Pey'j, Mytch and Iris had been great friends since they were kids. They grew up together on Tellin, a beautiful green world that resembled the old Earth. The three of them were in the same class at the same school and were always together wherever they went.
Pey'j, being a Sus Sapiens, was not always treated well by the other kids. The endless slew of names they came up for him were chanted constantly on the playground. "Porky Pig! Porky Pig!" They used to cry. The one that Pey'j hated the most was when he'd walk by and the kids would sniff the air and say, "Is that bacon?" It bothered him then, but he had two good friends who would always stick up for him.
Mytch and Iris would never allow the jeering brats to get away with it whenever they heard them. They always had a smart reply to the taunts. They'd always turn to Pey'j afterwards and say, "You don't have to put up with that Pey'j. Stand up for yourself; be tough!" Pey'j was a shy kid and could never imagine being able to do what they said. That changed one day when one of the kids took it too far.
Both Mytch and Iris were away for the day and Pey'j was left by himself on the playground. Kile Denkurs, one of the worst of Pey'j's taunters, approached him with a sly grin across his pudgy face.
"Hey Pig!" he said, "I got somethin' to show ya, it's really cool!"
Pey'j knew better, he knew not to trust Kile. However, in spite of that he still found himself saying, "Oh really? What is it?"
Kile's sneaky grin widened. "Oh you'll have to see, it's just to cool to say!" He headed off towards the jungle gym, "Come on!" he called back.
Pey'j knew something was up, he usually did. Yet he always managed to fall for their pranks. He really didn't want to go, but he followed Kile anyway. When they arrived at the jungle gym, Kile pointed down underneath a tall bridge portion.
"There!" he said, giggling, "It's under there, you'll love it." Kile was barely able to contain his laughter.
Pey'j took two steps under the bridge. "I don't see any-" he began but stopped when something cold and wet slopped down onto his head. Pey'j looked up and realized that a bunch of kids on the bridge had poured something on him. He jumped back and there was a roar of laughter on the playground. Some of the liquid seeped down into Pey'j's mouth. It was barbeque sauce.
"Porky Pig! Porky Pig!" Kile began behind him. Soon the whole playground was chanting it. "Porky Pig! Porky Pig!" Kile's screechy voice carried over the crowd and Pey'j turned to him.
"Mmmmm!" Kile jeered, "You'll be extra tasty now Porky!" He then collapsed in a fit of laughter.
Pey'j couldn't believe it, this was the worst they had ever done to him. He was about to cry and run away when the voices of both Mytch and Iris came into his head. "Don't take that from him Pey'j! You're better than that so stand up for yourself!" You can only throw so many stones at a beehive before you get stung. Something clicked inside Pey'j, he no longer felt humiliated, he was angry.
Pey'j took a deep breath, wiped sauce from his eyes and then leapt at Kile who was still doubled over in laughter. Kile didn't know what was happening at first, Pey'j was on him so quickly. Pey'j clenched his fist and hit Kile in his smug face. Then he hit him again and again and again. No one moved to try to pull Pey'j off, they were all shocked at what they saw and also at what they heard. Pey'j didn't even realize he was doing it, he didn't know where they came from or where he'd heard them but there was a string of curses coming out of Pey'j's mouth that would turn the devil's hair white.
Finally someone ran to get a teacher and Pey'j was pulled off Kile. He was in a lot of trouble but Pey'j didn't care, it had been worth it. Mytch was impressed but Iris was not. "When I said stick up for yourself, that's not what I meant…" she had said. Kile had a broken nose and two black eyes, he never teased Pey'j again, no one did. Pey'j had changed.
The three of them carried on as best friends right through secondary school when something horrible happened. The DomZ came to Tellin.
It was an attack completely without warning. DomZ meteors poured out of the sky and pelted the entire planet. Cities were in ruins and the Anti-DomZ forces on Tellin were slow to react. Countless individuals were taken away in the DomZ Sarcophagus' to God knows where to be drained of their life force. Once someone was taken by the DomZ, they were never seen again.
Pey'j, Mytch and Iris managed to escape the slaughter on one of the few emergency transport shuttles that made it off of Tellin. None of their parents did though. The three of them were left on their own.
They moved together to a remote settlement on Paryya III. Pey'j earned a small income doing mechanical work, something he had developed a knack for. Through all of the chaos, Mytch and Iris were drawn together and eventually married.
