Human Resistance
Book One: Demon Master

Chapter 10: Green-Eyed Prisoner

The Zoranian spaceship was one of the newer models of carrier design. It was large and organized. The engines were located at the bottom, like one of the humanoid rocket ships, and the pilot seat was at the top, facing toward the sky. It was designed very much like a human rocket, save for the fact that it was larger and the required aspects needed to travel in space were much smaller, leaving more space for crew quarters, visitor levels, slave workhouses and bunkers, and, at the very bottom near the engines, the dungeons. The Zoranian Core Commander of all Invasion Fleets, Ban-xark, prided himself on the carrier and the number of men it would hold. The “crew quarters” held more than just the crew: it could hold part of an army. Of course, there were other carriers in his fleet, but this one was his favorite, especially now.

“I heard you caught a new human today, Commander,” the underling Yar-drax, an apprentice under Ban-xark, commented as they walked through the dungeon areas.

Ban-xark nodded, his purple eyes glowing in arrogant dominance. “Today it was the human girl, the one who is supposedly the ‘demon girl’ of this legend of theirs.” He rolled his eyes at the idea. Yar-drax chuckled. “Yesterday it was Jake Reed: the one of real importance.”

Yar-drax stopped in his tracks. Obviously, he had not believed the rumors floating around the ship. “Jake Reed? You mean the Jake Reed? The one who escaped four years ago and began slaughtering our kind?”

Ban-xark felt himself twitch an eyebrow at the casual way his apprentice said those words, but he shrugged it off as immaturity and continued striding down the hallway. “Yes, that very same Jake Reed is in our dungeons at this very moment. It seems he took on a bigger fish than he could handle.” He chuckled at his own joke, stopping beside the room that held his most important prisoner.

Yar-drax stepped forward. “Is that the prisoner we’re going to visit? I thought we were seeing that human girl…”

Ban-xark glanced at his apprentice, shaking his head at the lustful gleam in the underling’s eyes. Younger Zoranians thought only of lust and power…and human women were easier to force into sex than Zoranian females. Ban-xark pushed away thoughts of his wife…that had been a family arrangement that went back generations, one he could not control, and one that he hated above all things. The only Zoranian female he considered gentle was Zaia, the daughter of Emperor-King Trek-xeml, but of course Zaia was off limits to every Zoranian miles around. Venz-xarl could have had her, had he so desired her, but his lusts swung a different way…Venz-xarl was a strange one, but he was best friends with the Emperor-King, so he wasn’t going to be killed for being different.

“I put in a call to Venz-xarl. The Emperor-King has stationed him on Dheru for the time being, so we will hold our prisoner until he can make it here under the permission of the Emperor-King. The girl is to be held as well, not killed, but if you do well for me, you may have your way with her eventually.”

Yar-drax bowed, “Thank you, Commander.”

Ban-xark rolled his eyes. He didn’t feel like being told off by his wife for forcing sex with a human girl, human or not…he would be caught and then get shouted out and kicked out…not something that should happen to a Commander. “I hate arranged marriages,” he muttered, soft enough under his breath not to be over heard.

Facing the dungeon door, he tapped in a coded message on the keypad and smirked as the door slid open. A dim light flashed on when the door opened and a figure swerved to face the opening. Ban-xark smirked at the glare he saw coming from the man chained to the wall.

“Jake Reed…It’s been a long time.”

“Oh, shut up and kill me already…Oh wait, you can’t…Venz-xarl would kill you if you did, and then how would you destroy humanity?”

Ban-xark froze, calming himself, relaxing the fists that had balled up automatically. He glared at Reed, who was sitting on the ground, his wrists, ankles, and neck bound by chain links that connected to the wall. He wasn’t going anywhere, though he had tried, but he still couldn’t be beaten down to Ban-xark’s satisfaction. He hadn’t even managed to get a yelp from Reed, yet. Venz-xarl knew where the human’s weak points were, but the inability to make Reed pay for what he had done still rankled his pride. Ten thousand Zoranians dead at his hand—ten thousand—in three years!

