We left Jett and Bintu approaching the Empyre's secret lair to get revenge for the murder of Jett's partner Cal. What secrets lie inside? Will our heroes survive? Find out tonight in Episode 3: The Great beyond. Only on Steemit!
You can catch up here- Episode 1 Episode 2
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As we got closer to the cliff entrance, I could feel a strange vibration in my chest, and a thumping in my ears, like another heartbeat. Bintu was moving like a cat stalking a mouse. It dawns on me, how little I know about this beautiful woman, and how much I want to know her. That will have to wait, now we got killin’ to do.
At the holographic face of the cliff, the vibration becomes a pounding, like another heart. Bintu turns to me and opens my shirt, the Dark star necklace has a faint glow. I had forgotten I had it. I begin to take it off and give it back. She grabs my hands, “No it yours now” she said, “it protect you” and then she kissed me.” Before I could protest a voice came from inside, “ I know you’re out there Williams, Come inside so we can talk” I recognized the voice, it was the Empyre thug that killed Cal. I wasn’t in the mood for talkin’. Besides I’m sure his warm welcome involves a healthy dose of blasters.
I reach into my boot and pull out a small disk. It’s a sonic disrupter, it emits a high-frequency pulse that will bring a man to his knees for about 30 seconds. I stuff a couple plugs in Bintu’s ears and then my own. She nods and I count down with my fingers, 3…2...1. I hit the button and toss it inside. It screams as it hits the ground, even through the earplugs it hurts.
We burst through the illusion, the room inside is a massive hanger, with alien technology all over. No bikers in here, they are all Empyre agents. I turn to my left and open fire on two of em’ and make their heads into canoes. Bintu starts firing arrows one after the other and more agents fall from the catwalk above us. I make a head count, there is about twenty more give or take, and the big cheese standing behind a blast shield at the other end of the room. I blast one more above us and the disrupter falls quiet.
We take cover behind a large metal crate with alien writing on it. “Well mister Williams, So pleased you could join us.” It was that cocky bastard again. “As you can see you are quite outnumbered. However I am not an unreasonable man, why don’t you give yourself up, and we will spare your beautiful friend.”
“Funny, I was about to offer you a choice. Since I'm definitely gonna kill you, do you want it quick or should I take my time?” I answered. Big talk outnumbered ten to one.
I peek around the corner and see some kind of spacecraft. Never seen one like it. It was all black and shined like liquid onyx, shaped like some sort of short pyramid. No windows or engines as I could tell. It had been here a while. They built some field emitters around it. There was a dark purple glow, I could feel it calling to me. I look down and the darkstar is glowing the same. Somehow I have to get to that ship…
Blaster fire begins pelting the crates, I pull one of the dead agents' bodies over, he has a grenade belt on so I start chucking grenades over the crate toward the blaster fire and explosions echoed out. I look around the corner and see four agents, whats left of em anyway. Smoke is filling the hanger. I look next to me and Bintu’s gone. I catch sight of her sneaking up the stairs to the catwalk. She moves behind one of the agents and cuts his throat.
Time to make my move. I run across to what looks like a statue of some alien god, and open fire on the remaining agents now huddled behind some kind of freight mover. I look for their boss. He isn’t behind the shield anymore. I am close to the ship now, it’s hovering and begging me to get in, hard to think straight. A voice calls out ‘Oh, Mister Williams...” I look up and that rotten bastard has Bintu in a choke hold. “...remember I gave you a choice, Such a shame.” I watch as the tip of his knife tears through her chest. She doesn’t scream.
Rage consumes me as I scream, Noooooo! As I cry out the ship emits a wave of energy and the remaining agents on the first floor explode into red mist. I see the panic in the leader's face, he drops Bintu over the edge of the walkway she falls limp into my arms. “You’re a dead man!” I yell as I pick her up and run for the ship. There has to be a way to save her,
“We are all dead mister Williams, I have armed a detonator.” He said, “This hanger will explode and the radiation will then extinguish all life on Ophelia 7. It’s not too late, You can stop this. Just surrender. The girl is dead, how many more must die because of you? Five minutes mister Williams.