They carried on like this for a few years, always on edge about reports of DomZ attacks. Then something extraordinary happened, Iris became pregnant. It was wonderful news for them all.
Five months into her pregnancy, she was contacted by an anti-DomZ group who had a proposition for her. They came in utmost secrecy and spoke to Iris in private. She had sworn to keep the meeting secret to anyone, however she kept no secrets from Mytch and Pey'j and they were allowed to have been filled in as well. It was a hard decision to make, however the three of them harboured such a deep-seeded hatred for the DomZ they agreed to the proposition in the end.
When Jade was born, Pey'j was immediately named her Godfather. All three of them were willing to do anything to protect Jade from the DomZ.
Now Pey'j watched Iris from across the table, she was holding the child close to her chest. Her normally beautiful face was contracted with worry. Pey'j hated to see her worry so much, he did his best to comfort her but was worried himself.
Mytch sat with his arms around Iris, "The radio said it was simply an isolated incident, that's all, an isolated incident and nothing to worry about. They don't know that she's here."
"I'm sure it was just a coincidence, nothin' more than that." Pey'j said.
"How can we be sure?" Iris said, pulling Jade even closer. The baby's shocking green eyes were looking wide around the room but she didn't fuss at being held so tight. She was smart enough to pick up on the seriousness that was going on around her.
"We can hope." Mytch said, "We don't really know anything else right now."
"Hope?" Iris cried, "Hope? It's not safe here anymore, period. Hope isn't going to do us much good if the DomZ attack!"
Pey'j spoke up, "You know we're prepared fer the worst-case scenario. We're all prepared to fight the damn monsters if they ever show their ugly mugs around here."
Iris could not be convinced, "I want to leave, I want to leave right now. We'll go someplace far away, someplace farther from the DomZ." she said.
Mytch sighed, "I know you do, but the Beluga isn't-"
"I've made up my mind, we're going. One attack is one too many." Iris's mind was set, there was no changing it. "If there's even the slightest chance that my baby is in trouble, I don't want to take it."
Mytch stared hard at her, then a warm smile broke across his face. "You're right," he said, "we can't take the chance that any harm will come to Jade. We'll leave." Mytch bent down and hugged his wife and child tight.
Pey'j watched them and sighed inwardly. He certainly didn't want to risk Jade being hurt either, but he had to look at the situation realistically. It would to take a hell of a lot of work to get the Beluga up and running safely, and now they didn't have the luxury of time that they had before. Mytch and Pey'j were going to have to work fast.
"Fuel injection ratio is off by 11.8975412."
"What? How's that possible?" Mytch roared, pounding his fist on the desk. "That's worse than last time!"
"I'm sorry señor, but that's how it worked out." Secundo said.
"Well check it again."
"Checking it again won't do any-"
"Just do it." Mytch snapped back sharply.
"Si señor. Uno momento." Secundo said.
Mytch sat back in his chair and waited for Secundo to finish his diagnostic. He had been working on the Beluga for seven hours straight and nothing he tried would work. He was completely exhausted both physically and emotionally.
"Fuel injection ratio is off by 11.8975412, precisely the same as the last diagnostic." Secundo said.
Mytch collapsed onto his desk, head in hands, "You must be making a mistake somewhere. Somewhere. How could it have gone up?"
"I could run the diagnostic a hundred times but the results will be the same. You're tired señor, get some rest."
"There's no time to rest, no time for anything. We have to get the ship running safely so we can get away from here." Mytch said, talking into his hands.
"I know the situation," Secundo said sympathetically, "but you will make mucho more mistakes if you continue to work in your condition señor."
"I can't give up." Mytch said, "I can't stop."
Secundo gave a holographic sigh, "It's up to you señor, but take your own well being into heart as well. Little Yade will be not be safe if her padre collapse. Promise me you'll get some rest Mytch..." Secundo got no reply. "Mytch? Señor?" Mytch had fallen asleep on his keyboard.
Pey'j flopped down into his chair with a huge sigh. He wiped black grease from his snout and looked up at the Beluga. Mechanically, she was sound. The ship would fly when they needed it to. Pey'j only hoped that Mytch would manage to get the problem with the fuel injection working properly for the ship. The Beluga worked on a twin-engine system. Both engines needed a precisely calculated amount of fuel flowing into them in order to launch. An imbalance would result in engine failure and the Beluga would not launch. Worse still, if the imbalance was to great, the engines could catch fire and that'd be the end of the Beluga and whoever was inside.
