Noble Vengeance

ONE

The bolts in the metal plates of the floor were stripped and degraded, making each one move and creak when stepped on. It was nearly impossible for her to sneak into the room, but she had managed to come this far without being noticed. Lucky for her, as she rounded the corner she saw that the guard was asleep. The smell of stale sweat assaulted her nostrils, and she took a few minutes to assess the situation.

About two feet from where she stood, bars sectioned off the rest of the small room. There were no windows, and the only light came from the hanging lamp outside of the cell. The prisoner sat quietly in the corner closest to the exit. He was curled into a ball, the side of his head leaning against the bars. There was a bowl still filled with slop nearby, neglected once again. A pail rested on the other side of the tiny cell, completing the contents of the room.

The prisoner looked as if he was also sleeping, but she knew he would be easy to wake.

With practiced and calculated stealth, she retrieved a needle from her belt and injected a serum into the guard’s neck. He wasn’t going to be waking up anytime soon, she thought with a grin.

Vynn? she whispered almost inaudibly. She reached into the cell and felt his sweaty brow with her hand. The mix of blood and sweat warmed her cold, nervous fingers. The prisoner stirred.

His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her with confusion.

Max felt a pang in her heart at the sight of his disheveled, dirty brown hair and the dark circles under his light blue eyes.

As a prisoner, Vynn had been in the space station dungeon at Xi for about two weeks, but he felt like he’d been sitting there for months. The black Agency uniform was covered with the grey dust of the prison floor. He had a black eye and dried blood in his nostrils as well as a superficial cut above his left eye, but no serious injuries.

He squinted to focus through the dark at the shadow in front of him that knew his name, recognizing the burgundy hair that she always tied back. Her amber eyes looked hopefully into his face, willing him to come back. Max! How did you get in here? he croaked, reaching towards her and attempting to stand. She grabbed the hand he thrust through the bars and smiled.

I’m getting you out of here, she answered.

Vynn grunted as he got to his feet and leaned against the bars between them. He glanced at the sleeping guard and then back at his wife.

Where’s the team? he asked.

Max shook her head. There is no team.

You came alone? Vynn stared at her, shocked.

She continued, The Agency was convinced that you were either dead or a lost cause, but I knew you weren’t. I knew that all I had to do was find you and get you back, and it would be all right.

The guard grunted as he stirred, but his sleep remained uninterrupted. Max turned and moved to get his key card, but Vynn grabbed her arm.

Max, wait, he whispered, his voice shaking. You’ve got to get out of here.

Vynn, don’t worry, she responded and kneeled to unhook the card from the thick metal pouch attached to the sleeve of the guard’s jacket. The pouch was encoded; she would have to break the lock. She pulled out a small screwdriver and began carefully taking the pouch apart.

No, Max, this is a trap.

Max looked up from her work and smiled at her paranoid husband. It’s okay, Vynn, she reassured him. Nobody saw me come in, and no one even knows I’m here. I’m going to get you out.

But now you know I’m here. You can go and get reinforcements.

Max frowned. Vynn, I don’t understand. Don’t you want to get out of here?

"I’m fine, but you’re in danger. This is a trap, Max."

The dried blood and fresh stubble that framed his face made Vynn look a lot older and wiser than before. Perhaps that’s what made Max drop the screwdriver she was using, or perhaps it was his threatening gaze. Either way he spooked her, and Max turned to run. As she raced towards the corridor, she glanced back at her husband. Silently she promised that she would be back to get him out of there, and everything would be fine. She would force the Agency to help her; they owed her.

Max rounded the corner still watching her captured husband, and she collided with something tall, thick, and smelling of body odour. She was thrown awkwardly and hit the side of her head on the metal wall. The clanging reverberated through her skull, and she knew it would end up being a huge headache.

