Izikiel by Thomas Fay

for a while there. After the fighting out in the street you lost consciousness. We tried everything to revive you but couldn’t reach you,’ Xavier said. ‘Glad to see you found your way back.’
    Releasing Te’Anne, Izikiel looked around the interior of the building.
    ‘Where are we?’
    ‘ This is a security safe house,’ Jonas explained as he walked into the room. He was still dressed in his composite grey armour but had removed his helmet. ‘We use it to detain people of interest and to launch covert operations. We’ll be safe here.’
    ‘ Thank you, Jonas.’
    ‘ No problem. Now, does anyone care to explain to me what exactly happened out there? I’ve known commander Kazel for years. He was a hard man but I never suspected that he was...,’ Jonas’ voice trailed off.
    Izikiel looked at Te’Anne who nodded her head. Turning towards Jonas , he finished his sentence.
    ‘ A void spawn?’
    ‘ Yes. I knew what he was as soon as his skin began to change.’
    ‘ How?’ Izikiel asked, surprised at Jonas’ knowledge of the creatures of the Void.
    ‘ My father used to tell us stories when I was growing up. I always thought that they were just something that he made up, you know, to frighten us. I guess my old man knew more than he let on. Seeing that creature up close though, changing the way it did was -’
    ‘ I know. I had no idea that they could disguise themselves in that way,’ Izikiel said as he recalled the encounter in the street. Then he remembered the void spawn’s vicious attack on the security officers.
    ‘ What about your men?’
    The young captain’s eyes clouded over for a moment as his hands gripped the top of a nearby chair. Izikiel could see his knuckles turning white. After a moment, he replied, ‘Only a few survived and most of those that did were critically wounded. They have been taken to the military transport for immediate evacuation.’
    ‘ I’m sorry,’ Izikiel said, sharing in the captain’s grief. ‘Will you go with them?’
    ‘ No,’ Jonas replied firmly. Looking at Te’Anne and Xavier, he added, ‘I will go with you. I have a score to settle with those things . Besides, you could use my help.’
    ‘ Thank you, Jonas. We’ve got to hurry though. We still need to find a pilot and...’ Izikiel’s voice trailed off as he looked around the room. There was no sign of the little girl. Thinking back, the last time he remembered seeing her was before the security forces had appeared.
    ‘ Where is she?’ he asked, looking at Xavier.
    The big scavenger shook his head.
    ‘ I don’t know. We searched the street but found no trace of her.’
    ‘ We need to find her.’
    ‘ That could be difficult. Three gigantic objects have been detected in space heading directly for the star port,’ Jonas said. ‘People have started to panic as they rush for the few remaining ships. It’s chaos out there.’
    ‘ Nevertheless, we need to try,’ Izikiel said.
    ‘ Any idea where she could be?’ Te’Anne asked.
    A sudden thought struck Izikiel. Thinking back to before their encounter with the security forces, he recalled the man in the black shawl. Somehow he knew that if he found him, he’d find the little girl. Izikiel described the man to the star port security captain.
    ‘ Sounds like one of the independent freighter captains. Dangerous types, heavily armed and utterly ruthless,’ Jonas said. ‘You’re sure your friend is with him?’
    ‘ Yes’
    ‘ Alright, our best chance is still The Sargon . Are you armed?’
    Xavier and Te’Anne shot Izikiel a quick look before Xavier replied, ‘Yes. We could use a few spare power cells though.’
    ‘ I’ve got something else you might be interested in.’
    ‘ What’s that?’
    Jonas pressed a hidden control on the grey composite wall. It hissed with a faint release of compressed air as a section of the wall slid forward. It revealed an opaque capsule, large enough to fit two people. Activating another control, Jonas stepped