knew the fellow was a product of his upbringing, so could not help his reaction. But it still irritated Titan. The fact that his planet had allowed itself to be enslaved by an alien race, without fight or resistance, always angered him. Until recently, he could not do anything about it. But with the arrival of Grant, a soldier from ancient times, that had changed. Grant had freed him from Violent’s Prison. It also appeared as though he might have freed Earth from the Minith—for now, at least.
Titan remembered the reason for his presence on the alien ship. He was on a volunteer suicide mission. Somehow, he didn’t think the man seated in front of him would have volunteered for the assignment—not that it mattered now.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Gee. Gee Jones.” The man kept his eyes closed, but his voice did not waver. “I’m an engineer. I’ve been on this ship since the Minith arrived.”
“Well, Gee Jones, I’m Titan. We’ve got a long trip ahead, and we need to get this place cleaned up.”
Gee’s eyes snapped open. Titan saw the fear in the other’s look and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about them.” He waved at the half-dozen alien bodies surrounding them. “They’re already dead.”
* * *
It took them more than three hours to remove the bodies and clean up the mess that Grant and his team left. While Titan did most of the work, Gee helped by pointing out the locations of cleaning supplies and the ship’s disposal compartment. After receiving assurance from Gee that there would be no harm to the ship, Titan dumped the alien bodies into the disposal unit and walked away, pleased to be done with the leathered carcasses.
As they worked, Titan filled Gee in on how he had first met the ancient soldier called Grant Justice. Without telling the engineer what awaited them at the end of their journey, he explained how he had come to be on the ship.
In turn, Gee told the large Violent his own story and what he had learned about the ship during his twelve years aboard the vessel.
One of the most surprising items Titan learned was that the aliens knew very little about the mothership they possessed. The Minith flew the ships, but very few of them knew how they worked. According to the Minith mentor who trained Gee, the ship, and a dozen others just like it, had actually been stolen from another race the Minith had defeated and enslaved.
Apparently, the greenish, bat-looking aliens were very good at taking things from others, but not so good at building things themselves, or keeping the high-tech items they stole in good working order.
As Gee spoke, Titan started forming a plan. He thought it was a good time to tell Gee what waited for them at the end of the journey.
“So, Gee,” Titan began, “what do you know about the bomb the Minith have on the ship?”
“The… the bomb?”
Chapter 14
“Who is that?” Titan interrupted Gee as he was explaining what he knew about the device the Minith kept on every mothership in their fleet.
“Who?”
Titan pointed to the video screen he had used to watch Gee earlier.
The screen clearly showed two humans, a man and a woman, walking slowly along one of the corridors of the ship. The man walked with his right hand dragging along the wall; the woman had her hand on the man’s right shoulder. In the rush to evacuate, more of the former captives had obviously been missed.
“Oh. The man is Derk. The woman is his partner, Ceeray. They are interpreters for the Minith.”
“Like Avery?” Titan asked.
Gee gasped. “You know Avery?”
“Yeah. Grant took her from the ship a while back.”
“Ah. We were wondering what happened to her. She was well liked by everyone,” Gee explained. “When she disappeared… well… we believed the worst.” It was clear to Titan what “the worst” meant—that the Minith had gotten rid of her. It was well known that humans who entered the ship never left it. At least, not
Titan remembered the reason for his presence on the alien ship. He was on a volunteer suicide mission. Somehow, he didn’t think the man seated in front of him would have volunteered for the assignment—not that it mattered now.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Gee. Gee Jones.” The man kept his eyes closed, but his voice did not waver. “I’m an engineer. I’ve been on this ship since the Minith arrived.”
“Well, Gee Jones, I’m Titan. We’ve got a long trip ahead, and we need to get this place cleaned up.”
Gee’s eyes snapped open. Titan saw the fear in the other’s look and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about them.” He waved at the half-dozen alien bodies surrounding them. “They’re already dead.”
* * *
It took them more than three hours to remove the bodies and clean up the mess that Grant and his team left. While Titan did most of the work, Gee helped by pointing out the locations of cleaning supplies and the ship’s disposal compartment. After receiving assurance from Gee that there would be no harm to the ship, Titan dumped the alien bodies into the disposal unit and walked away, pleased to be done with the leathered carcasses.
As they worked, Titan filled Gee in on how he had first met the ancient soldier called Grant Justice. Without telling the engineer what awaited them at the end of their journey, he explained how he had come to be on the ship.
In turn, Gee told the large Violent his own story and what he had learned about the ship during his twelve years aboard the vessel.
One of the most surprising items Titan learned was that the aliens knew very little about the mothership they possessed. The Minith flew the ships, but very few of them knew how they worked. According to the Minith mentor who trained Gee, the ship, and a dozen others just like it, had actually been stolen from another race the Minith had defeated and enslaved.
Apparently, the greenish, bat-looking aliens were very good at taking things from others, but not so good at building things themselves, or keeping the high-tech items they stole in good working order.
As Gee spoke, Titan started forming a plan. He thought it was a good time to tell Gee what waited for them at the end of the journey.
“So, Gee,” Titan began, “what do you know about the bomb the Minith have on the ship?”
“The… the bomb?”
Chapter 14
“Who is that?” Titan interrupted Gee as he was explaining what he knew about the device the Minith kept on every mothership in their fleet.
“Who?”
Titan pointed to the video screen he had used to watch Gee earlier.
The screen clearly showed two humans, a man and a woman, walking slowly along one of the corridors of the ship. The man walked with his right hand dragging along the wall; the woman had her hand on the man’s right shoulder. In the rush to evacuate, more of the former captives had obviously been missed.
“Oh. The man is Derk. The woman is his partner, Ceeray. They are interpreters for the Minith.”
“Like Avery?” Titan asked.
Gee gasped. “You know Avery?”
“Yeah. Grant took her from the ship a while back.”
“Ah. We were wondering what happened to her. She was well liked by everyone,” Gee explained. “When she disappeared… well… we believed the worst.” It was clear to Titan what “the worst” meant—that the Minith had gotten rid of her. It was well known that humans who entered the ship never left it. At least, not
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