Captain Keith and the Emperor of Arcturus

Chapter XXII: The Emperor Unmasked

Captain Keith twisted in the grip of the two Gremulak giants. Only his utter mastering of his emotions kept him from screaming in rage and frustration. To have been so close; one touch of his finger to the contact of his ZX9 Laser Gun and he could have toppled the tyrant who had managed to subvert an entire galaxy. He could have freed every sentient being in a thousand parsecs. 

But, no. If there was anything true about Captain Keith, it was that he dealt with the universe as it was, not as it would be in some schoolgirl fantasy. He'd failed. Somehow, after making his way across five systems without aid from the depleted Space Explorers; with C'ia and her small team taking on their own dangerous mission; after flawlessly infiltrating the mysterious Emperor's Inner Circle; after quietly dispatching the sinister G'orka and the sniveling Spy-sor, he--Captain Keith, who had once managed to spend a week in disguise as a member of the Neptunian Mega-Sheik's harem--had been detected, moments before he'd struck the killing blow. 

So be it.

The thing to do now was to adjust and create a new plan. 

The Gremulak giants pulled him to the base of the throne stairs and, there, they held him. The Emperor's hideously deformed vizier, Ban-1 descended the stairs and stood before Captain Keith. The stench from his greying, pustulous skin wafted over Captain Keith and he felt his gorge rise. He clamped his jaw shut; vomiting in front of a creature such as this would be a sign of weakness, one which Captain Keith would not permit himself.

Ban-1 ran his tongue over his cracked, peeling lips and gave a smirk. "Did you truly think, Captain, that the galaxy's most recalcitrant rebel would be able to pass through His Galactic Imperial Majesty's palace undetected?"

Captain Keith fixed his steely gaze on the cretin's watery eyes, took a brief moment of satisfaction when Ban-1's eyes wavered, then said, "I didn't care, as long as I get to feel your throat between my hands. And if you think you've avoided that fate, you're mistaken."

An unctuous voice came from the throne. "Oh no, Space Explorer, you will find that it is you who are mistaken, about a great many things."

The Emperor rose from his throne and descended the stairs, talking as he came toward Captain Keith.

"Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design. Your friends, including C'ia of Mars, are walking into a trap, as is your Rebel fleet. It was I who allowed the Explorers to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops awaits them. Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive."

The Emperor was standing directly in front of Captain Keith now. There was something familiar, almost, about the shadowy face beneath the hood.

Spittle flew from the Emperor's lips as he spoke, "This is the end of your pitiful rebellion." He pulled down his hood and Captain Keith's eyes widened in horror, momentarily overcoming his legendary self-control.

"Thedo Nald! No! I broke your slimy neck," the Space Explorer gasped.

Thedo Nald smirked and ran a hand through what only the most charitable being in the universe might call his "hair." My minions found me in the wretched state you left me in. They nursed me back to health and convinced me that the best way to avenge myself against you was not to end your negligible life, but rather to take over the entire galaxy and remake it in my image." He laughed, a braying, oily sound that would make the femto-lemmings of Ceres run screaming off a cliff.

"This has all been about revenge against me?" Captain Keith could barely believe it.

Thedo Nald turned toward him. "You fool. Only now, at the end, do you understand." He nodded at the Gremulak giants. Captain Keith felt a sharp blow to his skull and he descended swiftly into unconsciousness.