But he did it anyway.
Then he stepped back and looked around. The ruins of the hangars surrounding the runway saddened him. He looked at the corner of the airport, to his left. A large red hangar had stood there once. It was long since gone, dismantled by Mark Rodger’s federal agents now more than five years ago, when they were looking for clues about the sentient starship Jade. But he remembered.
That was where Bonnie and I fell in love.
That was where Rita came to life.
That was where it all started.
Finally, he walked back to Donkey, entered, and pulled up the ramp. A few minutes later, Donkey lifted off the planet for the last time, and headed out of the atmosphere. Hours later, it approached the mass limit and sank out. The Goblin inside had picked a random vector. He didn’t know where it might lead, or what he might find there.
Nemo smiled. Someday, maybe, Bonnie or Luke or Rita or even his daughter Imogen might come looking for him. And they’d find the Mustang, and they’d know what he did.
The End (for now)
Author Notes
Thank you for reading Book Five of the Broken Galaxy series. This series has been a joy to write, as I have long since fallen in love with most of my characters. That's an occupational hazard of any author, but I'm especially prone to it. I make no excuses; though I've been told lately that I should kill off more of them. Ah, but that's hard to do when you like them so much. Maybe next book...
Don't forget to check out the preview of Book Six right after these notes!
Preview - Book Six (Late 2021)
24 Years after the Stree War
Phoenix System
2,075 Lights from Earth
“Is it true my father was a Goblin? My real father, I mean,” said Imogen.
Her mother Gillian looked at her across the dinner table. “Of course, Gen. We told you that when you were eight years old. When the kids started teasing you about it.”
Gen used her fork to play with her food, thinking. “I know. But sometimes I wasn’t sure if you were telling me the truth, or if it was just some kind of urban myth.”
Her father, Mark, grunted at the end of the table. “It’s true, Gen. We’ve told you all this. And don’t play with your food.”
Gen nodded, but continued to use her fork to push food around her plate instead of eating.
So much for listening to me, Mark thought, trying to keep a frown on his face - but smiling inside. She’s certainly her father’s daughter.
“Yes, Pops, I know. He was Human first, and I came along, and he married my mother, and then the Stree War came, and they converted to Goblin, and then they disappeared. But that sounds like a fairy tale. Are you sure it’s all true? I think…”
Imogen looked up, a mischievous smile on her face. “I think you found me under a turnip and made up the rest of it.”
Mark looked over at Gillian and winked. “Jilly, she’s found us out.”
Gillian shook her head. “You two,” she interjected, turning to her plate.
There was silence for a bit as they continued their meal. But it didn’t last long. Imogen couldn’t let the topic go. It had been a long time since they talked about it. It had been pricking her brain lately.
“So you think they’re still alive?”
Gillian looked at Mark, her mood growing darker. He shrugged, deflecting the question back to his wife.
Looking at Gen, Gillian spoke. “It’s impossible to know, Gen. Goblins have a bounty on their heads, you know. They’re hunted from one end of the Arm to the other. So even if they’re still alive, they’ll be in hiding.”
“Maybe they’re on Earth,” Gen thought out loud.
“Not likely,” grunted Mark. “Our last check of Earth showed it’s still not habitable. Even for a Goblin, the conditions would be dangerous.”
“But nobody would look for them there,” countered Gen.
“True,” mused Mark. “But I don’t see that happening. It might be like Jim to hide himself away somewhere on Earth - he was always the hermit type anyway - but not Rita. And he would never leave Rita.”
“But how about the other copy of him?” persisted Gen. “The extra one?”
Gillian glanced at Mark in some dismay. “Now, how do you know about that?” she asked.
Gen smirked. “Marta told me. She overheard her parents talking about it once.”
Mark shook his head. “That Marta. What a handful.”
“Don’t change the subject,” Gen said. “Marta said she heard them. They said there was a Jim Prime. Another copy of my father.”
Mark sighed. “Yes, that’s true. At the end of the Stree War, Rita needed another copy of Jim to rescue Bonnie and the others. So she created another one. That copy disappeared also. We don’t know where any of them are.”
“I’m going to find them,” announced Gen. “I’ve finished my militia service. I’m free as a bird. I’m going to go find my parents.”
