The Kistian Entry

This is a short story for the #BeyondSol Hide & Seek contest. The prompt was to devise a story based on this quote:

"There is not a place in any galaxy you can think of where you could hide from me."

I went with the very first thought that came into my mind, undoubtedly steered by the name of the contest: Hide & Seek. Enjoy!

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"And here we are, ladies, gentlemen, and genderless species, in beautiful Asundra in the Kryomex Nebula."

"Yes, thank you, Jaybar Tolson. For all you lovely audience members out there, watching from afar, welcome to the fifty-seventh annual Intergalactic Hide and Seek Competition, where one lucky winner will win a permanent seat on the Interplanetary Federation Council and the coveted title of Intergalactic Diplomat, granting the winner a life of luxury, ultimate freedom, and a rare ruling vote in all matters of the Federation."

"That's right, Lita. It's a position any member of any species would die for, and that they will. The losers of this competition won't be going home with their tails between their legs. They won't be going anywhere!"

Thayla Marconi needed to win this competition. Not for herself, but to save her home planet from a hostile takeover which would inevitably lead to the annihilation of her species. The Interplanetary Federation Council had looked the other way when the Barthow, a warlike species of impossible size, set their sights on Kista, her homeworld. There were no Kistians on the council - but there was one Barthow who undoubtedly persuaded the council to allow this atrocity.

The Kistians needed a seat on the council. Every councilmember's home planet was protected from hostile takeovers by decree. 

After it was proven that the council was corrupt and seats could be purchased through wealth and special favors, the games became the only way to win a seat. But they were surely rigged as well. This was the first year a Kistian had bought into the games. And Thayla was counting on being underestimated. Her entire homeworld was betting on it as well.

The twenty Hiders were evenly spaced out in shuttles of their own making, across the tarmac on Asundra's intergalactic port. She had the smallest shuttle, only a fraction of the size of the others. But this was to be expected since the Kistians were a rather short humanoid species. Another reason they needed this seat. They couldn't defend themselves from aggressive giants.

But what the Kistians lacked in strength, they made up for in intelligence. Thayla was no exception.

One entry into the games cost a fortune. And her people gave everything they had to get a Kistian on the ticket. All of their hopes for the future were riding on her shoulders.

The Kistians would never have sent one of their own into the games, even when their existence depended upon it. They valued life, and this contest made a mockery of it.

But when Thayla, a Kistian with a terminal illness, explained her plan, they reluctantly agreed. The Kistians needed that council seat for the longterm. A dying contestant didn't make sense. But Thayla had devised a way to hide from death, just as she would hide from the Seeker. With heavy hearts, they entered one of their own into the deadly contest. But Thayla no longer feared death.

When she arrived on Asundra, she found it very interesting that a Barthow named Punthy, a renowned warrior known for his ruthlessness, had been selected as this year's Seeker. Very interesting, indeed.

Thayla listened to the broadcast through her headphones and repositioned herself in the cramped space. A small panel rested on her lap, the controls to her shuttle. When the green light was given, her shuttle roared to life and was gone in seconds. It may have been small, but its advanced warp core made the ship extremely fast. It could leave and land before any radar even recognized it, rendering it virtually invisible to the naked eye once in motion.