I remembered Denassi saying there were over four thousand Ezarans working on dismantling this ship. This couldn’t be all that were left? “We don’t have enough shuttles to transport you in one journey.

The elder Ezaran lowered his head. “We are all that are left, most of us are dead,” he said sadly. “They were on us before we could form a defence or get away. They destroyed all ships trying to jump.”

“And the comms?”

“As you would have found out it was blocked. A lot of our mates and cubs were killed in the first attack they only kept those that were useful to them. They killed those the deemed useless, the old, cubs.”

I cringed at the thought of that. The Ezarans had suffered a lot and they needed to get off this death trap. “I’ll try and get you all out.” I didn’t know how and without comms I didn’t know if we had ships to go back to. I was on my own but it was up to me to see these people safe.

The elder Ezaran glanced to one of the younger males. “The freighter still docked in Bay ninety-three?”

“The last that I know. We haven’t the chance to get near it. We can now but it will need to be prepped for launch.”

“Freighter?”

“There was one we hid the knowledge of.”

“If you can then get to it. I’m not sure if the weapons on this ship have been disabled yet we’ve got a team working on that?” I wasn’t sure of anything this ship was so damn big.

The elder Ezaran regarded me carefully. “That is our answer Terran. We will get to the freighter.”

I gritted my teeth at him calling me a Terran. Basically it was true but I was trying to live beyond that label. “Are there any others, prisoners like you I mean not just Ezarans?” I stumbled through the words trying hard not to dig myself into a bigger hole.

“There are,” the elder pointed to six Ezarans. “You are to go with… sorry I didn’t get your name?”

“Lieutenant Gwen Hunter.”

“Gwen Hunter, I’m Kanassi.” His attention went back to the six he had picked three males, three females. “Stay safe out there.”

I exited the room with the Ezarans and stood to one side as the rest of the Ezarans headed out. Kanassi stopped and bowed to me. “We will be forever in your debt Human.” I saw him glance at the two dead Black Stripes and nod my direction but he didn’t comment about them.

I decided not to reveal I wasn’t all that Human but let him wonder when I replied. “Go with the grace of the Mother of All.” Only Valkyrie invoked the Mother of All. I watched as the last of the Ezarans had disappeared down the corridor.

“Right,” I said waving at the bodies. “Grab what you can off these idiots they don’t need it now.” I saw the Ezarans smile at my comment.

Quickly and efficiently the stripped anything useful of the bodies. They showed no hesitation in robbing the dead. They came up with two heavy pistols, two knives and a few other things I couldn’t identify because they pocketed the items too quickly for me to get good look at. Another Ezaran grabbed the laser welder and began fiddling around with it before slinging the power over his shoulder.

The Ezaran grinned at me. “Should be good for hitting anything at thirty metres or less.”

Two of the Ezarans took point and I followed through corridors and stairs. They seemed to know where they were going. For me it was a case of being thoroughly lost. I began to think they were leading me into a trap but quickly dismissed it as being overly paranoid. Ezarans were honourable it was my own race well my former race who were that way inclined. I wasn’t sure what I was now my DNA a mix of Human, Valkyrie and Keeper. We halted outside a door a number of unknown symbols dabbed in white paint by the side of the door. I didn’t recognise the language.

“In here,” one of the Ezarans said.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “I was told to fix the lighting or die by a bunch of Humans, the ones you call Black Stripes. I remembered the one with three strips on his cheek. I glad he was dead. He kicked me and laughed.” The Ezaran stepped forward and fiddled with the door control panel.

The door opened with a groan and a warning indicator lit up on the HUD of my combat helmet. It warned me the air quality was bad but breathable. It made me wonder what conditions these prisoners were in. I stepped through the door ready for anything noticing that the Ezarans didn’t follow.

I halted and stared unbelieving. There must have been over a hundred women in here most in stages of pregnancy. I felt chilled to my bones this seemed a repeat of the jungle lab on Davenport. The woman here showed no signs of that kind of abuse. Unlike the Ezarans these Humans had beds although the bedding was in a state. The women themselves were neither filthy or clean. They must have some hygiene here but it seemed to be more like they’d lost all hope.

“You’re not one of the usual assholes!” an older woman said. She had her grey hair in a bun and her clothes, which consisted of jeans with holes and a T-shirt that was once white but was now streaked with dirt and rust.

My ears pricked up hearing the tones of home in her accented Galactic.

“You mean the Black Stripes,” I replied speaking in USE the language of the Empire.

The woman gasped in shock. “Who… no matter why are you here?” she said switching to USE.

“I’m here to get you out” I declared.

“Just you?” a younger woman asked incredulously. She had long straggly dark hair and wore a simple smock stained with dried fluids.

I didn’t want to ask what they were but I could guess. “What you see is what you get!”

