Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Once through the second door, the guards took Robyn to the left and Brett to the right through a maze of darkened corridors. Slonix marched ahead of the group, the outline of his mangled hood barely visible in the dim orange light. As the guards hauled Brett deeper into the mountain, he wished for some breadcrumbs or a ball of string so he might find his way back. If he ever got the chance to find his way back.

“There is no escape for you,” Slonix growled, as if reading Brett’s mind. “I will make sure of it this time.”

So much for negotiation, Brett thought. Someone like Slonix didn’t make deals anyway. He was a warrior, like Brett had been long ago. Before the incident aboard the Icarus.

At this point an apology for ordering the phaser blast that had killed Slonix’s family wouldn’t accomplish anything. From everything Brett had witnessed—the destruction of the Cassandra, the near-destruction of the Orion, and the slaughter at the mining station—Slonix didn’t have any trace of mercy or goodness left, if he ever had. He would kill Brett and anyone who got in his way without hesitation.

And that might be Brett’s only advantage.

“You aren’t any better than me,” Brett said.

As expected, Slonix turned to face him. “You are a murderer, killing without cause.”

“What about those miners? I suppose they were casualties for the glorious cause.”

“They were supplying our enemies with raw materials. They were traitors to their own people and had to be dealt with.”

“You were afraid they would report your position to Serpalal Prime. That’s why you killed them. There’s nothing honorable or heroic about what you did. You were scared for your life. You panicked.”

Slonix jabbed a clawed finger at Brett, letting it rest under Brett’s chin. “You are the coward, not I. You killed those on the Sunigwil. You fled from your puny ship. You surrendered to my men without a fight. How dare you question my honor and courage!”

Brett waited for Slonix to finish him off, but the Serparnian only glared at him, the fingernail point biting into the soft skin beneath Brett’s chin. “Who better than me to question you? There’s an old saying among humans: takes one to know one. I could smell your cowardice the second you came aboard my ship.”

“You worm. I will crush you now with my bare hands!”

“Go ahead and kill me. I’m unarmed just like those miners. Come on, tough guy, strangle me right now.”

For a moment Slonix wrapped a hand around Brett’s throat as if he would give in to the impulse. Then he pulled the hand back. “No, we will settle this the honorable way in single combat. That way I can kill you myself. Take him to the assembly room and wait for me there. I want everyone to watch as I destroy you.”

The assembly room turned out to be a wide pit lined with tables and rows of wishbone-shaped chairs and a viewscreen along one wall. One of the guards watched Brett while two others stacked the tables and chairs into piles to give the combatants room to fight. Brett looked around the room for any other way out besides the front door but didn’t see anything. Certainly no airshafts or maintenance tubes he could fit in.

That meant he would have to find some other way to escape. At least by goading Slonix into a duel he faced better odds than a firing squad. Not much better odds considering an angry Serparnian had twice the strength of a human, but one in a million was better than zero in a million.

More of the renegades entered the assembly room, no doubt so they could watch the sport of their leader tearing apart the weak human. They would probably get their chance to see just that. Under the wary eye of his guard, Brett began to stretch his muscles out in preparation for whatever Slonix had planned.

The renegade captain showed up ten minutes later with a long case made of clay under his arm. His troops all murmured with awe that didn’t inspire Brett’s confidence. Slonix set the case onto a table and then opened it. “We will settle this in the ancient way, with the Szai,” Slonix said.

Brett had hoped for disruptors or even bare knuckles. Instead, Slonix held up one of the crystal swords like Brett had seen on the palace walls. He took a blue weapon from Slonix, his arms sagging from the weight. The Serparnian captain held up a red one with the confidence of a trained master.

“So what are the rules?” Bret asked.

“Only that one of us must die,” Slonix growled. He charged forward with his blade held high.

At the Academy, Brett had taken a few fencing lessons before quitting. In an age of phasers and disruptors, what did anyone need with a sword? Any human at least; Klingons would never give up their old-fashioned weapons.

What little he remembered from those lessons came roaring back as the red crystal blade sliced down at him. He raised his Szai to block the swing, the crash ringing his arms like a pair of bells. Slonix didn’t hesitate a moment, kicking Brett in the midsection to knock him back against the wall. Only through blind luck did Brett manage to hold onto his weapon.

Slonix drove at him again, the red blade kicking up sparks when it hit the wall where Brett’s head had been. The Serparnian captain pressed his advantage with one wild swing after another, keeping Brett off-balance and on the defensive. Before long, he’d driven Brett back against the tables and chairs piled along the wall.

As Slonix charged towards him, Brett threw the blue Szai with both hands. The crystal sword flew over Slonix’s head to shatter harmlessly against the far wall. The maneuver did give Brett the time he needed to loosen the pile of tables and chairs against the wall.

When Slonix came at him to finish him off, Brett pulled one of the chairs from the pile. With a crash, the entire pile came down on top of Slonix. The Serparnian renegade howled with rage, but by the time he freed himself, Brett had already fled out the door and into the corridors.

Now if he could only find Robyn before the enraged Serparnian caught up with him.