Chapter 9: Quwallie

"We are outnumbered, and our blasters are out of commission from our last encounter," Tammy announced after checking her panels. But the way she said it was just like the way she'd say anything—monotone and calm. When I looked around, everyone seemed just as cool and composed while they thought for a moment, like they were deciding what to make for dinner.

Was I the only one who was freaked out or what?

Finally, Cashel spoke. "Tammy, tell them we're giving them Vaughan in exchange for safe passage. Kiko, Rei, prepare to make the transaction. Agree to any of their demands."

As much as I wanted to see Vaughan pay for his crimes, safe passage sounded like a pretty good plan to me. Then Cashel added, "Sarth, you better go with them to translate."

I wasn't expecting that, but it wasn't like we could do anything else. Kiko and Rei took off to the lower deck, and I followed as fast as I could. In the lower deck, Kiko opened the circular hatch in the floor that Rei had kicked Vaughan in when we first arrived.

I was the only one who spoke the language, so it was my dubious honor to tell the jerk that he was getting rescued. "Get up here!" I yelled down into the hole.

Vaughan smiled as he made his way up the ladder. His appearance had drastically changed the past few weeks. He had grown a scraggly beard and had a nasty, rotting smell about him. He wasn't quite so wide in girth either.

Kiko took the restraints off his wrists, and we stood there, waiting.

Soon Tammy's voice came through the intercom. "The Quwallie is about to board for Vaughan."

I was nervous about seeing him again. Maybe Kiko sensed it because she stepped in front of me. My heart calmed down a little knowing she was right next to me. Even Rei slipped me one of her 'don't worry' smiles.

The gel wall appeared before us, and then the Quwallie, along with some guards, stepped out. He was still cloaked entirely in black with a mask that covered his face but left a slit that exposed his eyes. Kiko and the Quwallie glared at each other. You did not want to be between them.

Vaughan pulled away from my grip and walked to the guards. I hated that he was getting away, going back to Sola where he could continue his cruel reign as master of masters, but what else could we do? They were about to leave when he noticed that the Quwallie was still locked in a dominance battle with Kiko.

"What is it?" Vaughan demanded.

His voice was deep and sinister when he answered. "I wish to battle this one."

Something was different about him. It took me a second to realize it was his eyes. Once green, they were now glowing bright blue. I didn't know what that meant but doubted it was anything good.

"Then bring her with us, I haven't got all day. You took forever getting here." Vaughan sneered.

What? No way! My hand twitched, instinctively wanting to reach out for Kiko, and the small motion drew Vaughan's attention. His gaze crossed over me and then doubled back.

"Take him too. He belongs to me," he said.

My stomach sank. This deal had gone south, very south. I knew the rest of the crew wouldn't want to let us go, but we were once again brought to the question of 'what else could we do?' They put restraints on Kiko but didn't bother with me. This was eerily familiar. I wondered if I was headed for another public execution, or something worse. I swallowed hard and took a step to follow them into the gel when Rei grabbed my hand.

"Be careful," she warned.

My hand tingled as she pressed a finger in the middle of my palm. Her hands were soft and warm, relaxing my tension a little. I gave her a nod and walked through the gel wall with the others. Neither Kiko nor I tried to fight; we knew we had no choice but to do as Vaughan wished. His battleships surrounding us made sure of that. We walked through the connecting corridor that led to the large Sola battleship. Once safely on the mid-deck of their ship, he turned and gave us a nasty grin.

I don't know why I thought Vaughan would ever keep his word.

"When we're far enough away, blast that damn ship apart," he commanded.

I stopped in my tracks, and the guard behind me dug his blaster into my back, shoving me forward. Kiko made the first move. She kicked the guard next to me, and he went flying across the room. She easily broke the metal cuff links, took out her knife, and quickly rendered all the guards in the room unconscious.

But now she had to deal with the Quwallie.

"Hurry up and finish this," Vaughan growled at him before leaving through a large door.

The Quwallie turned and slowly unsheathed his sleek sword, pleasure clearly written on his face. I didn't know why he seemed so confident since Kiko had beaten him last time, but his expression and glowing blue eyes gave me a bad feeling.

"Get out of here!" Kiko yelled at me. "Contact Rei!"

This storage area was mostly vast space aside from the metal structural pillars and occasional storage crates, so my options were limited. I took cover behind a large crate and watched from a distance. Contact Rei? Contact her how?

"I know who you are," the Quwallie said to Kiko.

She stood in her combat stance, feet planted a little wider than her shoulders, slightly turned to make herself a smaller target, and her knife held low. "Then you shouldn't have challenged me," she replied.

"It's not our nature to run from a fight. Why did you come along then if not to try to kill me? To save your friends?" He laughed. "It's pointless if you're dead."

Did they understand each other? Could it be they were from the same planet?

Kiko sprang forward. As usual, her speed was astonishing, but it was a different battle this time. Somehow the Quwallie was much faster, and stronger.

They were moving quickly, destroying everything in their path. All I could do was avoid getting killed.

"Sarth! Are you okay?" came Rei's voice from … where? I put a hand to my ear, but I wasn't wearing an earpiece.

"Rei?" I looked around. "Where are you?"

"I'm on the Jago, I'm talking to you through my soul link in your head. We need you to press the hair that's on your palm against any electrical circuit you can find."

A soul link in my head? I had no idea what that meant, but for now I'd just be glad it existed. I looked at my hand, the one Rei held earlier, and saw a single strand of silvery hair that could only belong to Tammy stuck to it.

"Circuit. What kind of circuit?"

"The main circuit would be best."

I looked around for anything that looked electrical, and apparently, Rei could also see through my eyes because she cried out, "There! Put your hand on the main door."

