Star-Crossed - Chapter 25 (Patreon)

“There it is.”

The words hardly left Sun’s mouth before Blake sat forward and stared at the planet in front of them.  Whatever exhaustion she previously felt disappeared in the blink of an eye, replaced by a spark of adrenaline.

Planet TS72 didn’t look like much, but she knew the secret it held.  Now, her biggest hope was that its secret still eluded Adam, that the Blackguards were still here trying to find it, and that Yang was still with them.

“Not picking up any ships...” Sun mused while cautiously navigating closer to the planet.  “Wouldn’t they be in orbit?”

“Should be.”  Standing up and leaning towards the glass, she searched the space above TS72 as if her eyes could spot the Inferno when their scanning equipment could not.  “Unless…” she mused when she saw nothing.

If Adam knew he was close...that he’d found the mines and the source of his future power...why would he only take the shuttles?  Even though Blake escaped and knew exactly where he was headed, he didn’t fear her or ISA in the slightest.  He wanted to get his hands on that metal as fast as possible, even if that meant landing the entire damn ship to do so.

“They landed.”

The more she thought through the situation, the more she assured she was in that answer.  Adam wanted to load up as much Valerian steel as the Inferno could hold, which meant he needed the entire crew with him.

“Want me to scan the surface?”

“Topography only,” she replied.  “If they’re paying attention, we want them to think it’s a probe passing by, not a ship.”

“You got it.”  After tapping several controls, Sun leaned back when a map of the planet’s surface popped onto the screen in front of them.  “How will you know where they are?”

“I’ll just know…” she mumbled while studying the mountains and valleys on the screen.  She didn’t know how she would know until she saw it - a sequence of mountains sharing an uncanny resemblance to the star pattern the maps had created.

“There.”  As soon as she pointed out the location, her adrenaline ratcheted up another level.  “Land out of scanning range - I’ll make the final approach on foot.”

That plan was an argument in the making, but Sun said nothing while picking their landing spot and navigating to the surface.  As soon as the turbulence of the upper atmosphere fell behind them, Blake went to the back of the ship to prepare.

Picking up her Blackguard armor, the most crucial piece of equipment for her future chances of survival, she took a deep breath and slipped it on.  The familiarity of the uniform stirred a strange set of emotions in her, everything from comfort to nostalgia to fear, but she did her best to focus on the mission at hand rather than dive into painful memories.  This suit was the closest thing to camouflage that she had, and could very well mean the difference between life and death if someone spotted her running around on board.

Even though she’d nearly died the first time around, she was returning to the Inferno.

When the ship touched down and Sun shut off the engines, she realized that her time had come.  Either she found Yang alive, or she found Adam and ended his existence - those were the only two acceptable outcomes.

“Lookin’ good,” Sun joked while she stored a phaser in her holster and slipped Yang’s knife into a sheath on her thigh.  Running through a mental checklist, she looked around and made sure she had everything.  Only then did she nod.

“Ok, I’m ready.  You remember the plan?”

“Stay here and wait for you to bring her back, or wait for your signal that you need help, or wait for your signal to pick you up.”

“Exactly.”  Blake held up the small beacon she would carry with her before slipping it into another pocket.  “I’ll move as fast as possible, but it could take a while to search the whole ship.”

“So be patient,” he replied with a knowing nod.  “Got it.  I’ll do my best.”

Satisfied with his response, she nodded and briefly considered a hug before deciding better of it.  She didn’t trust herself to get emotional right now, which meant she just needed to leave.  The moment she reached for the door release and flinched, however, he jumped to his feet and rushed over.

“I should come with you.”

“Sun…”

“Your ribs are still broken.  It’d be better if I’m there to help.”

“We went over this…”  When she looked at him, she understood how worried he was.  But they already decided on their plan, and there were good reasons why it had to be this way.  “You need to stay here and be the cavalry,” she told him one more time.  “If we’re both caught, who’s going to save us?”

“I could find her and you could be the cavalry.”

“You know I’m the sneaky one.  Plus, I know the layout of the ship, and good luck fitting into this.”