Well, I briefly considered this on my way to the ship, Then the answer came to me. “Fuck you” I replied as I walked through the side of the ship.
When inside a black table rose from the floor, I laid Bintu on it. She coughed and blood ran down her perfect chin. “Jett…safe ” she murmured
“Yea… I’m safe… you did it” I said she reached up and put her hand on the gem that hung from my neck the gem began to glow as the light faded from her beautiful brown eyes.
I stepped back and a capsule enclosed her body and the table disappeared back into the floor. I hear a woman’s voice. “Please insert key” The voice wasn’t speaking earthish but somehow I understood it just the same. The inside of the ship was all black, no windows no panels, but in the front, I saw a glowing shape. I’m no genius but I could tell it was the same shape as Bintus’ dark star so I ran over and placed it on top.
The console begins to glow and come to life revealing panels and controls, I can see outside the ship through the shell anywhere I look. The voice speaks, “explosive device detected, critical mass in three minutes.” Then the alien language on the control panels became readable to me.
“How do we stop it?!” I ask.
“Impossible.”
I sit in the newly formed chair at the control console and try to engage thrust. The ship strains and shakes but doesn’t move.
“Explosion in two minutes.” The voice informs, emotionless.
“Why the hell aren’t we moving?”
“We are locked in an inertial field suppressor.”
“So we’re pretty much screwed is what yer’ telling me here?”
“I suggest a dimensional space fold, however, it has never been executed on a planet's surface. I predict a 49% chance of successful escape.”
“But what about the planet? I ask."
“Dimensional fold increases odds of planetary survival from 0 to 25%”
"I have no clue what the hell a dimensional fold is, but I’ll take those odds lets go!"
“Input destinaton”
“ Anywhere but here, just do it!”
“Fold drive engaged, 60 seconds to fold”
60 seconds?!… How long till we explode?
“Explosion in 60 seconds”
Well, that don’t add up to me... but screw it I guess. Been hearin’ blaster shots bouncing off the hull, sounds like our host is getting a little impatient.
“Ship can you communicate outside?”
“External coms now active”
“Hey buddy, sorry but we gotta go. I would invite you to come along, but well… your kind of a dickhole to be honest... so enjoy your explosion.”
“Fold in 25 seconds”
“This is not over Williams! I may die but the Empyre will find you and they will kill you!” I hear the fear in his voice like beautiful music. Then I see blood start leaking from his eyes…
“It’s over for you pal.” I laugh but I'm pretty sure it's game over for me too.
“Beginning gravitational expansion, electromagnetic field engaged”
I feel a warm membrane of energy wrap my body like a soft blanket. I watch the Empyre agent scream, but I can’t hear him. He begins to compress in on himself, the magnetic field begins to crush his body like a beer can. Can’t help but smile.
“Folding in 5”
The ship's voice is somehow comforting, I feel like time stops, well... not stops but more like exists all at once.
“4”
I can sense everything. Like I see the planet, Ophelia 7. It’s a ball of gas, and a smoldering rock, and just like now but at the same time it's also a lifeless rock circling a dead sun.
“3”
I think about Bintu, no, I see her... but I see her as a child, an adult, I see her die.. like it’s all happening at once. Time is somehow ... broken or different. It’s too much I can’t feel my body and my brain starts shutting down.
“2”
The last thing I see is Bintu, and she’s older… but how… then there’s only darkness.
"1"
Epilogue:
A large sphere of Bluish purple energy built up around the newly awakened spacecraft and in the instant of the explosion disappeared in a flash of light, taking a large portion of the cliff and some of the ocean with it. Reappearing in deep space with a flash of light, the sea and cliff side were floating around the dark vessel, joined by the alien artifacts. Where is Jett? What about his vision of Bintu? Where is this ship from? What other secrets does it hold? Find out as the series continues in Jett Williams in the Great Beyond: Episode 4- Weird Science.
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