Ban-xark glanced at Yar-drax, who hurriedly bowed and closed the sliding door. Ban-xark had the key that would open it from the inside, so even if Reed managed to escape from the chains, there was no way he would be able to escape from the cell. “All right, Reed…I have questions.”

The human prisoner rolled his green eyes and crossed his arms at his chest. Dried blood coated the black shirt, the black pants, the Zoranian top-of-the-line cut boots, not to mention his face and arms. “Well, I expected that much.”

Ban-xark found himself clenching his fists in irritated anger again, but managed to control himself. Jake Reed would be punished severely when Venz-xarl arrived. Does this fool even know his former master is returning? I think I forgot to tell him…

“First thing I have to ask wasn’t even on my list of things to do, but I think I forgot to let you know some very important information.”

Jake Reed cocked an eyebrow, his defiant green eyes actually showing a spark of curiosity. “Well, it must be something I already know or don’t wish to know, since no normal person would tell secret plans to a prisoner.” Reed suddenly winced, and gently touched his right arm, laughing when he felt the blood. “You might want to watch your apprentice there, Ban-xark. He’s trying to kill me.”

“Shut your mouth!” Yar-drax shouted, a laser gun pointed in Reed’s direction. “Damn right, I want to kill you. You were nothing but trouble since the day you were born, filthy human. I’ll bet your mother loathes the day you were born. Humans have had to deal with nothing but pain since you came along…you and your defiance…and she has to suffer the worst of it…because of you! How does that make you feel, you piece of human shit!”

Ban-xark held up a hand, and Yar-drax stopped his mouth instantly, though the gun was lowered significantly slower than the words. Turning his purple eyes back to Reed, Ban-xark was surprised to see the blatant anger, and the slight tinge of emotional pain in those green eyes. But Reed didn’t stand up or try to attack Yar-drax in any way—a strange act coming from someone with such defiance and skill. Ban-xark smirked.

I think I understand…

“You’re nothing without your katana, are you?”

The green eyes flashed to him. “What the fu—“

Ban-xark stopped the words from coming out of the human’s throat. “Ah…ah…ah…no bad language now. Profanity isn’t exactly a good thing.”

“To hell with being good! According to that stupid Earth religion, killing is evil, too, but I want to kill every last one of you fucking Zoranians! So shove that up your ass!”

Ban-xark felt the anger again, but this time he didn’t suppress it. Like his apprentice, he let the words come out on their own in a flash of anger…Maybe this was how Venz-xarl had reached the defiant human. Maybe a simple reminder of Venz-xarl would scare him. “Why don’t you tell that to your master when he comes to collect you?” There it is! Fear! And not just slight fear…true fear… Ban-xark nearly laughed. It’s gone now, but it was there. He settled for a smirk instead. “I’m sure Venz-xarl would love to hear the new language you’ve acquired.”

Jake Reed said nothing. Only his eyes spoke. Fear…hate…anger…but most of all…

Defiance.

--!--

Slowly, ever so painfully slowly, Jake Reed awoke back into consciousness. He opened his eyes, awaking into a world of pain, blood, and horrible headaches. He was getting used to being beaten by Ban-xark. Grimacing at the pounding in his head, he slowly sat up, hearing and feeling the ice cold chains as they moved with his body. Being caught by Zoranians wasn’t one of his favorite pastimes. By all accounts, he shouldn’t have been found out. Someone on the Resistance had given away his position...Of course there was always the possibility that D-K21 had known.

He sighed, and then instantly regretted it, feeling pain in his chest. A rib must have cracked in the last beating. “Great…just perfect.”

Ban-xark had thought of the one thing the illustrious Jake Reed could not break out of. Smarter than the other small-time Zoranians who had found him through the years, Ban-xark had put him in chains, connected to the wall, in a cell with an electric door. There was only one way to exit once the sliding door was shut: by the keycard on Ban-xark’s person. And there wasn’t any way to hack it, either. So, even if he did manage to break the chains, he was trapped in the room.

“So, are you awake now?”

The sudden female voice startled him. Blinking his green eyes, he glanced up to see a girl sitting against the far dungeon wall staring at him. “When did you get in here? How long have I been out?”

