Realms Of The Gods Read online

  ‘As you can see I have just relieved Captain Bremmer from active duty,’ he said. ‘Bremmer was too cowardly to take revenge for the loss of our god, Lord Pan. He wished us to go crawling, nay, begging for mercy from his murderer Zeus, hoping against hope he would spare us all from death, perhaps to save us for some menial slave trade on some woebegone planet.’

  His hands gripped the edges of the com-panel in front of him. As he leant forward his face moved through the red threedimensional display of the pavilion. The effect gave him a demonic air as the red display shimmered around his face.

  ‘I have a plan.’ He pushed away from the panel abruptly and started to pace before them. ‘We have placed operatives onboard each of their ships. If we use these operatives now their deaths could bring about the deaths of all those who betrayed our great god. That is why they volunteered in the first place; they knew that one day we might be asking this sacrifice from them, they went into this knowing their lives could be forfeited for the greater good at any time. Well I say that time is now. If we have the courage to act decisively we could kill every last God here before they can mount a defense to stop us. We could destroy Zeus, along with that pestilent Loki who the terran bitch thinks she has saved. And, as a bonus, we could take out Thor, Odin, Isis and Baste.’

  He paused as anger swirled over his outraged features. ‘Poseidon and Hades have just left otherwise we would have been able to kill them too. Fortunately Bremmer’s complete lack of either insight or courage has only forestalled their deaths.’ He said gesturing with disgust at the dead man on the floor.

  ‘This will be a bold stroke my friends, and one not easily taken, but think of the rewards that will be ours from those whom Lord Pan served. Think of their lasting gratitude if we take the opportunity given to us. If we dare to hesitate any longer, a chance to mount a strike as decisive as this might never happen again.’

  He raised his voice. ‘When we will we ever have the opportunity presented to us here, at this moment, to take revenge for the God we served so valiantly for all these years? What do you say?’ He looked around at the outrage and fervor shining in their eyes and knew he had them.

  ‘Do we strike back? Do we crush them now, where they stand? Or do we resign ourselves to an inglorious death, or the slave markets of some long forgotten hellhole? Yes or no? The choice is yours.’

  Slowly they all began to nod, then Darse yelled, ‘For Pan!’

  Then Rashetti. ‘Yes, for Pan!’ Others took up the cry and soon the whole room was shouting.

  Jalek held up his hands, smiling in satisfaction at how easy it was to manipulate the fools into doing exactly what he wanted. ‘So that this is official I am appointing myself to the position of Elite Commander. He glanced around, when nobody objected to the self imposed rise in rank he continued.

  ‘You know what to do. Contact every operative we have onboard those ships. Tell them to target their communications first, then the reactors, pulse cannons and shields, we’ll only need them down for a short time.’ He looked over at Rashetti. ‘I have an extra mission for one of the operatives onboard the Olympus.’

  Rashetti walked over and listened to Jalek’s plan. ‘Are you sure it’s worth the risk, Elite Commander? It will take one of them away from the task of crippling her, and we might not be able to reach every operative as it is, we’re talking about the Olympus here, we need to take her down if your plan is to have any hope of working.’

  Jalek stared at him, his eyes as cold as the space surrounding their ship. ‘This is not a request, Lieutenant, this is an order. Do you understand?’

  Rashetti moved away, nodding warily. ‘Yes sir.’

  Jalek had an insane look on his face that Rashetti was not keen to test, especially after seeing him kill Bremmer. He headed back to his com-panel and quickly typed in a series of codes, then sent the required messages to their operatives, hoping he had reached them all. When he finished he turned to the others, all they could do now was wait to see if this long envisioned, carefully laid plan would work.

  Chapter 5

  Tae awoke to noises just outside her door. She sat up just as it opened and two shadows entered, the light from the corridor momentarily blinding her.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked groggily.