She motioned towards her suit and attempted a smile, but he sighed rather than accept the joke.

“I guess being the cavalry isn’t so bad...I’ve always wanted to save some damsels in distress.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Patting his arm and offering one last smile, she pulled the door release and hurried outside before focusing too much on their goodbye.  Faced with the strange, foreign planet before her, she hardly got her bearings before setting off in the direction of the Inferno.

For someplace supposedly hiding an invaluable resource, TS72 was...plain.  There were some rocky mountains, sporadic trees, sporadic rocks, and even more sporadic grass, but that was about it.  The gently-sloping dirt ground made for easy walking, and she used that to her advantage as she rushed towards the mountain formation looming in the distance.

Every time the wind kicked up, she covered her eyes to prevent the fine, loose dirt from blowing into them, but had little other trouble crossing on foot.  The terrain was perfect for a land speeder if she had one.  Fortunately, the group of strange, individual mountains grew closer with each step.

About a mile away, she began to worry.  There was still no sign of the Blackguards, but they should be here.  At least, that was what her intuition told her, but what if her intuition was wrong?  What if the mines were actually on the opposite side of the planet, and she just wasted all this time thinking she was right?

That was the last thing she wanted to happen, and she was on the verge of signaling Sun to pick her up when she spotted something in the distance.  A few steps further, and her heart jumped at what she saw.

There, tucked into the shadow of the mountains, lurking like a giant black beast, was the Inferno.  Adam brought the entire crew just like she suspected.

Her pace immediately quickened, and she stuck closer to the cover of whatever trees she could find while continuing her approach.  With every passing second, more details became distinguishable; it wasn’t much longer before she crouched behind a boulder and surveyed the scene in front of her.

With the cargo hold open, sneaking on board might be easier than expected.  Two guards were stationed at the top of the ramp but, based on their relaxed postures, considered their job to be more of a rest break than a serious endeavor.  On a desolate planet with no civilization to be found, the last thing they expected was an uninvited visitor.  Other guards walked along a torch-lined path leading into the mountains nearby, but their rifles leaned against their shoulders and their expressions suggested more interest in conversation than scouting for threats.

Their lax security worked to Blake’s advantage, as she waited for their eyes to turn away before sneaking behind a tree closer to the ship.  After a quick check to make sure they were still looking elsewhere, she sprinted over to the empty boxes stacked just outside the cargo hold.  Getting past the guards at the top of the ramp would be more difficult, as she needed to walk right past them without being caught.

Before Blake summoned the courage to walk right past them, Cinder stormed back from wherever she’d been within the range of mountains.

“You two,” she snapped while pointing to the two men.  “Get those boxes out there now.”

Suddenly much more attentive, they rushed to do as instructed - grabbing one large box apiece and carrying them along the path Cinder had just returned from.  Cinder, meanwhile, strode into the ship without another word.

The guards left the ramp unattended, and Blake wasted no time sprinting into the cargo hold.  Having no interest in following Cinder through the main entrance though, she clambered up the nearest ladder and let herself into the ship using one of the doorways at the end of the catwalk instead.

Suddenly finding herself standing in the halls of the Inferno, familiarity and even a vague sense of longing seeped in with her overarching urgency.  Even though she hadn’t been away for long...it felt very much like coming home.

Shoving that feeling aside, she hurried down the hall and kept her ears on high alert for sounds of life.  Unlike the last few hours she’d spent on board, sneaking away in the dead of night, the ship was awash with noise and motion.

Judging by the path set up outside, some of the crew had been moved off the ship to help Adam with something.  The rest were still on board and, from the sounds of it, treating the temporary lull like a vacation.  Their light-hearted mood worked in Blake’s favor, as it meant they were most likely drunk or quickly getting drunk in the rec room.  So long as she stayed away from the living quarters, she shouldn’t spot many stragglers.

At least, that was her hope as she went to check Yang’s room first.

Maybe, just maybe, Yang avoided getting caught.  Or maybe she’d talked herself out of trouble.

