By Keith A. Robinson
An explosion shook the prison compound. Khalen leapt off his cot and sprinted over to the forcefield that served as a door. The guards at the end of the hall were reaching for weapons and bolting toward the outer courtyard.
A brilliant flash came from behind Khalen. He spun around to see a large hole gaping open in the wall of his cell, and melted rock cooling on the ground beneath it. A familiar, crimson-colored helmet poked through the new opening.
“Belanger! I thought you guys had gone on without me,” Khalen said.
“Not a chance. But no more solo heroics,” Belanger replied. “We’re leaving together. Now get in before my diversion wears off. You drive!”
Khalen dove through the hole in the wall. On the other side, a sleek sports car with spherical wheels rested several feet away, its engine purring. He smiled at the sight and climbed into the driver’s seat.
His armored companion scrambled into the passenger side and positioned himself in the open window so he could fire at any pursuers. “Here they come! Go!”
Khalen hit the accelerator and sped for a much larger hole melted into the border wall of the compound. In his rear camera display, three armed gliders raced over the roof of the prison toward their location.
The sports car burst through the opening and down the nearby street. “I’m assuming the Fiery Vengeance is parked somewhere nearby.”
Belanger sent a barrage of laser fire toward the pursuing aircraft before responding. “Yeah. Two miles to the east, through the desert. We’re gonna have to go off road.” He pointed toward a large rock formation in the distance.
Khalen pushed the joystick to the right, causing the vehicle to slide sideways on its globular tires while still facing forward. A moment later, it left the road and raced out onto the desert landscape, kicking up a cloud of dust behind it.
The car’s built-in commlink crackled to life. “Belanger, what’s your status?”
“We’re both doing fantastic, Mariska. Thanks for asking,” Khalen responded. “We’re heading your way and coming in hot with three bogies on our tail. Get the engines fired up and start the countdown.”
“Well, if it isn’t our famed music maestro. Glad to see our little plan worked.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not out of this yet,” Belanger growled out.
As if to accentuate his point, several laser blasts struck the ground just in front of the car. Khalen jerked the joystick to the right, sending the car into a near ninety-degree angle. Belanger dropped his weapon, and it skidded across the car floor as his armored torso slammed against the upper window frame.
Khalen righted their course and aimed their trajectory toward the rock formation once more. Belanger pulled himself into the vehicle and punched Khalen in the arm. “Warn me next time!”
“Sure,” Khalen spat back as he swerved yet again to avoid another salvo of laser blasts. “If the gliders warn me, I’ll warn you. You know what? I’ve got a better idea. Let’s swap. You take the wheel. I’ll take care of the gliders.”
Khalen activated the auto-pilot, then hauled himself over the top of Belanger, who slid beneath him into the driver’s seat. Belanger took control of the vehicle just as the gliders sent more fiery rain in their direction.
Jostled by the sudden evasive maneuvers, Khalen took a moment to brace himself. He shifted his position until he was sitting on the window ledge and facing backward. Once firmly in place, he closed his eyes and began to sing.
He established the first chord by singing three pitches simultaneously—an ability shared by all beings in the Twin Galaxies. Once he worked through the full chord progression, he sang out a powerful melody using solfege syllables instead of lyrics.
“Sol Fa Sol—Do—
Le Sol Le Sol Fa—”
Khalen’s song produced multi-colored light and energy that swirled around him. He conducted a pattern with his right hand while using his left to direct the energy toward the pursuing aircraft.
The stream of colored light began to spin faster and faster until it formed a small funnel cloud trailing behind the car. Khalen poured more energy into the musical creation, noting with satisfaction that the gliders had ceased firing and were focusing on keeping their craft out of the path of the destructive whirlwind.
As the three gliders finally broke off their pursuit and turned back toward the prison, Khalen stopped singing and allowed the whirlwind to dissipate. He then slipped back into the car and let out a sigh of relief.
“Nicely done, maestro,” Belanger commented, the filter on his helmet doing nothing to diminish the snark in his voice. “And this is exactly why we keep you around.”
“Thanks. Now let’s leave this rock. I don’t want to come back here anytime soon.”
“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll come back sooner than you think,” Belanger added dryly. “Who can tell?”
Mariska’s voice broke into their conversation. “Glad to see you lost your tail. Can we finally bid farewell to this place? We’ve got light years to go before we reach Hamerth to sell our payload.”
“Yeah, and hopefully we can find those parts we’ve been looking for, as well,” Belanger added as his ship, the Fiery Vengeance, came into view. “We’re here, Mariska. I’m pulling into the cargo hold in a few seconds. Start the countdown.”
“Glad to have you both back aboard. Here we go.
“Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one…”
Khalen leaned back and let out a deep sigh. They made it. He knew it was a risk to expose the local governor’s corrupt business dealings, and Khalen had almost paid a heavy price. But one thing’s for sure, he thought with a smug grin, that’s one politician who’ll think twice before trying to swindle Belanger’s Renegades again.
Can you guess which song from the 1980's inspired this story? Share in the comments!
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Exciting story. Interesting use of music.
Ooh! I really liked the power of his music and the “three pitches at once” bit. And I LOVED the car!
That car sounds fun to drive. The music as a weapon is cool too.
So enjoyable, and I love your concept of using music as a superpower! No idea what song goes with this story– though it’s bound to be a good one.
Also: Up violas!
This needs to be a whole book.