  The first shadow moved quickly and sprayed something in her face. She immediately fell back, unconscious. One of the shadows, a large male thalien, pulled her hair back to place a small chip in her ear. He’d been told she needed to understand what was being said to her, so a portable translation chip was to be used. It was the quickest, easiest solution. The chips were used to translate all languages into Realms standard. Although everyone onboard a spaceship used Realms standard as a matter of course, when under pressure people had an unfortunate tendency to revert back to their native tongue. The translator chips stopped any nasty little miscommunications from happening in battle, as well as serving as a way for Command staff to contact those wearing one by tapping into their individual frequencies. He picked her up easily and placed her in a large crate held open by his companion, he shook his head as he looked down at her inert form.

  ‘I hope she’s worth it, we’re shorthanded enough for this operation as it is without me leaving.’ He closed the lid of the box, locked it, and glanced at his companion. ‘Go join the others, I’ll get her to the Hindishah.’

  His companion nodded and moved away as the larger one picked up the crate marked machinery parts and started to move as quickly as he could without raising suspicion.

  He used every shortcut he could think of, all the while carrying the box easily in his arms, finally he reached the turbo lift that would take him directly to his destination. Taking his passive bundle to the jumper bay had proved to be remarkably easy for one of the Worker Caste like him. On the few occasions he had come across anyone, he just continued on as if he were carrying spare machinery to a designated area. The fools had left him alone to complete his mission unchallenged. He might as well have been invisible.

  Once he reached hangar two’s jumper bay he walked swiftly behind the rows of machinery crates stacked along the wall. Only two techs had bothered to ask what he was doing, and what he was carrying. They died just as quickly; he left their bodies hidden behind the crates, hoping to chance that they wouldn’t be discovered before he left. He hurried to a jumper and boarded it, dumping the crate unceremoniously in a corner. Strapping himself into the flight seat, he punched in the code that opened the jumper bay doors and took off.

  He flew as quickly as he dared and was sweating uncomfortably from both nerves, and from lugging the crate with the woman in it. He patiently tried not to raise any suspicions by doing anything untoward unless absolutely necessary. Relief washed over him as he made it to the outer doors and hit free space. Too soon he heard the lazy voice of the flight master crackle in his ear.

  ‘Jumper Euripides, please explain why you have left the flight deck. I have no flight plan registered with control.’

  ‘Sorry, Olympus.’ He kept his tone casual as he made a beeline for the Hindishah. ‘I’ve been ordered to drop off a package to the Hindishah, something to do with Pan’s death, I think.’ It was all he could think of and he hoped it would be enough. There was silence for a short time while the flight controllers obviously tried to verify his story, all the while his jumper got further and further away from the Olympus.

  ‘Jumper Euripides we have checked with’ … the line went dead and filled with static. He breathed a long slow sigh of relief and finally allowed a smile to creep across his face. He knew he was now safe, the Olympus and her crew now had other far more important problems to deal with. The other operatives must have cut communications. It had begun.

  He signaled the Hindishah that he had arrived by sending a coded message that only he and the bridge crew of the ship knew. On receiving it the warship opened a set of hangar doors with remarkable swiftness. It was as his jumper entered the main hangar that he heard the woman stirring, follow
ed closely by thumping and an inordinate amount of swearing. As he entered the main hanger he was informed that Pan’s second-in-command, Elite Commander Jalek, would be awaiting him and his cargo close to the secondary turbo lift. Questions swirled through his mind as he quickly bought the small craft into land in front of the commander, his mission now complete.

  Who is she? He thought in confusion. To have engendered the second-in-command to await her arrival personally was surprising, to say the least. He switched off the jumper’s engines and went back to the now violently swearing crate and opened it. The bright light of the jumper hit her eyes, momentarily blinding her. He knew this would happen and used the advantage to drag her out by her long hair. It was time for her to meet his commander.