She shrugged. “Do you expect me to have a way to keep time in this place? Do you see any windows in here? It’s a dungeon, how would I know the time?”

Jake blinked. Ok…she’s in a bad mood, I guess. I suppose I can’t blame her. Knowing what Zoranians do to female humans and all… I’ll have to work to get information out of her then, and try not to get her mad at me. Being chained to a wall and giving an angry girl stuck in the room a reason to come after me is not the smartest thing to do.

“Sorry. If you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been beaten to unconsciousness, and I’ve just woken up.”

The girl rolled her eyes and scoffed. “So what are you going to ask next? ‘Where are we?’ Well, I can answer that one for you. We’re on a Zoranian ship, in a dungeon with no possible escape route. These Zoranians are disgusting and cruel. Not to mention, they took the Tri-vol away, and I’m in a really…bad… mood.”

Jake lowered his eyebrows, starting to get annoyed at this clueless girl. “Foolish girl. You act as if you didn’t expect Zoranians to do anything. They’re Zoranians; of course they’re going to have their way with you…”

Before he could add anything else, she moved toward at him at a faster speed than he thought possible from a young girl. As soon as his comment was finished, his cheek began to sting with the pain of being slapped. At that instant, his anger escalated.

Reaching out with his hands, hearing the chain links clink as his body moved yet ignoring them, he grabbed her arms and pulled her face toward his. “Slap again, and you will regret it. Touch me at all, and I will repay you back ten thousand fold. I do not like people touching me, understand?”

The girl opened her mouth with a glare in her bright blue eyes. Jake lowered both eyebrows, letting his green eyes flash in angered warning. Something in the look must have startled her out of her rage, and she clamped her mouth shut, nodding her head. “Sorry. I…I’m just…scared…and…”

He scoffed and pushed her away, crossing his blood-stained arms across his chest as she fell to the floor a few feet away. “Whatever. I don’t care. Just don’t touch me again.” His head began to pound annoyingly in the back of his mind, but he forced it down with a swallow and proceeded to study his cell mate.

She was young and foolish. Her blue eyes were too bright to have suffered much in her past. Her hair was too long to have been one under Zoranian control. Of course! She’s from this planet…and the way I remember it, all the females were brought to Zoran to be the pet toys of the lusting Zoranians. So, she wasn’t caught when the aliens landed. Either she’s very evasive…or very lucky…Too bad her luck’s run out now. Mine has too. But if I could get her to…

“Stop staring at me. You’re freaking me out.” The girl said, moving to sit against the wall, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. She looked very innocent in that position…

“Sorry,” he muttered, his first honest apology in a long time. Jake blinked his eyes and shook his head, stopping his mind from wandering. What was that all about? Why do I feel sorry for her all of a sudden?

Her eyes glanced up and met his. His breathing stopped and his heart began to race. What the hell is wrong with me? I can’t be having feelings for this…this girl! It’s not possible! Determined to be the victor over his emotions, Jake grabbed the strange feelings and shoved them away, stuffing them in a cold, empty box and locking it with a key. Immediately he felt the odd sensation disappear, and his green eyes returned to glaring at her.

“Why do you look at me like that? I didn’t mean to ruin our only chance. I just…How could you know I am part demon? How could you know?”

Jake nearly fell over from the shock. “Part demon?” He asked with a chuckle. “What the hell?”

Her blue eyes froze. “You didn’t know?”

He shook his head. “No, and I don’t think I believe you either. Foolish, crazy girl…there’s no such thing as demons…Have the Zoranians messed with more than just your body? Have they destroyed your mind as well as your virginity?”

The girl was in front of him before he could think. Her arm was raised. He was waiting for it, instinctively this time at least. His hand shot out, chains rattling and all, and he grabbed her wrist before she could slap. “I said not to touch me. What don’t you understand of that?”

Her blue eyes grew wide. “You…you…” She gulped, her face so shocked it was pale. “How could you dodge that?”

