RESCUE MISSION: A Shadowed Stars story that takes place shortly before the events in book one by Steven Koutz
Safehaven Space Station was in the heart of Derth Territory and controlled by the Teon race. Teons with their armor appeared bulky and muscular but were mostly a skeletal race. They had exposed human looking skulls and hands from the armor suits.
On this day, a Sparbosan couple were just married. Their wedding ceremony involved a strand of rope in the bride’s family color wrapped around the wrist and lower arm of the groom. The groom then did the same with a rope of his family color to signify the binding of the two. Sparbosans appeared human except for brown splotches over their white skin. The bride and groom both had the standard black hair color of the race and the bride’s was long and braided. In wedding ceremonies, it was custom that the groom took the bride’s last name. The father of the bride always performed the ceremony. Onscarus Hozz proudly presented his daughter Talada and her husband Jensasal Hozz to the guests of mostly Sparbosans but also a mixed variety of the station’s gathered races.
The happy bride and groom were escorted to a luxury yacht ship by a Chamalot, which was humanoid in form but their entire body changed in a solid color to present their primary current mood. In this case the male Chamalot appeared as yellow skinned human representing joy, happiness, and energy. Their destination was a popular honeymoon paradise planet two rotations away and just past a heavily Teon patrolled and secured barrier of space to keep the savage Derths away from that sector. Talada’s father kissed her and embraced them both before wishing them a safe journey. Two Teon starfighters, referred to as shoes because of their horseshoe design had followed the pleasure yacht at its departure from Safehaven Station as an escort to the first checkpoint in that area of space.
As the two rotations passed, Onscarus Hozz was informed that his daughter and her new husband had not yet arrived at Beautalita. He was on a diplomatic Teon cruiser ship on route back to his homeworld of Rediciri. He had requested aide from the Teon, General Tok, an old friend of his from a battle against the Derths on a crippled freighter ship. They had repelled the Derths successfully from the vessel and were the only two survivors after a six-day assault. General Tok had checked reports and discovered that the yacht ship and a Teon escort of one Teon shoe had left the last checkpoint before the secured border around Beautalita. There were several small planets around that area that Derths used for hunting smaller non-sentient game. General Tok’s skeletal jaw chattered quickly as he called for one of his most trusted and decorated officers, Captain Banza Lar. She was like all other Teons except her skeletal head had long black hair protruding from the top and both sides of her head. She was quickly briefed on the rescue mission and had readied a smaller Teon warship for the mission that had orders to detach from the Safehaven Station docking ports immediately upon her boarding of the vessel.
Captain Banza Lar remained on the command deck for most of the journey. Upon the arrival to the small planets just off from the secured border, a Teon at the tactics and sensors station reported two Derth humpbacks on approach to the fourth planet classified as Eka Four. He also added that the humpbacks at not detected them yet because of their much shorter sensor range. Captain Banza Lar ordered the Teon wedge shaped warship to enter near orbit at the opposite side of the planet. The heavy winds on Eka Four as well as the irradiated rings around it would scramble sensors in orbit and on the surface. She then ordered a roving probe sent at a suspected trajectory that followed Isludium detection. Isludium was a popular fuel extracted from actual stardust and provided longer smoother travel for most yacht designed spacecraft.
As Captain Banza Lar waited for the roving probe results, she was notified that the two Derth humpbacks at assumed a far orbit at the opposite side of the planet as expected. Humpback was a slang term given to Derth warships due to the rounded hump shaped hull that extended above the flat top at the fore of the starship. It was such a popular slang term that even the Derths had adopted it. There was a communication with a hunting party on the planet’s surface that was garbled enough that a clear reception could not be made from the Derth humpback or any translation or reception by the Teon warship. Captain Banza Lar inquired if a stealth flight approach was possible. A course was plotted and provided to a male Teon pilot that was relieved from his helm station. He followed Captain Banza Lar and two fully armed Teon troopers through the corridors to a docking bay, where they all embarked onto a Teon shuttle. The shuttle was star shaped, with the points at an upward curl. It lifted off and departed from the warship through the opening bay doors.
Once landed, Captain Banza Lar and her team quickly approached a ravaged village. It was a colony planet and the village was littered with body parts from many different races. They were mostly torsos that had been ripped open and limbs torn off. The wounds were fresh and not yet a rotation old and a clear sign that a Derth Hunting party had pushed through. The Derths were a sentient, orange skinned reptilian and carnivore race that hunted any race or species that was considered a meaty meal, sentient or not. Luckily the Teons had little meat to feed off but that also meant they would be a targeted hostile force.
A trail of a caravan of vehicles was quickly discovered with traces of Isludium detected. Captain Banza Lar ordered it followed. It did not take long to catch up to the halted vehicles. There were various animal livestock around the caravan’s outer edges. A basic tactic to put food between the refugees of various lifeforms and the possibility of another Derth attack. Bright gems were observed scattered about one flatbed powered vehicle. Gems that were specific to that of a Sparbosan bridal custom.