  *****

  Tae had woken to darkness, when she’d tried to move she’d found a confining wall surrounding her, like a coffin. Her first instinct was complete panic. Was she dreaming? Was this a nightmare? She felt the walls with her hand as a wave of dizziness assailed her, her breath now coming in short, panicked gasps. It was then she realized that she wasn’t dreaming, this was all too real.

  She began hitting the walls of her trap frantically as she kicked and swore in frustration, barely controlling her fright. She felt a slight bump and she stilled momentarily, trying to think rationally. Was that the slow whine of the reactors of a jumper shutting down? What the hell had happened?

  Tae started to swear again for whoever had put her in the container to let her out. She thought she heard movement close by, before the lid of the crate was wrenched open. Her hands shot up instinctively to shield her eyes against the light, just as large hands reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her roughly out onto her feet.

  Looking up she couldn’t stop her gasp of surprise at the huge thalien looking down at her. Before she could say a word he pushed her toward an open door, she stumbled forward in her bare feet, her little green dress doing nothing much to hide her from the gaze of the person waiting for her. Yet another thalien had been waiting for them to disembark, and he was now looking over at her with keen interest. Unfortunately for Tae, even from where she stood by the jumper doors she could feel the waves of hatred rolling off of him.

  Jaden? It was the first terrified thought that sprang to her mind as her eyes adjusted to the massive room she was now in. She sagged in relief when, on her second look, she realized that this wasn’t the man she had so recently killed. Her heartbeat returned to normal after its initial wild panic and she began to breathe again.

  No, it wasn’t Jaden, but he looked eerily similar. As she was dragged nearer she surveyed him more closely. Yes, there were definite differences. This one had a slightly longer nose, his lips were a tad thinner, and his violet eyes held just a shade more insanity in them than her recently dead pursuer. She giggled nervously at the insane road her own thoughts travelled down. Her nervous laughter stopped abruptly as she now became sure that this man was somehow related to the dead hunter; because he now looked both enraged, and insane at her giggling, it was not a comforting site.

  He stepped forward, slapping her hard across the face.

  Tae flew backward onto the floor, her short dress landing around her waist. Her right leg and arm hit the floor first taking the brunt of the fall and making her grunt involuntarily in pain.

  Jalek eyed her body and the scanty little panties she wore with increased hostility, his rage, if anything, intensifying. ‘Did you wear this for Zeus? So you could ensnare that pathetic excuse for a god, you murdering little whore?’

  Tae sat on the floor and pulled her dress back down, trying to buy some time. She needed to think. This guy was obviously a relative of Jaden, he looked far too much like him not to be, and if that were the case then she’d just landed herself in yet another huge pile of centaur shit. She looked up at him in fear, this guy didn’t just look like the poster boy for insanity; he looked like he’d thought up the concept and designed the poster, right along with the whole media campaign that followed.

  She started to look around, trying desperately to get her bearings. She was not onboard the Olympus anymore, that much was obvious, so where the hell was she? And, more importantly, did anyone know she was gone? She knew Brohan would raise hell if she were missing, which would be nothing compared to how Valaria, her mum, and Jason would react.

  No, she needed to use her brains and try to keep herself alive until she could find a way out of this mess. Tae stopped trying to hold back her tears and allowed them to spill from her eyes. Play along, she thought. She knew her tears and fear were what he wanted. If she could find out what was going on then maybe she could work out what to do, perhaps even find a way to contact someone who could rescue her.

  At the sight of her tears Jalek smiled with satisfaction. ‘Do you know who I am?’ Tae shook her head and cowered even more. Thankfully it seemed to mollify him somewhat.

  ‘I am Elite Commander Jalek. I am the brother of Jaden, the warrior you murdered.’

  Tae’s eyes widened and she tried to look as frightened as possible. No acting here, she thought in terror. This guy is a serious bloody lunatic, judging by the look in his eyes.

  He leant forward. ‘In part payment for all that you have done, I’m going to make you watch as I destroy everything you worked so hard for, including your beloved Loki and Zeus, the other part of your payment …’ He smiled and reached out, grabbing her by the left arm and squeezing it brutally.