The main door, which was on the other side of Kiko and the Quwallie.

Great. Of course it had to be behind what was currently the most dangerous part of the ship.

They were going at it full force at a ridiculous speed. I doubted they would even notice me right now, but I remained cautious as I made my way over. I prayed I wouldn't have to evade quickly. I was still wearing my clothing brace, and it would make sure I would at least die without straining my muscles. I kept my eyes trained on them, not that I could lose their position. The loud clanks and grating of their weapons bounced off the steel walls with earsplitting screeches. The lights were scarce and dim, making pockets of shadows almost every few feet, and whenever knife and sword would clash, it'd send sparks flying. I tried to stay focused by talking to Rei.

"You can see me too?" I asked, creeping from crate to crate towards the door.

"I can see through your eyes."

Wait, this had happened before on Sola, too.

"You need to hurry; Vaughan is charging his main weapon."

I picked up my pace, making it unharmed to the door, and slammed my hand against it. At first it turned red. Then it started flashing. Suddenly multiple alarms rang out, and white smoke poured out from the ceiling.

All the chaos turned the Quwallie's attention to me. He strode toward me, and I lost sight of him in the thick clouds of smoke. I put my back against the wall and searched for any sign of movement.

"Your right!" Rei shouted in my mind.

I ducked just in time to avoid getting my head chopped off. Kiko appeared in front of me and tried to strike him but was easily blocked.

"You alright?" she asked, catching her breath.

"Yeah, I think so," I said, still cowering on the ground.

The Quwallie sliced his hand forward at her. She dodged his blow, and he cut the large metal pillar behind her in half with ease. My mouth opened as I gawked at what I'd just witnessed. Did I see that right? Did he just cut through a metal pillar?

Kiko led the Quwallie away from me, shouting back, "Go hide somewhere and wait for Rei's signal," as they disappeared into the smoke.

The Quwallie seemed to have the edge over Kiko this time, which made me a little nervous. I wished there was something I could do, but this was way beyond me.

"Don't worry about her," said Rei. "He's a tough opponent, but she's tougher. Find some place to hide. Tammy locked down the room so no one can get in. She also set off the evacuation alarm, so the majority of the crew should be ejecting now."

I found a small corner and smashed myself inside as Kiko and the Quwallie's battle raged on.

"What is it?" the Quwallie yelled. "Why won't you fight me with your full potential? Stop hiding like a coward!" His anger reached out through his deep voice.

A loud crash was followed by more clanking of metal. They had made their way back near me, but I could only see silhouettes through the smoke. They stopped close to the door where we entered from the Jago.

"I don't want to kill you," Kiko said.

It was quiet a moment, and then the Quwallie gave a deep laugh. "You've suppressed your power for far too long. You sound like a weak human."

The smoke was still falling, filling the room in a thick white blanket, and the Quwallie's bright blue eyes were the only thing that cut through the hazy clouds. From that I could tell he was standing in front of the entrance facing Kiko. I could barely make out the shape of her back.

"I wanted to see with my own eyes what you were capable of, what my years of patience have led to." The Quwallie flashed his angry eyes at her. She hesitated, something he must have been expecting because he continued to jeer at her. "That's right, he's looking for you, and I will be the one to deliver you to him."

Suddenly his eyes flashed at me before disappearing. I had no time to think or react; the next thing I knew I was held tight with a flash of silver at my throat. At the same time the smoke began to finally fade, and I met Kiko's anxious face in front of me. The worry abruptly turned into something more sinister as she locked eyes with the Quwallie behind me.

"Yes! That's more like it!" he cackled behind his mask. "You're both coming with—"

The entrance door distracted him as Cashel bolted through from the Jago.

It only took that split second, that miniscule pause for Kiko to react, and she was fast. She forced him to release his grip on me, and I stumbled away. Their close-quarter brawl was so quick I could barely see what was happening. The Quwallie threw her off when she was expecting to block a fatal blow. Instead he snapped a wide metal bracelet on her wrist. A moment later the bracelet snapped to the steel floor, dragging her along with it, and pinned her there. Her knife flew from her hand and landed next to me, the blade stuck between the grates on the floor.

Cashel jumped in, diverting the Quwallie's attention.

Rei's voice popped in my head again. "Hold on to something!"

I barely had time to sink my fingers into the grated floor before the entrance door slid open again. But this time it wasn't connected to the Jago. Suddenly we were all on the floor, holding on to anything stationary as the vacuum of space tried to suck us out on full blast.

The force was unbelievable. Loose debris went flying over our heads, never to be seen again. I couldn't hear anything over the roar of oxygen being sucked out of the air.

I managed to look up where right above me the Quwallie was slowly inching his way forward, making his way to Kiko.

A faint sound caught my ear. It was quiet, but my eyes were able to follow it to its source. Rattling between the grate near my head was Kiko's knife. I reached for it.

With it firmly in my grasp, I lunged forward as far up as I could and thrust the knife into the Quwallie's calf. If he made a sound, I didn't hear it. But I was quickly on his radar, and he kicked at my face.

He hit me hard enough that I lost my grip on the grate. I think the only reason I didn't pass out was because I was full of adrenaline. It took me a second to realize I was now rolling towards the entrance. By the time I had a good grip on the grate again, my feet had reached the smooth, slippery surface that made up the rest of the flooring. My legs flailed as I tried to find good footing, but this surface was just too polished.

My fingers were slipping.

I struggled to stay anchored to the ship, but my arms were losing strength. I glanced up once more to see Cashel look down at me. Then he dove for the Quwallie. I watched in horror as they wrestled each other while flying toward the entrance. The Quwallie tried holding onto various things within the ship, but Cashel was stronger than he looked. He made sure they were both sucked out into the vacuum of space.