That hope vanished when Blake peeked into the officers’ corridor and found Yang’s door open.  After a pause to listen for signs of life, she rushed to the doorway and discovered that the room had been utterly trashed.  Every drawer had been opened and emptied onto the floor.  Every article of clothing had been pulled from the closet and carelessly cast aside.

The disarray confirmed her worst fears.  Now, she couldn’t find Yang fast enough.

Leaving the room, she nearly made it to the end of the hall when her ears picked up a voice.  Almost immediately recognizing Cinder’s drawl, she spun around and raced in the opposite direction.

With Yang’s room empty, panic began to set in.  For some stupid reason, she expected it to be that easy.  She expected Yang to be waiting for her - just sitting in her room waiting for Blake to show up so they could sneak off the ship together this time.

That couldn’t happen because Yang got caught helping an ISA agent escape, and they either killed her or were holding her somewhere.  If they were holding her somewhere...maybe it was the same holding cell where they put Blake.

As soon as she turned the next corner and saw two Blackguards moving towards her, she spun around and walked the other way.   “Shit,” she muttered under her breath while hoping they hadn’t recognized her.  They didn’t shout or raise an alarm, but she kept a better focus on her ears while replanning her route.

Several hallways and a nerve-wracking lift ride later, she stood outside the room to the holding cell, but she didn’t even need to look inside to know it was empty.

Yang wasn’t here.  But if she wasn’t here or her room, where was she?  She couldn’t be dead.  She couldn’t be.  She had to be here somewhere.

Blake’s heart hurt even more now, but she refused to give up hope.  She wouldn’t believe that Yang was gone until every single room on the Inferno had been checked.  Until then...Yang was here somewhere.  And she needed Blake to find her as soon as possible.

But without a clue as to where to go, Blake indiscriminately rushed through the halls and checked every room she passed.  If she heard voices inside, she moved on.  If she didn’t, she opened the door and peeked inside.

As the empty rooms mounted, her desperation grew.  Time was of the essence, and she was wasting too much of it having no idea where to look.

After checking one of the storage rooms - again, empty - she’d nearly backed into the hall when she heard footsteps behind her.  Stepping into the room instead, she quietly closed the door and searched for a hiding spot.  A locker filled with linens would have to do, and she scrunched herself into the small space before closing the door and holding her breath.

By now, she knew better than to wish for the footsteps to continue down the hall, but was still disappointed when the door opened and they moved into the room instead.  As the person opened and closed several drawers, possibly searching for something, Blake silently pulled out her knife and prepared to attack.

From the way the sounds moved about the room, they would make it to her hiding spot before long, and her adrenaline raced with anticipation as that moment neared.  She wouldn’t hurt them if she didn’t have to, but she couldn’t let them warn the rest of the Blackguards either.

The instant someone touched the handle of the locker, she shoved the other side of the door and sprang from her hiding spot.

She had the knife pressed to Ret’s throat before he realized what was happening, but he made no attempt to struggle or call for help.  Instead, he stared at her with wide eyes while she tried to figure out what to do - whether to knock him out or trust that he wouldn’t alert the rest of the ship.

He was just a kid, and she didn’t want to hurt him, so she chose not to.

Removing the blade and stepping away, she watched for any indication he might attack.  He started hopping up and down instead.

“You came back!” he said so loudly that she shushed him, so he continued in a whisper.  “I knew you’d come back.  I told Em you would.  She called me stupid, but I was right!”

“Ret,” Blake said, again motioning for him to settle down.  “Do you know where Yang is?  Is she still here?  Is she alive?”

When his excitement disappeared, it felt like a knife lodged in her heart.

“I think so...” he said and, just like that, her hope returned, albeit at a smaller capacity than before.  “Em told me to stay away from Lower B deck, so I think that’s where she is - but wait!”  He reached out and stopped her as soon as she turned to leave.  “I can help!”

“No.”  Even though he looked disappointed, Blake shook her head to emphasize that answer.  “You stay here.  Or go find Emerald and don’t leave her side - got it?”

He wanted to argue - that much was evident from his hurt puppy dog look and the darkening of his skin - but he eventually nodded.