Max fought the black dots that threatened to invade her vision as she fell to the ground. She narrowed her eyes and forced herself to remain conscious as her skull throbbed. She felt blood trickle down the left side of her face from a new gash in her temple. Scrambling to her hands and knees, she saw the fresh blood drip onto the floor; it was a bad cut. She slowly lifted her head and managed to focus on three pairs of feet. Three against one, she considered; if she could get to Vynn, they’d have a better chance. The problem was that Vynn was weak and would probably be more of a hindrance than an asset. Max mentally prepared to fight three grown men while fighting to stay awake. The odds were not in her favour.

It would be easiest if she tried taking two of them out before they knew she had regained any strength or bearings. Her gaze ventured further; their uniforms were baggy at the ankles, lucky for her. Before the men could react, Max grabbed the two closest pant legs and pulled, causing the two attackers to falter and topple to the ground. Max used the momentum to pull herself to her feet, and was standing when she heard a skull crack on the metal panel of the floor. The man on the left was dead, and the man on the right was unconscious. They were no longer threats.

Her blood trickled down, mixing with the beads of sweat all over her face, and she had to take a moment to wipe it away from her eyes. She glared at the third and final opponent. He was looking at his colleagues, nervous and obviously scared and unsure of himself. Max relaxed a little bit; he wouldn’t be as much of a challenge as she had thought he might be.

The guard reached for a weapon but was too slow. Before he could point and take action, Max had closed the small gap between them and kicked the gun from his hand. He swung a punch at her face, but Max was faster than him and ducked out of the way. She elbowed him in the middle of his back and he lost his balance, stumbling forward.

When he regained his footing, he grabbed a knife from his belt, turning to deliver a stab. The guard tripped on the dead man’s arm and fell over, throwing the knife in the process. Max dodged the knife as it flew aimlessly into the dark hallway. She looked down at the now scrambling man. It puzzled her that these men would be so unprepared for an attack, and even more that they would be so unskilled with their weapons. She kicked the man in the face, and he went down.

She looked towards the exit and then back to where she had come from. If this was the best they could offer as resistance, Vynn would be able to escape with her. She ran back around the corner, but the look on Vynn’s face horrified her and she skidded to a halt. Before she could direct her gaze in the direction he was looking, Max found herself being tackled by someone much stronger and bigger than herself.

Her right cheek was pressed harshly between two of the metal floor panels. Blood from the wound on her left temple trickled across her face, creating a small pool under her nose. Her hands were being tied by a second captor. When she struggled, a third man kicked her hard in the abdomen. Max groaned, knowing he’d cracked several ribs. Whoever was pushing her face into the ground was not taking any precautions. Her skin stung as the sharp, dirty edges of the floor panels cut her flesh.

When her hands were tied, someone grabbed her feet. She assumed he would tie them up as well, but instead he started to pull. Max gasped in horror and pain when she realized she was being dragged by her feet away from the cell. Screaming in agony, her face scraping against the hard, uneven floor, she was towed away.

Max fought to stay awake, but the cut on her head had already let too much blood escape. This combined with the immense pain she was in forced her to finally give up. Her vision clouded over and she drifted into black.

Helpless, Vynn called her name and pounded the bars that kept him from freeing his wife. He watched as Max was dragged away, leaving a wet trail of blood. Her only hope would be for Vynn to break free; he looked to the unconscious guard. Fortunately, Max absently had left her screwdriver close enough for Vynn to grasp it. Had he been calm, Vynn would have been able to undo the pouch just as Max had been doing, but in his fury, he smashed the tool on the pouch. It cracked, and he forced the pouch the rest of the way open, managing to retrieve the keycard.

Vynn scanned the key and threw his body into the door. He yelped as he fell back, the door not budging. Vynn rubbed his shoulder, knowing the bars would leave a bruise. He glared at the unconscious guard and, mortified, realized that to open the lock, not only did he need the keycard, but he also needed a thumbprint for authorization. Vynn wished he had paid more attention when they brought him in. He prayed that the guard had the correct authorization, and that Max had given the guard enough serum to keep him unconscious. With all his effort he pulled the guard’s thumb towards the scanner, but it wouldn’t reach. As he tried to lift the arm again, the screams of his wife echoed through his brain. He sighed with frustration, and tears began blurring his vision.

