With as neutral a pace as we could manage, but still hurrying, Egyle, Hortur, and I left the mess hall. The magnetic tram I had arrived on was long gone. We would have to wait for the next arrival in order to make our way to the hangars where our ship was docked. Waiting outside were a few groups of aliens chatting among themselves. Balros and Yvael both stood side by side, awaiting the next tram as well. Good, that means we’d be on equal footing in the mad dash to see who could do what first. Either we made it to our ship and got the hell out of dodge, or Balros convinced Avon to bring down the security on our asses and lock us up.

As cool as a breeze, I slid up beside Balros. It was time for some misdirection. Yvael gave me a ‘what-the-fuck-are-you-doing’ kind of look when she noticed my arrival, but I paid her no mind. Balros merely looked at me in contempt.

“Yo, Balros,” I addressed the Demon man, “any place around here to get some shut eye?”

“…Eh?”

“Sleep man, yeesh. You guys need to work on your slang.”

“Oh…sleep. Right. You should try the dormitories section. Plenty of free rooms, just ask the receptionist and she’ll find one for you.” He spoke after a moment of thought.

“Alright thanks man.” I patted him on the shoulder and returned to my group. “He said we could find rooms at the dormitories.” I spoke aloud and winked repeatedly towards Egyle and Hortur.

“Is your eye alright?” Hortur asked.

“Ah yes. The dormitories. Very good. I cannot wait to get some sleep.” Egyle nodded as she spoke flatly. I was thankful at least one of my crew could improv. Not very convincingly, but it was a step in the right direction. Now we just had to wait for the tram.

With an increasingly loud hum, and a slight vibration, the tram returned. Loads of aliens scrambled off in the mad pre-dinner rush as the few of us waiting had to push our way on. Other than the sound of grumbling, everyone on the tram was quiet enough to hear the announcement that the next stop would be the observation deck, followed by the dormitories, the hangars, and then the engineering section. As the magnetic rails of the tram began to hum, we set off for the observation deck.

——————————————————————————

“I hate him so much!” Aevalonis growled as she paced back and forth in the conference room. “That arrogant, conniving, presumptuous, chauvinistic, brutish, UGH!” she stomped her foot on the ground. “I cant even think of all the words I’d use to describe him! Ugh! If I could, I would lock him away in a dark room for the rest of eternity!”

“Or you could kill him.” Lyrin offered with hopeful words.

“Death would be too easy an end for him.” After a few more moments of frantic pacing Aevalonis sighed. She then sat at the conference table in the center of the room and put her head in her hands. “Did I do the right thing Lyrin?”

“Lord?”

“What if I had said yes? Would he have joined us then? Could you even imagine the reaction of the entire galaxy? A summoned Hero turning against the Kingdom?” She laughed mirthlessly. “How many worlds would join us in an instant if that had happened? How many lives could avoid being lost? Entire fleets would become turncoats all to support him because the people believe in the Hero.”

“Lord never doubt that you did the right thing! That Hero only saw you as a prize to be won! Not a woman!” Lyrin argued frantically. She couldn’t lose her Lord to a human. Not in a million years!

“Thank you Lyrin, you’re a great friend.” Lyrin’s heart soared at her Lord’s words. “But can I afford to think of myself as a woman in my position? If an opportunity arises for me to secure strength for my people, I should take it…right? No matter…how revolting that option seems to be? Isn’t that what it means to be a ruler?”

Just as quickly as Lyrin’s heart soared, it smash down to the ground. “No…” her voice barely a whisper. Was she going to lose her Lord? To a human?

“Perhaps theres still time to reconsider his offer…” Aevalonis mumbled.

“It wouldn’t matter.” Came the voice of Balros as he entered the room with Yvael following closely behind.

“What do you mean Balros?” She asked with a perplexed expression.

“The Hero said that he would say no to joining the rebellion regardless of your answer.” He clarified.

“…What?” Fury burned in her eyes.

“Lets not be hasty Ave!” Yvael spoke as Aevalonis arose to her feet, kicking her chair backwards. “He doesn’t want to be personally involved in the rebellion is all!”

“And that is supposed to make everything better?” Her tone was low, dangerous. Demonic.

“He is currently heading to the dormitories with his companions.” Balros spoke.

“Good.” Aevalonis nodded. In a rage, she opened communications with the security station. “New orders, all guards are to stun and capture the Hero and his companions. Lock his companions away, but leave the Hero in a permanent state of unconsciousness until I arrive.”

“What are you going to do Lord?” Lyrin asked as she stood beside her.

“I’m going to kill him with my bare hands for not taking me seriously.” Aevalonis growled.