Teons being less of a food supply were well revered as fighters against the Derths and many tales from Teon controlled Safehaven Station were well told around the nearby systems. This clout allowed Captain Banza Lar an easy interrogation of the trembling mixed races that led her to a powered vehicle that had broken down at the point position of the caravan. The lifeform under the vehicle was conducting repairs and had heavy readings of Isludium on his boots. As he crawled out from under the vehicle and called for the driver to attempt another start, he was grabbed by the two Teon troopers and pinned against the vehicle’s side. The Teon pilot had dragged the vehicle’s driver back as well. The driver was a humanoid with a rough domed shell at the top of his head. A race that the Teons had not yet encountered. The one that had fixed the vehicle though was a very familiar race and even well-known identity. It was the Chamalot pilot of the yacht starship that ferried the married Sparbosan couple. Captain Banza Lar stepped forward to confront the male pilot. His body color shifted from a light blue color to a dark blue color, which to the Chamalot race was a mood color for guilt. The interrogation was even easier on the Chamalot as his color changed to black, which represented the emotion of fear for his race. He pointed the Teons to the second vehicle back that belonged to the caravan commander. He had stashed the Sparbosan couple there after robbing them. The Caravan commander had secured them as hostages with the intent to offer to any returning Derths as method of personal escape.
The three Teons surrounded Captain Banza Lar as she approached the vehicle and called for the release of the Sparbosan couple. A member of the Abolish race stepped out with a blaster rifle aimed directly at Captain Banza Lar. The Abolish were humanoids with a crimson color skin and an even darker red mist that surrounded their bodies and provided them with their homeworld’s form of oxygen. He introduced himself as Sadalus Ormon. At his side were two more of the humans with rough domed shells at the top of their heads. Sadalus answered the Teon pilot’s inquiry as to their race by referring to them as Tukens. The skeletal stare and rapid moving bone jaw of Captain Banza Lar halted the Teon pilot’s interruption. She then refocused her attention to Sadalus Ormon and demanded the release of the Sparbosans.
At that exact moment, the cries of the livestock around the paused caravan had been heard. The various animals were torn to shreds by the claws and teeth of eight Derths. Eight meant the accumulation of two Derth Hunting parties that usually consisted of four to six. The Derths were muscular with orange scaled skin. They walked upright on two legs and drug a heavy spike tipped tail behind each of them. Their skin closer to their chest was more like a smooth shell. The Derths had four clawed fingers and a thumb on each hand. The gaze up a Derth’s muscular arms revealed hardened red fins joining each shoulder to the sides of the head. Another fin ran down from the top of their head and along their spine. They were already in feeding mode and each of them produced a ferocious roar. The members of the caravan scattered in a panicked state as was a typical result to savage Derths intent on feeding. Captain Banza Lar assembled her Teon team in a circle around the vehicle with the Sparbosans secured in the back. The Teons readied their blaster rifles and began an assault of blaster fire on the approaching Derths.
The Derths quickly perceived the threat and closed inward. The smooth shell chests of the Derths acted like armor and absorbed much of the blaster shots. The Teons adjusted their aims to the Derth heads. Four Derths had fallen before the other four had reached the Teon defense and forced a melee battle, which was much more to their advantage of ferocity and strength. Captain Banza Lar did take two more down with her blaster pistol but her three Teon companions were easily beheaded and their limbs torn away before that. Captain Banza Lar had been forced to an unarmed fight. One of the two remaining Derths abandoned the double team advantage and pulled at the feet of the Abolish, Sadalus Ormon, who had taken cover under the vehicle when his Tuken henchmen fled.
Sadalus Ormon felt the jaws of the Derth bite into his ankle. As his foot was removed from his leg with the powerful jaws of the Derth, he then out of desperation, activated a remote that triggered a release hatch that dropped the bound Sparbosans conveniently beside the Derth that had just achieved another bite on Sadalus’ lower leg. The Derth released his bite and turned to his tied up and easier meal beside him. Sadalus crawled away from under the other side of the vehicle with the distraction.
Captain Banza Lar had used a torn arm from her dead Teon pilot that had been removed by the Derth she had engaged. She had used the torn bone appendage as a spear through the Derth’s eye. As the Derth attacking her fell, she was able to retrieve her blaster pistol and shot multiple shots into the back fin of the Derth ready to tear and rend the two Sparbosans beside him. He first growled in anger and then turned with a furious roar and powerful stench toward his lone Teon assailant. He lunged forward and caught a well-placed blaster shot from Captain Banza Lar. The shot was a direct hit down the oncoming open jaws that dropped the Derth in mid lunge.
Talada and Jensasal Hozz were overcome with relief as Captain Banza Lar untied them from the vine-like binds. Teon shoe starfighters filled the sky suddenly. Captain Banza Lar answered the comm device on her hip as a Teon star shaped shuttle landed. General Tok informed Captain Banza Lar that he had redirected the Teon Armada and the two Derth humpbacks in far orbit had retreated. Captain Banza Lar watched the Sparbosan father of the bride, Onscarus Hozz rush from the shuttle and embrace his daughter and her husband. He thanked Captain Banza Lar for saving his little girl and her love. If skulls could smile, that was the reaction she returned.
Captain Banza Lar returns in Shadowed Stars book one on sale now. Sadalus Ormon will return here in future short stories.