Focus, he told himself, squeezing the tears from his eyes and taking several deep breaths. No one else knew Max was here. Vynn was the only one who could save her, but he couldn’t lift the heavy man, so he considered his options. He could dislocate the man’s shoulder, but wasn’t sure if it would give him enough slack. He could also try propping the man up, but given his weakened condition and the size of the man, Vynn decided that would take too long, and maneuvering through the bars might make it too difficult.

Vynn decided to break the man’s thumb off—a gruesome solution, but he had to do something. First he broke the thumb and pulled it like one would take the leg off a chicken. With his other hand, he took the screwdriver and sliced at the skin while pulling the thumb away from the rest of the hand. Disgusted, Vynn tried to imagine it was anything but someone’s hand.

With one final yank, the digit came away, and Vynn lifted the now bloody thumb to the scanner. There was a beep and a click, and Vynn was free. The door swung open and he rushed out, leaving the thumb with its body.

*       *       *

Max opened her eyes to find herself sitting in a wooden chair. She remained tied, but she knew right away by the loosened ropes that whoever was holding her was not worried about her escaping. There were no other people in the room.

The wall to her right was a window. She looked out at the red planet of Carakqua. The sun that was beating down on the planet was shining directly into the window. Max wished she could enjoy the sunshine, but it burned her raw flesh and bleeding face. They had strategically placed the scratched-up right side of her face in the direct path of the rays. She couldn’t see out of her eye, and she wasn’t sure she ever would again; then again, she wasn’t hopeful that she would live for much longer.

Judging by the strength of the sun and the planet to her immediate right, Max knew she was still on the Xi space station. She was still at the same coordinates as Vynn. She felt tears begin forming in her eyes at the thought of her husband. He had been right. It had been a trap. She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to gain composure, but a few tears escaped and stung as they ran down her ravaged cheeks. The tears turned red as they flowed over her damaged face and dripped onto her filthy pant leg. Max let out an angry cry, filled with anguish and frustration: everything had come crashing down around her. The door clicked open.

It occurred to her that they might not know her connection to Vynn. She wasn’t about to tell them.

Madixyna, came a sinister voice from the doorway. A male Carakquan casually walked into the room. He wore black pants and a black jacket that buttoned from his chin down to his knees. His long black hair was tied at the back of his head, and his red eyes pierced her soul as he watched her. There was a scar across the left side of his face that distinguished him from all the other Carakquans. His skin was the same colour as Max’s right cheek: blood red. On Carakqua, the sun was much closer than on Earth, so the Carakquan’s skin was leathery; it had always made Max feel uncomfortable. She glared at the face in front of her. She knew him too well.

Shynk Faids, she acknowledged, making no effort to hide her disdain for the man.

Faids had been a thorn in the side of the Conglomerate of Peaceful Planets for longer than she’d been alive. His quest to thwart the Agency ensured frequent meetings between his Xi officers and theirs. As a lieutenant, Max had crossed paths with Faids twice already, and with his lackeys even more. Before it had always been about the Agency, but when Vynn and Max were selected for a special mission that Faids had a vested interest in, the conflict had become personal.

You’ll get nothing from me, she said.

Faids ran his finger over her injured cheek. His touch felt like liquid fire blazing across her flesh, but Max did not move away. Instead she focused her fury and pain on the rope around her wrists. It was loose, and it wouldn’t take her long to free her hands, but she knew that Faids was aware of this. He didn’t fear Max; he never had.

Oh, Maxy-bear, he started, bringing his face just an inch from hers. She couldn’t help but flinch, and Faids grinned at her reaction.

When will you learn? You humans have no future in this universe. You are inferior.