———————————————————————————————

“Alright, only a single guard.” I whispered as I peeked around the edge of the hallway into the hangar. One blue demon man stood watch over the hallway. Not very well at that, as all he did was look at the holo-device in his hands. Typical security guard behavior that transcended all races.

‘Aya, I need a supply closet or something.’

‘A janitor’s supply closet is located about five meters to the right of the guard.’ She responded succinctly.

‘Perfect. I’m going in.’

“Wait here.” I whispered to my squad. Staying low, I crept towards my target making as little noise as possible. My heart pounded in my chest as I got closer and closer. Our getaway would depend on us knocking out this guard in a timely manner without him alerting his fellows. Before I could reach him, he turned. Our eyes met. He reached for his gun. That was his mistake.

Like a rocket, I launched myself at the guard. My fist met his wrist as his hand gripped the handle of his gun. Agony erupted from his mouth as he cried out, sending the gun flying deeper into the hall. Cries that were soon muffled as I brought him to the ground and covered his mouth with my hand. After a bit of a struggle, I firmly held him in a sleeper hold.

“Shhhh you are getting sleepy…” I spoke hypnotically to him. “So very sleepy.”

“Mffhmmfhffmmfff…fffmfhhff” he spoke against my hand as his struggles weakened. A few moments later, he stopped moving from the lack of oxygen. Reflexively, I checked his pulse. Still beating. Good. I motioned my squad forward as I pulled the now out of commission guard into the janitor’s closet and closed the door.

“That was amazing!” Egyle gushed, “Where did you learn to do that?”

“My brother taught me. First hand.” I grumbled.

“Yerikk’s Corporation Stunblaster.” Hortur mumbled as he brought over the gun that had flown away in my brief fight. “A fine model, able to take down a Grus in three shots. Or so the ads say.”

“No time for trivia Hortur, we gotta move.” I urged as I swiped the gun from his hands. Sirens began to blare throughout the complex. “Looks like we’ve overstayed our welcome. Lets go!” Together, the three of us sprinted down the hall.

Well, me and the Princess sprinted. Hortur slithered really fast. Didn’t matter, really. What did matter was that I got to use my new stun gun! As we raced down the hall, a guard like the one I had taken down turned a corner. Both our weapons were drawn. He made the mistake of trying to aim. Aya yelled at me to shoot, so I shot. My bolt of electricity hit him square in the chest sending him into spasms and straight to the ground. While we passed his passed out body, I grabbed the other stun-gun and handed it off to Hortur. Egyle complained, but Hortur was the kind of snake-man that knew his guns. I trusted him way more than her.

We didn’t have to sprint much further to get to the hangar where our ship was located. The shutters to the station’s exits were currently closed, but those were a minor nuisance. They would be easily plasma’d through once we got our ship in gear. Metal clunked underneath our feet and tail as we rushed up the cargo ramp.

‘Lets get this puppy flying Aya!’ I shouted mentally as I rushed into the pilot seat, pressing buttons faster than I could think.

‘Captain, they are currently engaging the planetary defense satellites.’

‘Can you disable them?’

‘Only their weapon systems, and it will take time.’

‘Great. How long?’

‘About five minutes.’

‘Alright, sounds good.’

‘A team of guards is rapidly approaching our position. They will be here in a minute.’

‘Damnit.’

“Egyle, take over. Don’t leave the station until I say so via comm-link.” I commanded as I arose from my chair.

“Yes! Wait, why?” She asked as she jumped out of the gunner station.

“Guards incoming. Planetary defense satellites active and ready to kill us.” I shrugged, “The usual. Hortur, give me that other stun-gun.” Without arguing, he handed me the weapon. “Thanks. Be back in a sec.” Not even waiting for a response, I rushed out of the bridge. Metal clanged underfoot as I made my way down the short hall into the cargo bay where I would lay my ambush.

‘Twenty seconds away.’ Aya informed me. I nodded to myself, which is stupid when I think about it, and pressed the button to lower the cargo ramp. Screeching metal was my reward as the ramp slowly unfolded. My ears rung from the sheer volume of the rusted metal ramp. But there was no time to complain, and I had no cover to hide behind. So I did the next best thing. I lay flat on my stomach just behind the top of the ramp with both guns held ready.

Without even daring to blink, I locked my eyes upon the entrance to our hangar. The second it opened upwards, I let loose a hail of electricity. A pair of bolts shot from both weapons towards the doorway and into a single guard who had entered ahead of his fellows. Thats what he gets for rushing in.

