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Part 75:
The Fires Still Burning

"I'll face your battle fleet with as much boldness as you have shown to touch me, when I could easily have you killed with a single sentence," Edri said, glaring and grimacing.

In response, Nate wrapped his right hand around Edri's throat, cutting off his air flow. "Who says I'll let you speak?"

"Nate, don't!" Sophia shouted.

"He's going to kill us anyway," Nate said, tightening his grip around the Nissite's neck. "This way, at least I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing he dies first!"

"It's not worth it, Nate," Sophia said, recalling her own experience with killing a Nissite. "Death is not the answer."

"Tell that to him!" Nate said, as Edri began kicking at his legs. "Tell that to the thousand men and women aboard the George Mason, or aboard the Hawking, who died for nothing! Because these parasites decided to shoot first and ask questions later!"

"Please, let him live," Triski pleaded. "You are better off with him alive."

Fighting his own rage, Nate finally complied, and released his hand from Edri's neck, pushing the Nissite to the floor with a continued act of defiance.

Choking as he inhaled, Edri forced words through his stinging throat. "You will suffer for this indignity."

"It must end here and now, Edri," Triski said, placing her silver boot against his chest, holding him against the floor. "Our enslavement of the stars has run its course. It is time we reassessed our priorities, and reflected upon our past actions. The Leshik project is over."

"Nothing is over," Edri protested, grabbing Triski's foot and shoving her aside. The force of the thrust sent her stumbling into a wall, and the impact against her skull left her unconscious.

"Triski may be young and naive enough to believe your fanciful tales, but not I," Edri cursed. "You primitives could never have defeated the laws of relativity?"

"Relativity?" Nate asked, unaware of the Nissite's technological status.

"As I told you, Commander, my people solved the problem of Relativity centuries ago," Sophia replied.

"I will never believe such lies," Edri said, holding firm to his arrogant, racial pride. "Such claims will not profit you in the least. I am hereby calling your bluff."

Standing up and straightening his uniform, Edri summoned his guards with a shout.

The silver-suited thugs arrived in seconds, and with brutal efficiency put themselves between Edri and the hostile humans, their energy pistols raised.

"Remove our injured comrade," Edri ordered, and one of the three guards grabbed the limp linguist and carried her out.

With Triski out of the way, Edri said, "Now, you will all be coming with me," motioning for his guards to grab them.

As the first Nissite guard approached him, Nathaniel's better judgement was overruled by his fear of capture. He had no intention of becoming a prisoner of these star slavers, nor did he seek to undergo the torture that Sophia had mentioned. Right here and now, the worst thing they could do was kill him, but, live or die, he would remain free.

As the guard pulled out a restraining band from his jacket pocket, Nate jumped into action. He wrapped his arm around the Nissite's slender throat. With a brutal yank, a muffled snap resounded, and the creature grew limp against the flyboy’s body. It was then short work to grab the energy pistol out of the dead Nissite's hand.

A blast of flaming energy smacked against the body of the dead Nissite in Nate's arms, and the young Lieutenant ducked for cover behind the couch, trying to figure out how to operate the weapon he had just procured. It seemed basic enough, but nothing happened when he pulled the trigger.

Sophia took the distraction to disarm the second guard, kicking the pistol out of his hand with her swift feet. She followed it up with a punch to the snout that left the guard crippled in agony.

Edri ran screaming from the room, calling upon his remaining guards to eliminate the hostile humans. A few seconds later, beams of energy began pelting the walls and chairs in the den, setting the room ablaze.

As the flames grew, and the smoke began to choke them, Nate and Sophia refused to surrender, instead searching for a means of escape. The only obvious exits were blocked by weapons' fire, and there were no windows accessible from the den, either.

The smoke and flames soon spread beyond the den, and Edri ordered his forces to retreat, and let the humans burn with the house.

Doctor Hissar was not happy to see his home set ablaze by the same aliens who sought to enslave his people, and a breaking point was reached.

As the Nissite guards began to order the Leshers out of the dining room, Hissar played it cool, pretending to follow with the crowd, until he was within striking distance of one guard. Then, with a clumsy maneuver, he tackled the armed Nissite to the ground and slammed him against the ground. The significantly-heavier body of the Lesher kept the guard pinned.

At the first sign of aggression, the other guards took action, firing upon the Lesher crowd. Major Stol and Sergeant Leroz took the brunt of the fire, shielding the others with their large bodies. Only one stray energy bolt slipped beyond them, singeing Nester's arm.

As the brave soldiers fell to the ground aflame, the other Leshers charged forward, rushing into the startled guards. Cold-blooded fists flew fast and furiously, leaving the superiorly-armed Nissites wounded and running in fear for their lives. Even Haushina threw a few punches, while trying to keep her children out of the fray.

Through it all, Grisha's unconscious body lay upon the dining room table. The noise and chaos began to register on her mind, but it was not enough to draw her from slumber.

Fleeing the losing battle, Edri called a retreat, and the few soldiers still able to escape followed him out the door, away from the fists of fury and billowing clouds of smoke.

Choking on the smoke, Nester returned to his wife's side, seeing her stirring. He grabbed her hand and tried to rouse her, but it was not enough.

"We've got to get out of here!" Doctor Hissar shouted, lifting himself off of the now unconscious Nissite he'd immobilized.

"Somebody has to help me carry Grisha," Nester said, coughing.

Private Pierce hurried over and helped Nester, while Sophia and Nate appeared from the fiery den, slightly burned and soiled with soot.

"Where's Triski?" Sophia asked, trying to make out Doctor Hissar's face through the dark smoke.

"They took her," Hissar replied, reaching for the door handle. A quick yank sent the door flying open, and the group hurried out of the growing inferno, into the dawn's early light. Hissar remained beside the door, helping to direct everyone outside, until everyone living was free of the dwelling.

Closing the door to his abode, Hissar felt the oddest sensation of his life. A sharp, stabbing pain jolted into his right shoulder. The instant pain was akin to an electrical shock, but much more painful, and the feeling quickly spread, flowing over his entire body in the course of a second. As the pain dissipated, he found himself lying on the ground, and his shirt was burning.

Next Week: The Final Conflict

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