Chapter 11

Nyx navigated the airship quickly across the Ridgeyard Desert. She flew it low across the desert sand. Drayk sat in the co-pilot seat and watched how effortlessly she flew the ship. Her eyes scanned across the desert ground as if looking for something. Drayk could not see anything but red desert sand.

“Where are we going?” Nuum asked as she stood between both pilot seats.

“There’s a secret compound out here where we have used as our base of operations,” Nyx said. Her eyes were still moving rapidly across the desert floor.

“Captain, do you really trust her? This could all be some sort of elaborate ruse,” Nuum said.

“I don’t think so, Nuum. You saw her kill one of her own soldiers. If she wanted to kill us, she wouldn’t have done all of this,” Drayk said.

“These Mer’ian bastards are sneaky, boss,” Nuum said.

Nyx flinched at the comment but did not respond. The airship raced across the sand. The sun was just starting to set and its red-light made the red sand even redder.

“Captain, Lt. Ashor is waking up,” Fio said. Drayk turned his head and saw Ashor in a chair. Her blue skin was returning back to its regular color. She looked at everyone in confusion.

“What’s going on?” Ashor asked them in a raspy voice.

“We broke out of the prisoner bay at the base and are now flying to a secret compound,” Fio said. “We have a new addition to our team.”

Ashor looked over and saw Nyx in the pilot seat. Her eyes widened and then she looked over at Drayk. “Wow. I sure missed a lot while taking a relaxing nap.”

Drayk laughed. “Yeah, it’s been quite a day. How are you feeling?”

“Much better. I can finally move my body. What the hell happened to us?”

“Colbix set us up. He had his whores implant a clipper device in our necks which was why we were so sick and tired. It activated fully when that bomb went off and made us completely immobile,” Drayk said. “It seemed he wanted to have my mouth permanently closed but Dr. Nyx here thought otherwise.”

Drayk grinned at Nyx who gave him a small smile. Her eyes returned to the desert sand as she scoured it for the compound she sought.

“Dr. Nyx?” Ashor said in confusion.

“It’s Thiza,” Nyx said.

“Well, Thiza, I must say that this is the first time that I have ever spoken to a Me’rian before and not immediately kill you,” Ashor said with a small smile.

Nyx laughed. “Thank you. I prefer to stay alive as long as possible.”

“I can change that,” Nuum said.

“Nuum, why don’t you see if we have any food in the rear bay?” Drayk commanded her. Nuum immediately stood up and walked toward the back of the airship.

“How big is this compound?” Drayk asked Nyx.

“It’s pretty big. There are about 100 people total there including Me’rians, humans, Merton, and Lyzarians. There is a hologram over the compound that hides it from view,” Nyx said.

“Are there weapons or ships on this compound?” Ashor asked her.

“Yes. We have been smuggling weapons there any chance that we could get. There are several ships that have been built from parts that were initially on the compound. The compound was originally a small base but became deserted after the new base was constructed to be near the water source,” Nyx said. “When I and other Me’rians discovered it, we found the Merton people living there. They had made it their new home. We saw that they had also repaired many of the airships. After much discussion, we decided to make it our new base of operations for getting weapons and other gear out. Our plan is to attack the base and leave this planet.”

Ashor looked at Drayk. She seemed to be excited about the prospect of a battle. A grin came to Drayk’s face as well. He was itching for a fight. He wished he could get his hands on Colbix but Lt. Gaja would suffice for now.

“I thought the Merton people were peaceful?” Ashor said.

“They normally are but since many of their people have been taken prisoner or were killed by my people, they decided to start fighting,” Nyx said.

“How do you feel about your people?” Ashor asked her.

“As I told Captain Drayk, not all of us are ok with how this war has been going. Many of us did not sign up to wage war against the galaxy. We want to see peace and to end this war once and for all and the only way to do that is to team up with humans and other races. As soon as I heard that Senator Colbix was having your team sent here, I did some research and discovered that you all have been in many battles. I was very excited because if I could save you all and convince you to help us out then we would truly stand a chance.”