Pey'j sighed again. He was worn to the bone and felt as though he'd just lost a fight with someone. He had never worked so hard in his life. It was worth it though, to protect Jade he'd do any amount of work.
Pey'j's eyelids began to droop. He began to get up out of his chair to head for bed but fell back into it. The chair would do. Heck, he was so exhausted the floor would do. Slowly, Pey'j's head dropped and he fell asleep.
Iris sat on her bed in the lotus position, attempting to lose herself in her mediation. She wanted to not worry about the DomZ, to simply clear her mind and not think about anything. The weight of protecting Jade from the DomZ was finally coming into full realization for her. The true seriousness of the situation did not occur to her until the DomZ actually made their appearance. Deep down she had been hoping this day would never come.
She took a deep breath inward, concentrating on the air filling her lungs. She held her breath in and counted down until she exhaled, letting the air come slowly out of her lungs. She thought she was perfectly calm, not worrying about a thing.
Something wet dropped down onto her lap, surprising her. She looked down and realized it was a tear, her tear. She had been crying and didn't realize it. At the sight of this single tear her emotions let loose. Iris broke down and began to weep.
If the DomZ were to ever get their hands, or whatever they had, on Jade then that would be it. Her life would be over. The baby was her life.
No, no. That would never happen. Iris would never let the DomZ get their filthy hands on her daughter at any cost.
Iris reached down and put her hand on her Däi-jo laying on the bed next to her. It was her weapon, a rod used for combat with two energy bolts on the end that could release short blasts. She had trained herself to use it. Ever since her parents were taken by the DomZ she had trained with it. Mytch didn't approve, but that didn't matter to Iris. She would not let herself be taken like her parents and like so many others like them. She was not weak, she was strong.
Iris stopped herself from crying. What was wrong with her? She was ashamed of herself for losing her composure like that. She was better than that. She was ready. If the DomZ came, they wouldn't get her daughter.
From across the room Jade stirred. Then suddenly, she began to cry.
Iris jumped up and rushed to her child, sweeping her up in her arms. "Shhhh. Honey, shhhh. It's okay. Go back to sleep Jade." She couldn't be hungry, Jade had been fed only an hour ago. The child was positively screaming and that worried Jade. "Was it a bad dream Jade? Hmmm? You have a nightmare? Well don't worry, everything will be okay. You've got nothing to worry about."
Iris was not looking into her baby's face at the moment. If she had been she would have seen the brilliant light that flashed forth from her eyes. By the time Iris looked back at Jade the light had faded again. With that, as suddenly as she had started to cry Jade stopped.
"There! There you go! See? All better." Iris said.
Jade had already fallen asleep again and Iris gently laid her back down in her crib. What had that been about? Jade had never done anything like that before, it was very odd behaviour for her. Iris stood over her child and watched her sleep. She seemed so peaceful yet she had been screaming her little head off merely moments ago... It was odd indeed. Iris began to worry again. It was a sign, a sign of something bad for sure. Although she was worried, she was confident nothing would happen to Jade. She would protect her. Herself, Mytch and Pey'j were all here to look out for her.
Not even a mysterious alien race could part a mother from her child. Iris would die before that happened.
He had seen it! He had seen it! Shauni! She was in the Paryyan system after all! But he had been wrong about Paryya IV. Wrong, yes. Now he felt Shauni on Paryya III. He was sure now. He had seen the host. Seen it in his dreams, disturbing his rest. A girl. A human child, merely an infant.
The DomZ priest was no longer angry. The DomZ priest was happy. Very happy. The girl. The baby. The baby with black hair. The baby with green eyes. Sleeping, she was. He used his power to drill into her mind. He saw for sure that she was Shauni. The girl was Shauni. Yes, yes, yes. Yes! Shauni was the girl!
He'd been shut out. Something had shut him out of the girl's mind. But he saw. He knew. Shauni!
The DomZ priest willed his faithful DomZ and sent a thought. A simple instruction that couldn't possibly go wrong. "Bring me the girl."
Shauni was his. Centuries of waiting.
The DomZ priest was happy, he would wait no more.