“You sound as if you came from Earth,” the older woman queried me.

“I am,” was my simple answer. Saying anything else would have been too complicated.

“And yet you are with the Confederacy?” I heard the tension in her words. It was understandable since she had to deal with the Black Stripes.

“I’m with the TCA.” I supposed it was better than saying I was with the Silver Guard. I doubted she’d understand that.

“What’s the TCA?”

I blinked and stared at the woman. “The Terran Confederacy Alliance!” I didn’t like the way my thoughts were going. “How long have you been here?” I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.

The woman gestured dramatically. “Look around you, we have nothing to tell what day, week or month even. Well not in the normal way.”

I sort of understood some of that.

The woman apologised. “I shouldn’t be getting angry with you. You did say you are getting us out of here?”

“That’s why I’m here.” I gestured to the Ezarans just outside the door. “The Ezarans have a ship.”

The woman looked at me wide eyed while the women behind her started chattering excitedly.

She held up her hand for silence the background noise petered out. “I suppose being a P.O.W of the Confederacy will be better than this.”

I blinked at her words trying hard to understand what she was saying. It wasn’t making any sense. “What do you mean P.O.W?”

“I assume we are still at war with the Confederacy?”

I opened my mouth trying hard to process what she had just said. I’d identified myself as part of the Alliance did she not hear that part? “The war was over five years ago?” Had these women been here that long I really didn’t like the implications of that.

“The last we heard before the Orsini over ran us was that we were still fighting the Confederacy.” She made a gesture at the door. “These assholes didn’t disabuse that fact?”

“Augustus has been dead that long. Constantina, Constantine’s daughter rules in his place. She made peace with the Confederacy. Augustus was in cahoots with an alien race called the Rhosani. These Rhosani were responsible for the war their goal was for us to keep fighting while that took over everything. Constantina formed the TCA with the help of the Confeds to fight the Rhosani. I told you I’m with the TCA. The Terran Confederacy Alliance. The Rhosani and their kind want the galaxy in chaos so they can take over!”

The woman nodded slowly as if coming to the realisation that she been lied to for so long. “And Albion?” she said quietly.

“Back in the Empire’s hands.”

“I suppose that’s good news.” She suddenly clapped her hands speaking like a school ma’am. “Come on ladies gather your things!”

“Will we still get our extra rations?” one of the younger women asked.

I glanced at the older woman. “Rations?”

“A reward for that!” The older woman said pointing at another young woman’s pregnant belly.

“They…” I didn’t want to say the word but it seemed like the jungle lab, the guards there abused their prisoners. Both Alicia and Monica were still suffering luckily they were on Saros and getting treatment from a counsellor Ljufu recommended.

“God, nothing like that!” The older woman appeared to know what I was thinking. “Those assholes wouldn’t sully themselves touching our flesh.”

It made the scenario in my mind seem worse. “These pregnancies?”

“I don’t know that, their children are taken from them at birth. If they try to object they are beaten even killed.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “I pray to God that they are at peace.”

Whatever I was thinking this was worse. This had to be stopped I’d already encountered the twisted creations that must have come from this. The Rhosani and their ilk were advanced enough to do as the Keepers had done to themselves. They had harvested my ovaries to remake themselves. It stood to reason that another race would do something similar. Whereas the Keepers had used my DNA and apologised for it but they had needed it. Otherwise they’d still be holos and Saros would have been destroyed. Just thinking about that put a buzz in my head and an odd pull in my chest. I decided that I should change subjects. These women needed to get out and I had the means to achieve that. “Do you mind being escorted by the Ezarans?” I knew a lot of Humans from the Empire were prejudiced against all aliens even friendly ones.

“Ezaran? Oh you mean the furries?”

I ground my teeth at that. “The Ezarans,” I said sharply. “The best damn engineers anywhere in the galaxy.” I instantly regretted taking that tone with her. She’d only seen the worst dregs of the Confederacy and the Black Stripes were the worst of the worse. “Has any Ezaran harmed you?” I continued when she didn’t answer. “I didn’t think so. Those assholes as you call then killed most of their kin. They want out as I expect you do?” I moderated my tone.

“To feel the wind in my hair the touch of the sun on my skin I want all that before I die.”

“Which will not be today!” I assured her. I waved to the Ezarans. “I need two of you to help…?”

“Martha Green,” the older woman said.

“Lieutenant Gwen Hunter.”

“We will get these Humans to the ship,” one of the Ezarans said.

Martha patted my arm as she passed me followed by the others. I stayed until I could no longer see them then turned to the remaining Ezarans. “Any more prisoners?”

“I heard some of the Black Stripes talking there’s another group I think I know where the are.”

“Right let’s go.”

We headed out me following the Ezarans.