The 13th Star: An Action Adventure Sci-F Apocalyptic Novel (12 page)

“Would my Lord like the honor?” the prison commander asked Bar.

“Drop the nonsense. Open the door already!” demanded Bar and the door opened. The prison commander entered first, followed
immediately by Bar with determined steps. He froze.

“Someone will pay dearly for this!” Bar blazed to the prison commander and put his Roll to him. The cell was empty.

Mattoui hadn’t needed to ask for too many favors to enter Rettoul’s cell, and he realized that getting him out wouldn’t require
more than a few friendly conversations. In all, hundreds—if not thousands—of government and military galactic personnel had
been cadets of the quintet. One of the things Rettoul had insisted on and that others learned from him over time was to always
smile and ask “What’s up?” and “How can I help you?” The questions were always asked with the intent and desire to support
the cadets. None of the quintet was concerned about his own well-being. Rettoul once said that the cadets received tools for
life, rather than weapons of war, and therefore one should give them all the tools for life, not just teach them the secrets
of death and battle.

Today, the previous affection showed to the students paid off. All those guarding Rettoul knew the quintet, not only from
tales told about them, but as their cadets.

Rettoul strode quickly with supple movements, as if he were cutting the wind, as he walked toward Bar’s Kaiser. Mattoui would
wait for him somewhere. He hadn’t caught exactly where from the guard who accompanied him outside. It’s okay, he thought.
Mattoui will find me.

The Kaiser was closed, as he expected, but a slap on the hidden peephole opened the instruction screen for him. Rettoul gambled
and quickly entered a code. He knew the system had several consecutive login styles and also understood several languages.
If he didn’t manage with the code, the second login style was the retina. If the system didn’t respond to that login attempt,
there would be a third—a fingerprint, usually of the thumb or the little finger because they were the easiest to scan. But
sometimes one of the other fingers was used.

Rettoul had to succeed in first attempt, with the numerical code, and gambled on Bar’s date of birth and the current year.
Bar, known for his enormous ego, would certainly define his birthday as the winning number, but the current year was a guess.
He’d once heard Bar say that the center of the galaxy at any moment was the point where he was, and it didn’t matter if the
planet was as small as a grain of sand. The location, and nothing else, determined the center of the galaxy, and it would
be good if everyone recognized this fact. Bar also said that the life of the galaxy was here and now—the galaxy had no history
except for the date of his birth and no future except
when he arrived. Rettoul remembered the words as if they had been spoken for his ears only.

What could be more symbolic for Bar? he thought and entered the code. The door of the Kaiser was unresponsive.

Rettoul hurried before the system could ask for the code in a different language, since then he wouldn’t have any chance
. How would he obtain Bar’s
retina?
He reordered the numbers from the current year to those of Bar’s birthday. He knew if more than 15 seconds passed between
one attempt and another, the system would switch to another language. Rettoul hastened to input the numbers.

The door didn’t open.

Cold sweat covered him as he quickly made a third attempt. After that, the system would lock for 15 minutes with a random
code that didn’t include any settings familiar to him. He tried Bar’s date of birth without the year and hit the current year.

The Kaiser door opened.

Of course, he thought, smiling. Bar doesn’t boast about the year, only of the day and month. The year would give away his
age, and he wouldn’t want that.

Rettoul rushed inside and locked the door behind him, entering his palm print on the code reader. Now no one could open the
Kaiser from outside, even Bar himself. As he turned from the door, something pushed him and a Roll was pressed against his
throat. Rettoul didn’t expect anyone to be on the Kaiser, especially since his attempts to open the door hadn’t been met by
anyone inside.

“A bit cheeky on your part, isn’t it?” asked a subdued, muffled voice. Rettoul didn’t react, trying to adjust his eyes to
the darkness. An orange internal light was turned on suddenly—one that couldn’t be seen by anyone outside.

“You guys again?” He smiled at Berez, Zoi, and Mattoui. They all wore festive clothes, but their war bags, personal equipment,
and weapons leaned to the side.

“Thor was finally able to set a date with agirl from the base,
which he’d been
trying to do for two months. I told him he was exempt,” Mattoui said.

“Too bad you came,” said Rettoul seriously.

“What do you mean?” Berez didn’t understand. “We’re together, come what may.”

“That’s exactly it, Berez. ‘Come what may’ becomes more serious by the minute. I’m not sure I want you to be involved in this.”

“We’re not involved in anything,” Zoi said. “We are a part, even if you can’t see it.”

“We’re one unit, Rettoul,” said Mattoui.

“These are slogans, my friends,” Rettoul said.

“No! Those are facts. We’re one unit and no one—not even you, Rettoul—can split this unit,” said Berez firmly in an atypical
manner.

Rettoul was suddenly filled with love for his friends. He felt he had to continue this journey, despite the fearful moments
that discouraged him, but thanks his many good friends, he was able to move forward and not flounder.

“Where are we going?” asked Mattoui, seated at the controls.

“To the coldest place you know,” Rettoul answered.

“What? To Rod Coldor’s heart?” Berez laughed.

“No.” Rettoul laughed with him. “It would be crowded there even if we went one by one. There’s not much space there. In fact,
I don’t know if that place exists at all…”

“What place?” Zoi
trembled
and received a resounding punch on his shoulder from Berez.

***

David didn’t have to invite them in. Their knocks were rapid and determined and the door opened immediately. David looked
at the group standing on his doorstep, unsurprised by neither the visit nor the manner in which they came.

