Galaxy of Heroes

Genie stood on the surface of the Vanarian moon, looking up at the enormous tracked excavator that loomed over her. Powerful lights atop the hulking machine blazed down on her, illuminating the dark, dusty surface in harsh contrast.

She was out here in the vacuum on this small misshapen moon, while her Megalan guard was up there in the climate-controlled cockpit of his oversized machine.

Genie was mostly machine herself, but human in form. Actually, her form was an idealization of the human female, modified by her creators to appeal to human males in need of companionship on long interstellar voyages.

Vanaria was one of five moons that orbited Meglos. Big, yellow Meglos was rising on the horizon of this cratered rock.

Three huge excavators were parked here on the lunar surface above a large pit. Standing next to the machines were half a dozen Vanarian dogs. The dogs were actually giant, four-legged mining robots with huge clamping shovels for mouths.

Genie had witnessed the dogs dismember rebellious human prisoners when ordered to do so by the Megalans up in their excavators. She was one of about thirty convicts from Meglos who had been assigned to a mining work crew here on Vanaria.

Initially, Genie had gone nude out here on the atmosphere-less surface, but she had donned some old coveralls after growing tired of dealing with distracted human males who would often stare lasciviously at her silver form.

“Convict number seventeen, get down that hole!” said her Megalan overseer from the cockpit of his excavator.

Genie had no choice but to obey. With the push of a button, the collar locked around her neck could deliver a powerful and fatal electric shock into her nervous system. She climbed down a narrow fissure in the rock and crawled for quite some time, disappearing into the blackness. She located the vein of uranium ore that their work crew had been following and excavating. She placed explosive charges at strategic locations and then began her climb back up the fissure.

Genie had never been so miserable in all her life. She had been bonded to Sgt. Joe Grimes, and every moment of separation caused her programming to flood her human nervous system with chemical despair. She had a desperate, all-consuming need to be with him again, but if she fled this place her Megalan overseers would deliver their electric death, or have their mechanical dogs rip her apart.

She emerged onto the surface, and was surprised to see the excavators were now charred and wrecked hulks, blasted by some kind of powerful weaponry. The Vanarian dogs had also been blasted to pieces that were spread across the lunar surface. Her fellow work crew companions had been shot, their self-contained moon suits punctured by well aimed blasts.

Parked near the hulks of the excavators was a Craaldan Five Cruiser. It was a heavily armored ship built for close combat.

“Freeze, cyborg,” a voice said over her communications system.

Genie turned to see a Craaldan standing behind her in black and yellow mech armor, carrying a CX-649 assault weapon pointed directly at center mass.

Her skin could stop nearly any projectile a human could shoot at her, but Craaldan weaponry was a different matter. The molten slug from a CX-649 could blow a hole right through her.

“Did you once belong to a human named Captain Jace Spade?” the Craaldan asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “A long time ago.”

The Craaldan’s name and rank were displayed on his armored chest. Genie could read the Craaldan lettering, which identified the Craaldan as a first lieutenant named Zeth.

“Is Captain Spade in this system?” the lieutenant asked.

“Negative,” she said.

“Do you know where he is?” he asked.

“No, I do not,” she answered.

Lt. Zeth pulled the trigger of his weapon. Genie jumped sideways and the blast grazed her chest. She jumped backward and then back-flipped down a crater, landing on her feet on the dusty gray rock.

Lt. Zeth stepped over the rim of the crater and took aim with his weapon. Genie pressed the detonator to the charges she had set in the fissure.

A succession of blasts exploded, throwing up geysers of rock near Lt. Zeth’s position.

The lieutenant lost his balance and tumbled down the crater’s slope toward Genie. As he came into range, she delivered a powerful kick to his helmet, sending him spinning around backward.

Genie sprinted up the crater wall and onto the flat surface. She ran past a shattered and charred excavator and up to the Craaldaan Five Cruiser. She located a porthole and punched through it.

Air gushed out of the hole into the vacuum.

Once the air had cleared, she climbed through the porthole into the ship. The bulkheads had sealed off this section of the ship due to the hull being compromised.

Genie found a data port and plugged into it with a jack inside the palm of her hand. She accessed the ship’s computer.

One other Craaldan was aboard. He was donning mech armor.

Genie was able to order the computer to unseal the doors from this section of the ship. Air rushed through the passageways and out the punctured porthole.

She ran through the passageways, and turned a corner, meeting the Craaldan head on. He was carrying his weapon, but she closed in on him with lightning speed, and kicked him square in the faceplate, knocking him onto his back. She yanked his CX-649 from his grip, turned it on him and fired. But he slapped the barrel with his armored hand, deflecting the slug, which threw up metal and sparks as it punctured through the deck.

The big Craaldan lifted her and flung her down the passageway, sending her tumbling head over heels until she slammed into a bulkhead.

She was still holding the CX-649 and tried to take aim as the Craaldan charged her with both bayonets unsheathed from his fists.

She fired, but he ducked the blast and slashed at the weapon, cutting it in two. He punched his bayonet at her. She dodged the thrust and the blade punctured through the hull of the ship.

The bayonet was caught in the metal and the Craaldan struggled fiercely to release it.

Genie rolled from under him and punched a panel on the wall.

The section of the hull that the Craaldan was tangled in was a door. It dropped open to the lunar surface, pulling the Craaldan down with it.

Genie launched a powerful kick into the rear end of the big soldier, releasing him from the door and sending him sprawling across the dusty lunar surface.

She punched the panel and the door lifted up and clamped shut. She darted up the passageways to the cockpit.

Genie took a seat in the commander’s chair and punched away at the controls. The warship’s engines rumbled to life, and the ship lifted from the surface. From the cockpit, Genie could see Lt. Zeth running across the flat ground toward the rising ship. The lieutenant raised his weapon and fired. The slugs bounced off the armored hull in explosions of sparks.

Genie fired the engines at full power and blasted away from the Vanarian moon toward yellow Meglos.