He glared at her. Foolish, foolish, foolish girl! With a rough shove he pushed her back, hardly caring when her head banged loudly on the cell floor. “Practice,” he growled, forcing down memories of Ven-xarl that itched to crawl to the surface of his mind.

Venz-xarl’s coming here…I have to get out! I have to find a way out of here before they come back! But these damn chains, and the one-sided door…

He smashed a closed fist against the wall, feeling pain at hitting it so hard, but not showing the pain he felt. Practice indeed…

“What is your problem? I don’t understand you! I don’t even know your name!”

His green eyes shot up at her statement. She doesn’t know who I am? What have the Zoranians done to her? Has she lost some memory, and replaced it with absurdities like demons?

She was standing up now, her own arms crossed, and she was looking down at him, eyebrows raised, reminding him of…

Jake began to chuckle. “Well, isn’t that something.”

“What? What is wrong with you? Are you insane? Do you have the Swordsman Disease too?”

Jake blinked, turning his head to face her, feeling the sweat dripping from his hair. “What? Swordsman Disease? What the hell is that?” His laughter had stopped, and so did his questions when he realized he was getting too curious. She could gain something from his curiosity…she could find a way to blackmail him or something…Maybe she was just a pawn put here to make him give out information…Instantly, his mouth snapped shut.

The girl rolled her eyes. “It’s a disease that swordsmen get on my planet…Obviously, you’re not from my planet, otherwise you’d know that…” She sighed and sat down, her anger gone, replaced by a different emotion. “It’s what we call the longing great swordsmen get when they spend too much time with their weapon…” She frowned, her eyes distant and sad. “My brother has it, and all he can think about is making his sword happy.” She sighed. “Of course, he has moments where he seems sane, but…I don’t know…He just betrayed me to the Zoranians, so…I don’t know what to think of him. I can’t even understand…I can’t even protect my own brother.”

Jake blinked. Maybe…No! No, I will not fall for it. “Yeah right. That’s all a bunch of bullshit,” he stated, quite confident that he was correct, and not too worried he would hurt her anytime soon.

The girl raised her face to him, her blue eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry you believe that. I don’t care what you think anymore…I know my brother is crazy, and I know I can’t protect him. Both have been proven to me…both equally painful.” She winced, turned her face away, and muttered. “I hate Zoranians. I hate them all…”

“Well so do I, girl.” Jake agreed, not even realizing he was agreeing with a possible enemy.

The girl sighed, loud and long and exaggerated before lying on the floor, facing away from him. “Don’t call me ‘girl.’ I hate that. Call me by my name.”

Jake rolled his eyes, but asked anyway. “What’s your name?”

It took a moment for her answer, as if she were reconsidering something. Jake sat still and waited, his curiosity beginning to win over his better judgment. He was actually asking because he wanted to know, not just because it was the only way to keep her talking. If he kept her talking, maybe she would reveal a clue about her real identity. But I really want her name. Why?

“Reda…” the girl breathed. “My name…is Reda Suki. Call me Reda.” She paused for another long moment, and Jake found himself relenting.

Well, hey, if she’s a Zoranian spy, she already knows my name anyway. I could make it more elaborate, make a point. He smirked. Yeah, that’s perfect.

“Well fine then, I’ll pass on my name too, though I am surprised you don’t know it already.” He waited for a reaction, and was a little shocked when nothing happened. This girl is good… “I am Jake Reed, space bounty hunter extraordinaire. The Zoranians tend to call me Reed, but they can bite my ass for all I care…Only my closest friends call me Jake. Most humans know me as the Black Eagle; it’s the name of my ship, and so the way humans identify me. Black because it represents the cunning in the darkness, the cunning to destroy huge forces. The eagle because as I’ve been told, an eagle is free in the skies…Well, I am free in space.”

The girl—Reda—scoffed. “You’re really great at demonstrating your freedom, aren’t you?”

Anger bubbled itself to the surface, and Jake opened his mouth, ready with a retort, but nothing happened. He couldn’t make himself say it. She was right. No matter how he faced it, she was right. Damned Zoranian spies. I hope anyone connected with the Zoranians dies the same horrible death as their masters. And I hope I’m the one to do it.