The Void

Part 6

Editor’s note: read parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

He became strangely talkative.

“They’ll be coming soon.” The cloaked man warned, standing up and touching the serrated edges of the cell bars lightly.

“Who’ll be coming soon?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The stranger put the sole of his boot against the bars, kicking it several times. “These bars are sturdy. They’ll do.”

What? I thought, slightly confused by the man’s sudden interest in the cell. “Look, I don’t know where you came from, or who you are, or what you’re doing. Just please tell me something.”

The stranger refocused his attention back on me. “Have you ever seen a Nemis attack force?”

The word Nemis sent shivers down my spine. I had recognized that the stranger was with a Nemis synthetic only because I had seen some working with fringe pirates, captured and reprogrammed for more… bloodless tasks. I remember hearing tales from my father as a child, of things I thought meant just to scare me to sleep: entire worlds burned, moons cracked in half and hollowed out, and whole civilizations reanimated from the dead to build massive warships with planet-piercing lasers.

“No.” I lied. I felt the slop from hours before roll in my gut, and smirked. “Are they here for the cuisine?”

The stranger was unfazed. “They’re here for me. The planet is already surrounded and your father’s flagship stands no chance of escaping the blockade. This is where I need you, Crookstar.”

My father’s flagship. So I’m on that hunk of junk. There’s no way they could escape, unless…

“And why do you need my services?” I asked wryly.

“Because you know where the fastest ship in the galaxy is.” The stranger pointed a finger at me. “And you know how to fly it.”