Consortium of Planets: Alien Test (22 page)

“That’s good…” It wasn’t really, but Wystl’s mind was elsewhere, and her voice trailed off as she considered her next move.

It was time to go back to Consortia but there was a dilemma: If the Warriors were acting lawfully and weren’t terrorists, then she must take the chancellor with her and complete their mission. On the other hand, if he
wasn’t
supposed to go to Consortia, she could always bring him back. Either way, she would keep him safe from the Warriors for Change and take him directly to the University.

“On your feet, Chancellor,” said Wystl unequivocally. “It’s time to go.”

“But you just saved me from
going
to your wretched planet!” Jonathan screamed in fear and disbelief.

Dean wrinkled his face in anticipation, uncertain what Wystl’s reaction would be to Visen’s unkind reference to her home world. She didn’t seemed vindictive, but the chancellor had a negative way with people and now possibly with aliens. One of her hands still held the control pad up in position and her fingers hesitated just millimeters above the buttons.
Are they tensing to move?

“You are wrong about so many things that it is hard to believe you were part of what just happened,” Wystl said incredulously, and lowered the pad. “Consortia is a beautiful, vibrant planet that you know
nothing
about,” she stressed defensively. Her anger grew as she continued, her sparkling blue eyes glaring at him.

“I wasn’t trying to save
you
. I was saving
everyone
from the Warrior’s zeal. In case you didn’t notice, they killed your guards and Svetlana was next! Your ego kept you from understanding what was happening, and that will be your demise.”

Hanging onto her painful leg, Svetlana pulled herself to her feet and leaned heavily against the damaged bookshelves. A few books fell on the floor as she cleared a place to hold onto.

“Hey, lady, he’s not going anywhere without me – especially not to another planet!” She grimaced through her clenched teeth and glanced down at the burned slash on her leg. “I have unfinished business with him.”

She looked at the way Svetlana feebly held herself up and her voice went calm and gentle. “My name is Wystl, and I think it will be a while before you can collect on old debts.”

“Fine, then I am going with you. I’ll collect when I’m ready,” Svetlana said resolutely. “
And
when he least expects it.” She added threateningly.

“She’s right, Wystl,” Dean agreed. “We both have a score to settle with him. I want to go, too.”

Wystl knew what to expect from Dean and she liked having him around anyway, but Svetlana was as unpredictable as angry groutin: the slimy, smelly creatchers were not normally dangerous, but when aroused, they could react violently with ten-centimeter-long fangs and razor-sharp talons. Even if he couldn’t guarantee it, she needed to hear reassurance from Dean that Svetlana wouldn’t be a problem.

“Dean, should we take her?” Wystl inquired with uncertainty.

Dean felt Svetlana’s resentment toward Jonathan radiating like the lethal desert sun, and with good reason.
I lost friends and colleagues, but she lost her parents
.

“I may regret this, but she has a right to go. I think we should take her.”

Martle leaned over and whispered earnestly, “Dean, I don’t know what they plan to do with him, but if you can, bring him back alive to stand trial. You can’t let her kill him. It would mean utter chaos here on Earth.

The quandary was evident in Dean’s tone as he whispered back, “I know, I know.” He wanted to kill Jonathan as much as Svetlana did.

“So,” Wystl looked questioningly at Martle, “just the four of us are going?”

Martle sounded slightly unsure. “
If
I were a younger man, I’d jump at the chance, but now I need to leave interplanetary travel to folks like you. Thanks, anyway.”
Plus, I have too much to do here, now that Visen is out of the way.

Ellen yelled from her office next door, “Chancellor, more security is on the way!”

Wystl watched the Human smile hopefully. “Do you really think that will stop me?” Before he could respond she ordered, “Get on the shuttle!”

Jonathan didn’t move. Instead, he looked around desperately for some way to stall.

“If you value the use of your arms, you’d better do what she tells you and do it
now,
” Dean warned.

Svetlana and Jonathan wondered what he meant but decided not to ask. Martle remembered Dean’s debriefing and knew exactly what he was talking about.