“Hello, gentlemen. Hello, Rod Coldor. You are an important guest on the planet, and certainly in my house.” David smiled.

“I didn’t come for a courtesy call. I came to wake you and Sarah up until you beg to go back to bed quickly.”

“I’ve actually had my fill of sleep. I now try to stay awake up as much as possible,” said David, laughing.

Coldor didn’t answer. He looked around nervously and roamed the room as if looking for something. “Where is Sarah?”

“Sarah’s here. Where else would she be?”

Coldor poked his head into the other rooms and found Sarah standing in the kitchen by a small dining table. She didn’t speak—just
gave him a penetrating look, as if waiting to hear the purpose of his visit.

“Hello, Sarah,” said Coldor, as if he were someone she’d known for years. “I’m not sure I want to exchange polite words with
you today.”

Sarah shrugged.

“I think you know exactly why I’m here.”

Sarah didn’t respond, but David answered from the living room. His relaxed voice belied the fact that Coldor’s men were tying
him up. “No, you didn’t come for a courtesy call. We know that, but we don’t quite understand why you’re here.”

“David, I really—but really—don’t want to talk to you now.”

“Why not?” he asked, trying to make things difficult while his legs were being tied. “I don’t have much to talk about, and
I think the subject can help us all far more if we discuss it.”

“David, shut up before Sarah becomes a victim of your nonsense.”

“Sarah… Sarah…my love, my heart’s delight. If people…” David continued as if he hadn’t heard Coldor’s threat.

Coldor’s face blazed red and he reached out and grabbed Sarah’s hair. “Surely you remember that this isn’t our first meeting.”
Sarah didn’t answer and he continued. “You
were about to give birth, and I watched you closely.” She didn’t react and he kept pulling and twisting Sarah’s hair, hurting
her. She bit her lip so as not to cry out in pain.

“I should have killed you the day you gave birth to that scoundrel. Both of you, rather than just bother with the nonsense
that satisfied me at the moment.” He twisted Sarah’s hair harder and she couldn’t stifle her cries anymore.

“Sarah!” David called from the living room. “Sarah, darling, don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you. Sarah, love of my life,
don’t be afraid. They’re leaving, and I’ll come to you.”

“Yes,” Coldor snarled, “he will perhaps meet you in the other world, and you may as well tell him that there, too, that he’s
the father of a scoundrel.” Coldor yanked her hair hard and quickly twisted her head around as if it were a screw. He heard
the slight crack of her neck breaking and her head fell forward.

Coldor dropped the body and went out into the living room and kicked the leg of the chair David sat on. “Today more than ever,
I tend to leave traces of death everywhere. Don’t force me to do the same here, not even with a corpse in the kitchen.”

David swallowed hard, his eyes filling with tears. He didn’t say a word and only looked reproachfully into the eyes of Coldor,
who shifted his gaze out beyond David.

“What do you want?” shouted David. “What do you want?” He wept for the loss of Sarah and detested the man standing in front
of him.

“What do I want?” Coldor laughed. “You will live long enough to see and endure what I want. Take him to the shuttle,” he demanded.

Not an hour had passed from the moment when Coldor’s Kaiser left the planet to when dozens of Falconite battle shuttles circled
Levi’s skies, dropping large packages. No one knew what they were. The Levites couldn’t check what had been ordered to be
airlifted to Levi because the packages didn’t stop, and they were very heavy. A commotion broke out when packages were
dropped
in the residential areas, too, and not just in the huge fields.

Out from the packages burst beasts of prey from Bucha. None of the Levites, nor any residents from the rest of the galaxy,
had ever seen so many hungry predators. They were when dormant when they landed, but soon the anesthesia wore off and they
got to their feet and began their terrible hunt, not stopping at anything.

The terror evident in the Levites’ eyes knew no bounds. There was nowhere to hide from the starving predators. The scent of
people was enough to attract the animals. And they came.

The Briskerian palace
looked unique, wrapped in a white shroud that covered the entire planet. There was no wind and snow fell slowly, but in sufficient
amounts to cover everything. The group watched out the window while the Kaiser hovered in the air. The view was both horrible
and electrifying at the same time. They hadn’t yet
landed or exited, but it seemed like the silence of death was outside. The huge amount of snow that had fallen over the last
day had left the population of Brisker frozen. Everything remained where it had been minutes before the snowstorm hit.

“Aren’t we going to leave the Kaiser?” Zoi asked nervously.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Rettoul replied idly.

“What do you mean?” Mattoui didn’t understand. In fact, it was the first time he doubted Rettoul. “Everything is painted with
death outside—admittedly white, but everything death.”

“Not everything,” Rettoul said calmly. His attitude didn’t match the moment.

“Rettoul,” said Berez, “I think we shouldn’t land. The Kaiser will sink and we’ll have a problem getting back and out of here.”

“No problem,” said Rettoul still calmly, as though lost in thought. “Let me out here.”

“And us?” asked Zoi and Berez together.

“You can wait, or you can go on. Do what you want. I have to get out here.”

The Kaiser landed and the four of them got out, protected by coats and wearing masks. Rettoul looked around as if searching
for something.

“Do you know what should happen now?” asked Mattoui.

“I’m waiting for a sign. Then we’ll all know,” Rettoul replied.

Zoi looked at Berez. They had the feeling that Rettoul was not quite connected to reality. They swallowed with difficulty
and looked anxiously at Mattoui, as if trying to fully understand him.