Blackout Part II

Chapter 9

Black's POV

I watched Tuck leave the medical room with Jackson. I could still hear the girl crying as the rest of the Delrath walked out. I had began to like them, they helped save her. They were good folk, as I had stated. I heard the crying suddenly stop, and could faintly tell the sound of the pistol being lifted from the bedside table. I smiled soflty as I opened the door to my office; I had requested it close to the medical room so I could drop in on the wounded and see them.

I took off the jacket of the suit and hung it on the coat rack that was attatched to the door. I pushed the door closed and walked over to my desk. I saw a packet with the CIA seel on it, I sighed as I dug through the drawers for a letter opener. I heard a small knocking at the door. It sounded weak, frail; it had to be the poor Scotish girl.

"Come in," I said as I kicked off my shoes and loosened my tie. The girl pushed open the door and walked in slowly, zombie like. "Hello there, A."

"Hi," she said as she motioned to one of the chairs I had in my office. "May I sit?"

"Of course, pull up a chair," I said. She sat down almost instantly, I could tell that she very much enjoyed the leather. She smiled up at me, it must have been a long time since she had outside contact.

"Where are we?"

"D block. The prision block, C, is just below us. The hangers are A block, and B block is the soldiers' quarters." I noticed that she had the chocolate bar that Jackson gave her. "You can eat that," I said with a smile.

"Not what I meant," she replied with a slight giggle. "I meant where, like, what country?"

"Honestly, Alana, I can't tell you that. Security matters." I paused for a second and stared at her. "How long were you on the ship?"

"What?"

"Answer the question, how long were you on the ship?"

"I dunno, its easy to lose track of time on there. No clocks or anything," she snapped back, obviously alarmed by my change of tone. I leaned in, towards her. I needed to know about this ship. If we could take that, we could win.

"What do you remember of the ship? I want a name, I want decks, crew, everything." She was slow to answer, shaken, scared. I didn't care. I wasn't as nice as I let on. "Tell me!" I yelled as I slammed my fist on the table.

"It was a hunk of flying metal and hallways. I wasn't allowed very many places, but I got around. I brought supplies to the soldier soldiers and hybrids. I didn't really meet many people, only four really. Captain Thrask, he's the head guy up there. Luda, the defective hybrid my boss took care of. Quopar...he's the one that killed my uncle. And then there was Nexxus, my boss. He was the head of the science devision and navigator of the ship. Thrask and Nexxus were brothers...I think De Gloren killed Thrask though."

"Good," I said as I leaned back. I was still looking for the letter opener with one hand, I forced opened another drawer and saw it, stuck between a book and a packet of papers.

"What is that," the girl asked as I pulled the letter opener out and ran it over my hand, to clean off the small shards of paper that still clung to it. I looked up at her, and smiled.

"Letter opener," I said softly. "How did you stay sane on the ship?" She was silent for a few seconds, thinking, not knowing how to answer.

"I don't really know. I watched everyone else kind of go lifeless and grey, like zombies. I suppose my conditions were better, so I didn't completley shut down..."

"This assassin thing. Tell me about it."

"That's just Quopar. He is the rght hand to the Captain and enjoys the thrill of the hunt...or so he says."

"I mean the other one. The one we found you with."

"I don't know anything about him, except for that he doesn't like Delraths. I don't even know why he kidnapped me off the ship."

"No ideas at all?"

"Nope. He keeps calling himself a Hessassition or Zino de Gloren."

"That's damn near useless!" I yelled as I slammed a fist on the table. She inched back, then leaned in foreward.

" He's good at his job, though. He kicked the Captain's and Quopar's butt when they came to put him by in cryo. The Captain is the strangest and meanest guy on the ship. He took out a few guards too...and Nexxus. For some reason, he left Luda alone."

"Tell me about Luda."

"She's a defective Hybrid. Somehow, human DNA got into her canister and since human genetics are too unpredictable for Delraths, she became defective and was born a woman. The Captain wanted her killer because the Delrtah species was 'too strong and has no room for women'. Nexxus asked the Captain to spare her, so he and I could take care of her."

"Why are the Delrath here," I asked in a hushed voice as I cut open the packet from the remenants of the CIA.

"Who knows...Captain Thrask is always just barking orders, and the Delrath obey him. He is the co-leader of the planet, so I think he's more in it for the political take over to become more powerful. He doesn't listen to his brother, who is the most brilliant mind of the planet and abuses him constantyl. Nexxus said the takeover was pointless, a waste of their people's lives and that they should just go home."

"Did they expect humans to fall easily?"

"I guess...I mean...I remember Nexxus mumbling something about Thrask sending out his false elite to test out strength, and how they got slaughtered by Bradley. Nexxes often said that his brother used those lives for his own gain, and the the Captain always abused other saves, and how he attacked me so I couldn't get out of bed for a few weeks."

"Do they fear us?"

"No. Thrask plans to pull out his real elite soldiers and other high ranking soldiers from the ship in the planet's orbit. From what Nexxus told me, Thrask laughs at the humans' 'futile efforts'."

"I don't know, unless we had an army of de Glorens...The Delrath are just too many, and too strong."

"What if...we made him teach us what he knew?"

 "What do you mean," she asked with a small laugh. I smiled at the thought of it. This...alien assassin teaching us humans how to fight like him. Would he though? Would he be willing to teach us his secrets?

"If we asked him to teach us, maybe he would. We would have to cut a deal, though. He gets to kill Delrath with us, and in turn..."

"An island in the South Pacific?" I froze at the suggestion. I doubted it would work, but then again anything is worth a shot. I made a fist and slammed it down on the intercom button. I waited as it called to the office in the cell block below us.

Finally, the bright, bubbly voice of Yoeman Nichole Prechenkov cut the silence.

"Da, deystvuyuschchaya sila Black? Vhat is ze problem?"

"Prechenkov, the alien we brought in, how is he?"

"Ochen'khorosho, very good, sir." Prechenkov was one of my favorite people here. She was young, and she was beautiful. The Russian accent and her ability to kick the asses of most of soldiers was a plus, as well.

"Can you cut the Russian, I have a question, dear."

"Da, sir. Vhat is it?" She said, her voice becoming darker, more like me.

"Get the alien out of cryo, whip his memory with a lead pipe. We need him."

"Sir?" This was another voice. It sounded like Tuck's, in a way.

"Talk to me," I said as my smile faded.

"He suffered severe brain damage. He thinks we're on the same side."

I let up on the button and smiled darkly. I threw my gun in its holster, put my shoes and tie on, and walked down to C block.