  Tae screamed as his thumbs and fingers dug deep and then began to twist, a dull snapping noise came from the limb as she felt the bone give way under the immense pressure being applied to it. Tears fell from her eyes and she started crying in earnest as pain lanced up and down her arm in unrelenting waves. At her reaction Jalek smiled and pressed his thumb down even harder in clear enjoyment. Her renewed gasp of pain fell to broken sobs as she clutched at his hand in a vain attempt to loosen his grip.

  ‘You think this hurts, woman?’ he asked, his voice a soft caress. ‘This is nothing compared to what I have planned for you.’ He hoisted her roughly to her feet by the damaged arm, making her scream once more.

  Must…stay…conscious. Tae desperately tried to focus her thoughts, barely aware of where she was being taken, knowing only that to faint was to die. Black dots swam before her eyes and a sudden urge to vomit assailed her. There was just too much pain, there was no fighting it, it was inescapable, so she did the only thing she could, she allowed herself full rein to feel everything.

  In the small corner of her mind that was still functioning rationally, she knew with a cold certainty that all of the pain she was in, and her reaction to it, was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment. This Jalek seemed to be on the razor’s edge of a killing rage. He wanted his pound of flesh for the death of his brother and, like it or not, Tae was going to have to provide it, at least until a chance to escape presented itself.

  ‘You’re going to get a ringside seat to the destruction of your gods. Everything you worked so hard to save I intend to destroy. Then I’m going to take my time in punishing you for what you did to my brother.’ He smiled, obviously relishing the prospect of what he had in mind for her. ‘And trust me when I tell you, I can keep you alive for a very, very, long time.’

  Tae tried not give into her rising panic, that path led to a quick death. Despite the pain and tears she tried desperately to focus on looking around for a means of escape.

  ‘Close the hangar door,’ Jalek yelled as he dragged her roughly to the nearest turbo lift. ‘No-one leaves or enters. From now on we are on full battle alert.’

  Chapter 6

  Brohan was irate; he had awoken with every nerve in his body on alert, it took him a moment to realize why he had awoken in such a heightened state of awareness. The reactors were silent. He hadn’t been able to become accustomed to their steady thrum, so when they went silent his body noticed almost straight away. He dressed hurriedly, telling Valaria to stay put, an order she saw fit to prompt
ly ignore – hence his annoyance. He focused his mind and drew his knife, making sure he was fully prepared for anything before opening the door. The guards were dead against the wall. His mind whirled. Gas stunner, most likely, Their throats had been cut for good measure.

  Valaria stepped out behind him, her hands held in small fists in front of her chest. ‘Tae …’

  She did her best to ignore the guards and the copious amount of blood as they rushed to Tae’s door and opened it. ‘Oh no.’ Valaria swung around to Brohan. ‘She’s gone.’

  Brohan went back to one of the guards, leant down, and grabbed the dead woman’s com-watch. He then dug around in her ear before finding and taking out a small chip which he quickly placed it in his own before turning to Valaria. ‘The chips will translate and link us to communications, only ranks from lieutenant up have permanent chips inserted, the lower ranks have short term replaceable ones.’

  Valaria nodded and hurried to collect a chip from the other dead guard.

  Brohan tried contacting the bridge with his com watch. ‘Communications are down.’ He said turning back to Valaria.

  He grabbed the guard’s zap gun and looked around deep in thought. Valaria took two guns from the other dead guards then searched their pockets for spare power crystals.

  Satisfied they were at least armed they quickly checked on Jason and Kresley, both of whom wanted to go with them to find out what was happening. Brohan refused, instead he gave Jason a zap gun and told them to stay in Kresley’s room while he and Valaria found out what was going on. Kresley nodded fearfully while Jason became incensed but, after a short argument, he grudgingly agreed to stay and protect his mother.