“Ok...but be careful.  Adam was really, really mad.  Em made me hide for a few days because he was going berserk on everyone.”

Blake could hardly imagine that firestorm, and she didn’t have time to.

“Thank you,” she whispered with a smile and, before convincing herself out of it, hugged him before hurrying out of the room.

Armed with a destination, she headed towards Lower B deck at a near sprint.  Mentally, she went through the list of rooms she remembered on that level - various training rooms and storage closets.  Had they repurposed one of the training rooms to hold Yang?  After another nerve-frying lift ride, she was about to find out.

The hall was lifeless, and the rooms sounded the same.  Having expected guards stationed wherever Yang was, the lack of security dampened Blake’s spirits.  Still, she pressed on.  After checking the first room and finding nothing, she took a deep breath and checked the second.  Another empty room, and despair tugged at her heart.

When she slid the third door open an inch, she heard breathing.  Without a second thought, she shoved it the rest of the way open and felt her heart jump in her chest when she suddenly found herself standing in front of Yang.

Yang was alive.  She was still alive.

But she’d been hell.

The Blackguards had chained her up by her arms and left her there.  Her eyes were closed, and her head drooped forward, but the bruises darkening her skin were clear as day.  The deep, red gash on her cheek looked angry and inflamed.  Burn marks marred her armor.  And some type of electric collar had been locked around her neck.

“Yang...”

Happiness...relief...longing...all of those emotions swirled in Blake’s chest as she rushed over to the Blackguard leader who hadn’t left her thoughts ever since the moment they saw each other last.  She’d hoped and prayed for the chance to see Yang again, and now that she had….she had to get Yang out of here as fast as possible.

“Yang,” she whispered while gently touching Yang’s cheek.  The moment she did, Yang jerked away as if Blake just slapped her.  Wild red eyes searched for the source of the perceived attack before landing on Blake and staying.

“...Blake?”

“What did they do to you?” Blake whispered before moving around Yang’s side, searching for a way to release her.  The chains were thick and metal - she would need a bolt cutter to get through those.  But that collar...

The instant Blake touched it a jolt of electricity shot through her hand, making her yelp and jump away.

“Shit, sorry,” she said while shaking her stinging hand.  She knew what it was now - a shock collar - and she really, really didn’t want to imagine what Cinder did with it.

“Blake,” Yang repeated, her tone more urgent as her senses returned to her.  “What’re you doing here?  You can’t be here.”

“What does it look like?”  Blake wanted to remove the collar right now but also didn’t want to risk shocking Yang again.  It would have to stay for now - but how could she get Yang down?

“You need to leave.”

“Not without you.”

“Blake, you need to leave.”

“Not without you,” she replied more emphatically.  She finally found a lock near the end of the chains, but she needed a key to undo it.

“They’ll kill you.  Blake, they’ll kill you - please, please just leave.”

Ignoring the pleas, she tried fitting the tip of her blade in the lock, but it was too big.  Giving up that idea, she hurried to the back of the room and found a variety of metal tools laying on the table.  They all looked like torture devices, but she ignored that thought and grabbed the first thin piece of metal she found.

“You can’t be here…”

“I came back for you.”  Fitting the piece of metal into the lock, she searched for the pins - much easier to do when her hands weren’t shaking from adrenaline.  “And I’m not leaving without you,” she added as the first pin slid into place.  Only four more.  If she moved fast enough -

She heard the footsteps too late, and had no time to do anything but freeze when the door opened and Cinder walked inside.

For a split second, the two of them just stared at each other.  Then Blake dropped the lock and drew her phaser, but Cinder already had hers pointed at Yang.

“Well,” Cinder said as a smirk crept onto her lips.  “I wasn’t expecting to find you here, Lieutenant.”

“Surprise.”

Taking several steps away from Yang, Blake hoped Cinder would aim at her instead and present an opportunity to shoot.  But Cinder didn’t flinch.  Instead, her smirk grew as three more Blackguards walked into the room and drew their weapons.

Four against one, and with Yang still chained up...