“Demon down!” A voice called from behind the doorway as a long tentacle slithered around the corner, grabbed the guard I had knocked out, and dragged him back to safety. Good teamwork.

“Come and get me you bastards!” I yelled out, sending a hail of electrical devastation into the doorway, keeping them from entering. A few shots came back in response, but they were way off their mark. I had the overwhelming advantage of only needing to focus on a small area.

‘Satellites weapons have been disabled, Captain.’

‘Music to my ears Aya.’

“We’re good to go Egyle. Get this thing airborn!” I called over the comms.

“Roger that!” came her reply as the engines began to burn.

Not wanting to stick around in the cargo bay, I jumped up and rushed to close the ramp. Bolts of electricity riddled the ship, some coming dangerously close to hitting me. Without a second thought, I punched the button to close the ramp. Grinding metal screeched out in a high-pitched wail that caused me physical pain. Guards outside the ship dropped their weapons to hold their hands to their ears. It was only a few seconds, but each second was an eternity of damnation, until the ramp shut.

‘Aya.’ I strained to speak in my own mind from the sound of a thousand souls screaming in agony.

‘Yes Captain?’ Of course she wasn’t affected by it.

‘Remind me to get some oil for that shit.’

‘Acknowledged.’

———————————————————————————————

“Damnit!” Aevalonis yelled as she slammed her hand upon the conference room table where she sat. Lyrin, Balros, and Yvael all sat in silence as they watched the camera feed of the Hero’s escape. Plasma cannons blasted the shutters and melted the metal in seconds. Guards attempted to shoot the ship, but they couldn’t do anything with their stun-guns. “Tell me the satellites will do the job.”

“They’re coming into range now.” Balros spoke. “Satellites locked on.”

“Fire!” Aevalonis yelled. Nothing happened.

“What is wrong with them?” Lyrin raged alongside Aevalonis. “That ship should be nothing more than debris!”

“Its that damn AI of his.” Aevalonis growled. “It has to be.”

“Incoming transmission from the Boatsy.” Yvael spoke from the side. “Video feed.” Aevalonis ground her teeth together in frustration.

“Patch it through.” A second later, a hologram of Chet sitting in his chair popped up in the middle of the room. “Come to gloat, Hero? To rub your successful getaway in my face?”

“What kind of a person do you take me for, Avon? I would only do that to someone I didn’t like.” The Hero responded.

“Then why are you contacting me?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m not your enemy. And I don’t want to be. But trying to kill me really puts me in a bind you know. You’re treading real close to being just as much of a bitch as Queen Salyzan.”

“Hrmph. Don’t compare me to that monster.”

“Just did. You’re not quiet at her level just yet, but keep on acting like you did and you’ll be no better than her.”

“So, what exactly do you want from me?”

“Well I would prefer if we could be lovers, but I can settle for being just friends for now.”

“Friends? And just why would I want to be friends with a disgusting pig like you?”

“Ouch, that really hurts you know?” He grinned an infuriating grin. “I think you could gain a lot from being friends with someone like me.”

“Like what?” Aevalonis shot back. “What could you exactly offer me, Hero?”

“An unbiased opinion for one. You ask Lyrin or Yvael or Balros a question and they’ll give you their opinion which has been tempered by your views and ideals.”

“Hmmm.” Aevalonis closed her eyes in consideration.

“Don’t listen to him Lord.” Lyrin pleaded. “We don’t need this human!”

Aevalonis looked at her friend whose eyes were burning with hatred as she stared at the hologram of the Hero. “Alright. Before I even think about accepting your request for friendship, I have one thing to ask your so-called unbiased opinion.”

“Alright.”

“Why are you so set on making me your woman?” She could feel everyone staring at her, but she paid them no mind. This was between her and the Hero.

“At first, it was your looks. I’m a shallow dude, I’ll admit.”

“Hrmph. Typical.”

“But the more I see of the galaxy the more I end up thinking, what kind of message would a Hero and a Demon Lord getting together send? A peaceful one, I’d imagine. Perhaps subconsciously I always thought of this as being a way to achieve peace without war.” He laughed, “Perhaps I’m just an idealist.”

“I see. Alright then Hero, lets be friends.”

“Any chance on you being my woman?”

“No.”

“Damnit. Alright, friends it is. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go help my other friend save his wife.”

Just as quickly as the transmission began, it ended. Aevalonis looked to her companions. Yvael looked quite relieved, Balros, as usual, was thoughtful, and Lyrin…well…she looked hurt.

“I’m sorry Lyrin. But hes right, I need to try for peace.” Aevalonis bowed her head to her friend. Without a word, Lyrin left the room.