“You get going,” Martle encouraged. “I’ll handle the security when it arrives.”

Dean shoved the chancellor out the broken office window onto the shuttle’s gangway and into a stiff breeze. He offered Svetlana an arm for support. She couldn’t remember the last time she smiled, but Svetlana couldn’t help herself as she looked deep into Dean’s eyes and felt…trust.

Her face lit up and her eyes sparkled as she accepted his offer. This time, Svetlana radiated warmth and friendliness. Emotionally, Dean saw her for the very first time, and she was beautiful. Intellectually, however, he knew he might still have to counter-punch with her.

From below the gangway, Jonathan heard the unmistakable
whop-whop
sound of multiple helicopters rising rapidly toward him. He paused to look down. Four black attack choppers bobbed threateningly into view. They came level with the shuttle and aimed their rockets at the office.

With two choppers on each side, the chancellor turned and faced them triumphantly. Svetlana and Martle took a few apprehensive steps back but stopped when they noticed that Dean and Wystl hadn’t moved. Ellen peered anxiously through the doorway into what was left of Jonathan’s office to see what would happen next.

“I think you should reconsider taking me to your
wretched
planet,” Jonathan said victoriously. He pointed at the attack choppers. “Obviously, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I think you are,” Wystl corrected cheerfully. “And, the better I know you, the less I care about your opinion of my planet, or anything else, for that matter.”

The choppers made a lot of noise, but one of their loudspeakers cut easily through the din. “You there, in the office – do not move. You are under arrest for attempted kidnapping and murder. If you resist, you will be fired upon. You are required to wait for the police to arrive.”

Wystl began to get the feeling that she had been playing a little too nicely and would never get off the planet. She punched at her pad a few times and tossed the chancellor through the shuttle door with an invisible hand that continued to immobilize him against the rear wall.

“Humans can be very frustrating to achieving progress,” Wystl observed. “No offense.” She looked sheepishly at Dean and Svetlana.

With a few more stabs at the pad, individual tornados began to gather and swirl around each chopper. At first, the menacing machines only wavered in the howling wind and held their positions, but the whirling wind quickly overpowered them. Soon, they were caught up in the dark vortexes with other debris and were suddenly jerked thousands of feet away from Jonathan’s penthouse office.

“Well, all right then,” Dean said with approval. “I guess this party is over.”

Wystl recognized his idiom and that he was ready to go. “Yes, before it got started,” she agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”

As the three moved across the gangway to the shuttle, Dean asked, “I suppose you know how to fly this thing.”

Wystl tried to smile. “That’s the easy part. The hard part is surviving the transition into and out of the Travel Dimension.”

Concerned, he asked, “What do you mean…survive?”

“It’s always very painful going in and coming out.”

Svetlana felt Dean’s powerful muscles under his shirt as he held her up once again. She felt like they could handle anything.

“How bad can the pain be?” she asked Wystl as everyone entered the shuttle.

“It’s like you’re being torn apart. You have to tell yourself that it won’t last, and then it finally stops.”

Dean shrugged with resignation. “We have to do it.”

He sat down in what he deduced must be the copilot chair and looked around for a seat belt. Dean noticed that the chancellor was still pinned spread-eagle against the bulkhead and smiled broadly at Wystl. “Besides, I’m looking forward to seeing your beautiful, wretched planet.”

Wystl started to chastise Dean for his disparaging remark, but then saw his big smile and realized he was only teasing. She shook her head at him and smiled knowingly back.

Svetlana observed the exchange with amusement. “I think you two have been working together a little too long. Next thing you know, you’ll be finishing each other’s sentences.”
Who would have believed that an alien and a straight-laced Colonel could make me feel so good?

The End

JACK WELLS
lives with his wife and dog in south central Texas. He is the author of three books, from the fast-paced
Alien Test
and violent
Civil War
to the time-bending
Battle of Trinity,
which completes the
Consortium of Planets
trilogy
.
After being visited in a dream by

an alien from across the galaxy, he decided to record its amazing story.

The being claimed that its tale is true, but you be the judge.

Jack hopes you like their adventure as much as he does.