Then why don’t you exterminate us and get it over with? she whispered. Her face was a blank slate, showing no emotion except disgust. Faids moved even closer; his pointed nose was nearly stabbing her right eye. She was glad that eye was blind. He stroked her long, tangled burgundy hair sadistically. She kept her shoulders and neck rigid as her hands continued struggling with the rope behind her back.

"You know, Max, it is true humans are inferior, but they do tend to have a beautiful sense of loyalty. Can you tell me if I am correct? I’ve read you have a history of dying for your leaders. It’s romantic, really."

What are you looking for, Shynk? Max glared back into his hellish eyes. It was torture to look upon them, but she showed none of it.

You are a lovely girl, he replied. Lustily, he caressed her cheek and neck. Even for a human. His leathery hand went farther down, passing slowly over her breast, stomach, and crotch. He rested his fingers on her inner thigh. I don’t have to kill you to make you suffer. I could keep you in my employ.

Max rolled her eyes but did not move her body. She scowled at him as her hands came free. Bringing her right fist quickly around, she pounded him as hard as she could in the left temple. Faids stumbled and fell backwards, removing his hand from its arrogant position. Standing, Max felt a slight dizziness from loss of blood and fatigue. Faids also rose to his feet, a small sliver of blood showing.

So you’re not immortal, Max commented as she prepared to fight her enemy. Booya for me.

Faids smiled and laughed a sinister laugh.

I guess I hit a soft spot, didn’t I, Maxy-bear? Max frowned, and Faids continued, Clearly someone else has already laid claim to you.

What? Max was surprised by Faids’ unexpected change in tactic. He motioned to the guard who had been lingering by the closed door. The guard opened it to reveal two other Carakquans dragging a struggling prisoner into the room. Max’s compsure faltered as a worried look at her husband flashed quickly across her face. She realized that getting them together had been the plan all along. Quickly looking away, Max resumed her icy look of indifference, but it was too late. She had betrayed her true feelings in that one glance. It had been long enough for Faids to see, and he laughed once more.

Max, you know Vynnlakerk Tytaine, do you not? he mused.

She cleared her throat and mustered the strength to remain calm. I’ve been acquainted. Vynn looked at her with large, sad eyes, telling her to get out by any means.

I think that you are more than acquaintances, Faids said, pacing from him to her and back again. In fact, I think you and Vynny boy here are lovers. He circled behind the weak, kneeling Vynn. What do you say of my assumptions?

I think you’re grasping at nothing. You’re making stuff up and trying to manipulate me with your Carakquan mind games. They don’t work on me; you should know that by now. Vynnlakerk is a part of the Agency, and that is why I’m here, she replied through gritted teeth. Faids didn’t even falter; Max was losing the battle.

This is how it’s going to work. Faids knew he was in control as he casually put his hands behind his back. You will tell me the whereabouts and the codes for the Alasine, and I won’t kill your lover. As if to accentuate the point, Vynn coughed blood and mucus onto the floor.

I won’t, Max replied sternly, and you won’t kill him, not if you want the correct codes. Vynn gasped and looked at Max like she’d just told Faids everything he needed to know. She wanted to reassure him but knew it was best to ignore her husband.

I see. Faids nodded. So you know part of them and he knows the other. He didn’t appear surprised by this. A very smart idea, Maxy-bear, but I think you’re lying. Faids drew his Carakquan laser-gun and pointed it at Vynn. Max watched coldly.

And what if you’re bluffing? Max challenged, stalling for time. She needed a plan.

Can you risk losing your boyfriend just because you decided to call my bluff? he asked.

He’s not my boyfriend, she spat, and the codes are more important than his life. She knew it was all the truth, but it hurt to say.

Faids frowned a little. You’re lying… but you’re not. He paused and glared at her thoughtfully. He’s not your boyfriend, but he’s more than just your bed mate.

Just kill me and get it over with, Vynn moaned, she won’t tell you anything.