“Didn’t want to miss all the fun,” Blake added and, with her heart racing, lifted her finger away from the trigger and held her hands in the air.

The squad rushed forward and took her weapon, which she surrendered without a fight.  They took her knife too, and checked for other weapons before backing away and leveling their weapons at her.  One of them handed her knife to Cinder, who took the blade and looked it over.

“This is nice,” she said before keeping it for herself.  “Who’s giving you nice things?”

Before Blake could respond, Cinder spun around and leveled an elbow her right in the ribs.  The resulting spike of pain sent her crumbling to the floor, struggling for breath while white spots flashed in her vision.

“Still tender, are they?” Cinder said with a tsk, walking away while Blake clutched her stomach and fought back tears.

“Adam will be thrilled you’re back,” Cinder added while two of the guards grabbed Blake’s arms and dragged her to her feet.  “He was...disappointed...that you didn’t get what you deserved the first time.”

“Him and me both,” Blake said through gritted teeth, but Cinder just rolled her eyes.  Another squad of Blackguards arrived then, their presence suggesting they were about to move Yang somewhere.

“What I’m most concerned about,” Cinder continued, her eyes flashing with malice.  “Is that we have a traitor on board.”

When another Blackguard marched Ret inside, a pit opened in Blake’s stomach.

She told him to stay put.  She told him to find Emerald.  Why did he follow her?  Why was he so determined to help?

“He led you here.”

“He didn’t,” Blake lied, but Cinder just smiled - and Cinder’s happiness was far more terrifying than her anger.

“Why don’t we just ask him?”

Dread growing, Blake met Ret’s gaze and subtly shook her head.

“Did you help her?” Cinder asked him, still with that smile set in place.

Blake’s heart dropped when Ret’s skin began to deepen.  Silently, she pleaded him to stop it.  To control it somehow.  To do anything but suggest he was guilty.  Instead, he smiled at her while his skin gave away what he’d done.

“Em said I could be a good pilot someday,” he whispered instead, raising one steady hand while Cinder put her phaser to his head.

“He didn’t do it!” Blake screamed as the weapon went off, ringing through the air as his body fell to the floor.  She immediately lunged at Cinder, fueled by enough fury that she broke free of her captors only to find the red-hot phaser pointed to her forehead.

She froze, and Cinder smiled while the Blackguards grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away.

“I’m going to kill you,” she seethed, meaning it more than anything she’d meant in her life, but Cinder only found the threat amusing.

“Of course you are.”  Putting the weapon away, Cinder looked around the room before motioning to the door.  “Bring them both.”

Under Cinder’s watchful gaze, the guards unlocked the chain from the ceiling, and Yang immediately collapsed to the floor.  Once they dragged her to her feet, she lifted her head and caught Blake’s eyes; she didn’t have to say anything for Blake to know what she was thinking.

She wished Blake hadn’t come back for her.  She wished that she could die alone, but Blake wasn’t going to let that happen.  Either they made it out of this together, or they died here together.  Realistically, it would probably be the latter.

“Let’s go,” Cinder said once the guards had control of Yang.  The man behind Blake shoved her towards the door.  Taking the hint, she spared one last glance for Ret, feeling a sharp pain in her heart for such an innocent life lost, before walking out of the room.

He helped her.  She wished she could have helped him in return, but she’d failed him.  Just like she’d failed Yang.  And ISA.  And herself.

News of her intrusion must have already spread throughout the ship, as a group of Blackguards loitered in the hall waiting for the result of the showdown.  Amongst them...Emerald and Mercury.

Emerald only looked at Blake before realization dawned in her eyes, followed by a flicker of pain, and finally anger.  After sending a scathing look Cinder’s way, she spun on her heel and stormed away without a word.  Mercury glanced into the room and, upon confirming that Ret was gone, shook his head and followed.

They probably blamed Blake, and they should, but she had no time to worry about them right now.  Not when the man behind her gave her another push forward, and she was forced to follow Cinder off of the Inferno.  She had no idea where they were headed or why, but if she were to guess...Adam had found a way into the mines.