Alpha Centauri

Twenty-Seven - Nathan

 Raev doesn't move the knife away from my throat as we walk through the endless maze of hallways and chambers of the Mikuris. Nulak and Raim stay several steps in front of us, having their own conversation.

"So how do you plan to get out of here?" I whisper, careful not to move too much.

"I was kinda hoping you'd have something by now," Raev hisses, keeping his gaze ahead.

I want to swear at him, but I'm actually not that surprised the beast boy hadn't made it this far. I stay quiet as I tries to work something out. We definitely need a distraction, one that could cause a lot of damage, and we need an escape vessel...

The brothers lead Raev and me to the end of a long, sleek, metal corridor. One pulls what looks like a key card out of one of his pockets and inserts in into the wall. The door before us splits horizontally, revealing the huge cockpit. It's amazing. A huge window stretches across the front of the room, never-ending space extending before it. Controls and consoles line the walls. Scriosians sit before the controls, some tapping holographic screens, others speaking to each other in another language. And somehow I know what every bit of the technology does. He keeps his eye on one particular control.

Centered in front of the room is a huge, upholstered chair. And it that chair sits the infamous commander, masked and wearing his weird metallic trench coat.

"Thae," Nulak says. "Raev has returned."

"Don't call me by a name in your useless language," snaps the commander. "Has Raev proved himself useful yet?" He chuckles. "I'm being ridiculous, why—"

Raev quickly steps forward and throws me to the smooth, cold floor.

"What's this thing you present me with?"

Before I can protest being called a thing, Raev says, "He's an ally of the twins."

"And you dare present me with this when you could have brought me the heads of the twins?" The Commander sits back down in his chair and grips the armrests.

"The twins are much more powerful than you think, Thae." Raev is clearly just as pissed as I am.

I turn over onto my butt, but as I do, I lean against something hard and cold in my front pocket. I don't have to look—I know.

"But we are more powerful, Raev," the Commander says. "You of all Scriosians should know that."

I turn to Raev, but I'm not so sure what I'm seeing is my friend. Raev looks murderous. He looks like he fits right in with the other Scriosians. Something seems to change in his eyes, something that makes this whole act seem real.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raev scowls at the masked commander.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about." The Commander stands and approaches me. He reaches down and wraps his gloved fingers around my bony chin. "He doesn't look like he'd be worth much to the twins, either." The Commander yanks me off the ground by his t-shirt and stares at me through his mask. "What can you tell me about the twins?"

I try my best to be brave. "What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?"

"Don't play those foolish games with me, boy. You probably won't live whether you give up anything or not."

I stare back at the commander. This guy isn't as big as he seems. In fact, he's not even as big as Raev. There's no telling how he gained control over the Scriosians. And the more I think about it, the more it worries me.

My hand inches towards my jeans pocket. "Yeah, well, I like my chances."

I drive Raev's knife into the commander's left leg. His grip on me falters. Just before he falls, I grab the gun out of the holster at his side..