Oh, Vynn, we already know that you’re ready to die. Faids said. But what if we killed Max instead? He turned his weapon to Max; neither she nor Vynn showed any emotion. They had prepared themselves for this tactic.

We all die sometime, Vynn commented.

Foolish, stubborn humans. This could be easy for everyone if you’d just cooperate. Faids looked at Max and then at Vynn. I suppose making you suffer will have to do. He shrugged.

Watching Max, his eyes blazed with criminal intent and he turned to her husband. One shot was fired into Vynn’s chest and he fell to the ground.

No! Max screamed and ran to the body on the floor. The guards seized her before she made it, and she fell to her knees. He was so still.

Vynn, she whispered in shock. Tears erupted from her face, smearing the blood on her cheek. She couldn’t feel the stinging anymore, slumping in the arms of her guards.

Oh, Vynn, she cried quietly as she shook her head.

Touching, really. Faids’ voice came from behind her. And to think, just a couple little details could have saved his life. She turned just in time to see the gun pointed at her and hear the clicking of the trigger. Pain seared through her left shoulder as the laser ripped through the skin, muscle, and bone. It was not a mortal wound, but close enough that it could still kill her.

Good, she thought, it’s better to die now anyway. She closed her eyes and allowed her surroundings to melt into oblivion. She felt her skin grow cold even in the heat of the Carakqua sun. The darkness took her.

TWO

Through the tranquil darkness, she heard what could only be a voice. What it was saying was beyond her; her location, inconceivable. The eternal, calm place was being pulled from around her. Max attempted to grasp the darkness, but there was nothing to latch on to but her will. Her body was gone. In retrospect, she could not recall her body, only that there was a time when there had been more to her. The darkness was familiar, so she protested its departure. There was something about the surrounding sensations that made them wholly unappealing. Her will faltered as she lost her grip on the darkness and started to fall.

The sun beat down on her swollen, scabbed face. Her skin felt as if it were too tight for her body but had been stretched to fit anyway. She tried to open her eyes, but her muscles weren’t strong enough, so she focused what energy she had left into her hands. They were resting on a thick, grainy substance. Where was she? Carakqua was the logical answer, but it was mostly volcanoes and rocky terrain. In the flat areas, there were no deserts, only rock. She knew she was on sand, and it was ridiculously hot, but she had no idea what planet it might be.

A cool, wet substance flooded across her beaten face. It felt like heaven. She opened her cracked lips enough for the liquid to fill her dry, sandy mouth. It tasted like water, but was just different enough for her to know it wasn’t; it was slightly sweeter.

Swallow, a man commanded.

Max jerked when she heard it. His voice was unfamiliar, but it brought her back to the present. The memories came rushing back—the gun pointing at her, Shynk Faids, Vynn’s death. She wanted to cry, but her eyes were too dry for tears. Instead she whimpered and swallowed.

The man shushed her as he gently wiped a cloth over her forehead. She flinched when he tried to clean around her right eye and recalled bitterly how that eye couldn’t see. She focused and tried to open her left.

Call-ful, the man said, don’t open eyes, the sun velly sta-wong now. He lifted her head and sat her up in the sand.

Max could feel the fatigue in all her muscles, and her shoulder throbbed; however, the pain in her limbs was only a shadow compared to the agony of her heart. Her husband was dead, and she was not.

She vaguely felt the man wrap and tend to her wounds. She didn’t try to open her eyes, reasoning that the sight of a barren wasteland would not lighten her mood. There was nothing in the waking world that she wanted to see. He wrapped a wet cloth around her forehead and neck and placed something on her head, a hat of some sort. Whoever this man was, he knew how to survive in a desert. Max considered how lucky she was to be found, but it brought no joy to be saved.

Now, he said, I help you on my nigvus.

Max crinkled her nose. She’d never heard of a nigvus. The man’s accent was also distinct and foreign to her ears.

He understood her confusion. Nigvus is animal, he explained. I see you clothes and skin. Not of planet Piklasa. I take you Conglama-ate of Peaceful Planets safe place.

Max attempted a nod in acknowledgement, but she couldn’t bring herself to portray any happiness. She didn’t care what happened to her.

Allowing the man to help her onto the strange beast, she was reminded of a camel. It snorted like a horse under her weight, but the width of the animal reminded her more of a cow. She could feel its thick, coarse fur on the long neck in front of her.

Thanks, she croaked.

The man rubbed her back. I know pain; it get betta.

Thanks, she croaked again. She doubted the pain in her heart would ever go away.

Hallt get betta too, he added as he started to pull the reins of the nigvus.

Max frowned. How did he know?

You hallt sad. I know how feels to lose love. Pain will fade, he reassured her.

Will it go away? she whispered, more to herself than to her rescuer. There was a long silence, and she assumed he hadn’t heard her. She didn’t intend to repeat the question.

They walked a few minutes, the only sound being the crunch of sand under the nigvus’ hooves—at least she thought they would be hooves.

Neva, the man said.

Never? Max asked.

You want? he responded. The crunching sand once again enveloped the world around her. She also heard the soft breathing of the man who had saved her life and that of the nigvus on which she rode. Vynn would never breathe or hear the crunching of sand again. Worst of all, she would never be able to see or touch her husband for the rest of her life. She felt as if she had cheated him. He should be the one alive, not her.

I don’t deserve to live, she moaned.

Why? the man asked.

Because I could have saved him. I could have told Faids what he wanted to know, and Vynn would be alive right now, Max explained, taking care to leave out information she shouldn’t tell. She had let Vynn die to keep it safe; she would never tell anyone.

Sound like he die eedda way, or you die.

But then he’d still be alive, Max whined. She wished she could cry, but her eyes still felt like they were on fire.

Yes, but you dead, the man reasoned.

Exactly! Max exclaimed.

Well, the man said, see you hallt pain.

Yeah?

You wish same pain to him? he asked.

Of course not. Max thought about it. She was in agony at that moment, but the thought of Vynn having to suffer the same fate hurt her even more. She wished with all her might that she could cry or do anything to express her sadness. I can’t even cry. Is that horrible of me? she mumbled.

It pain, teeas will come, and you feel betta. The man tried reassuring her.

Max forced a small smile, but it didn’t help. Although he said it was going to get better, she couldn’t see that happening anytime soon. She didn’t want to get over Vynn.

*       *       *

Zakin Streeke, a Genege lieutenant with the Agency, walked alongside Annanida Mercuride. He felt like he was taking a test, but it was all trick questions.

Annanida was a Tiel, the self-proclaimed most advanced and intelligent species in the universe. They considered themselves the gardeners of the galaxies and ran the Conglomerate of Peaceful Planets. Since they rarely involved themselves in any situations, although they had the power to resolve them, Zakin thought of them as watchers.

The Genege were a race from the planet of Serrika, and they made up the majority of the Agency population. Aside from some different eye and hair colours, they looked exactly the same as humans. Since Zakin’s eyes were green and his hair was black, he was indistinguishable from a human. He was a bigger, muscular man, standing just over six feet. Beside him, Annanida was a few inches taller but significantly thinner. The Tiel people were generally slight, and Zakin was always a little surprised to see her open doors without more effort.

Annanida was the Tiel representative of the Agency. When Zakin had been told she would be accompanying him on his retrieval mission, he was shocked. She was usually the one he reported back to after his missions. Like her people, Annanida had ridiculously long, straight, white hair always parted in the middle, and skin paler than any species he had ever come across. Her irises were so light that they looked as if she had none, but upon closer inspection, a pinkish ring could be discerned around her pupils.

When are you going to tell me why we’re here? Zakin asked her, running his hands through his short black hair.

As I have previously informed you, Lieutenant Streeke, it is a strictly confidential assignment. You know what you are required to know, Annanida responded shortly.

"Yes, so