Gillian froze in alarm, while Mark quietly laid down his fork. He looked at his daughter in some alarm.
“Gen. What about university? You’ve finished two years already. You’ve only got two more years to go. Are you going to throw all that away?”
Gen looked at her father, her face growing serious. “Pops, I can pick that up anytime. And I’m just not sure I want to be an engineer. I think…I think I need some time away. To figure out what I want to do with my life. So…this would be the perfect opportunity. I’ll go spend a year or two looking for them. Then I’ll come back and finish uni.”
Mark shook his head in dismay.
“Gen. You have no idea of the danger you’d be getting into. Goblins are hunted from one end of the Arm to the other. And even into the Core. There’s no place that’s safe for them. Even letting people know you are searching for a Goblin would put your life in great danger.”
“I’m going,” Gen said stubbornly. “I want to find my parents.”
And with that, in silence, she got up from the table, took her plate to the sink, scrubbed it, laid it aside, and left the room. Gillian and Mark looked at each other, shaking their heads.
“I’m getting old,” said Mark. “There was a time when I could have talked her out of it.” He reached up and smoothed out his gray hair. “But not anymore. She’s turned into her father’s daughter, all right.”
Gillian smiled at him. Her own gray hair shone silver in the lights of the dining room. She was still a beautiful woman, but like Mark, her face showed the strain of twenty-four years on the colony planet Phoenix.
“She has indeed,” she agreed. “And nobody ever stopped Jim from doing something once he had his mind made up to do it. I’m afraid Gen is the same way.”
“We could stop her. I could put a freeze on her travel privileges.”
Gillian rose, moved to the sink with her plate.
“That wouldn’t work, and you know it,” she said, speaking over her shoulder as she rinsed her plate. “She’d find a way to smuggle herself off-planet. And that would just make things worse. She’d be leaving without resources, and with no support from home. I don’t want that.”
“So what do we do?” Mark asked, at a loss.
Gillian, standing at the sink, turned to him. “We let her go. I think I’ve always known this would happen. Her imagination is too big for Phoenix. She has to go see the big universe out there. If we fight her, we’ll lose. So we might as well help her.”
After a short silence, Mark heaved a large sigh. “I guess. You’ve always been wiser about these things.”
At the sink, Gillian smiled. “Of course. After all, I picked you, didn’t I?”
Mark looked puzzled. “I thought I picked you…”
Gillian laughed out loud. “Oh, you men…”
Kaeru System
9,016 Lights from Earth
The bounty hunter delivering the two unconscious figures into the jail was - at least on the outside - a Human female. But not too many Human females could pick u
p an unconscious 100-kilo Kaeru thug under each arm, take them out of the back of a truck, and dump them on a handcart like a couple of sacks of potatoes. Pushing the cart into the foyer of the jail, she smiled at the clerk as she slid the cart to a stop in front of his desk. Speaking Kaeru like a native, she gestured to the two prisoners.
“Here you go, Elon. Two more for your lockup!”
The clerk leaned over the desk, staring at the two unconscious figures slumped on the cart. “Oh ho,” he smiled. “Poir and Rang! You’ll make some good money off those two!”
With a large grin, the bounty hunter nodded. “Excellent. I need it, believe me. Pickings have been a bit slim lately.”
The bounty hunter moved to the desk as the clerk shoved a tablet toward her. She signed, transferring the prisoners to his care, and waited as he countersigned and transferred upwards of ten thousand credits into her account. Taking her receipt, she turned to depart when he spoke up again.
“By the way, someone was asking about you last night.”
The bounty hunter froze, then unfroze, casually turning back to the clerk.
“Oh, really? Who was that?”
“Some big-ass Ashkelon. I was a couple of chairs down from him at the Bounty Bar; but I heard him asking about a female Human bounty hunter.”
The bounty hunter had indeed once been a Human female - twenty-five years earlier. But she was far from being Human now, even if she passed for one on this planet. She displayed a lack of concern, smiling broadly.
“It’s not hard to overhear an Ashkelon, eh? Even their whispers sound like a meshar growling in the night.”
Elon nodded. “Yep, that’s for sure. He was trying to be discreet, but it wasn’t hard to hear him. He was asking the bartender if there was a Human bounty hunter working this area, a female one.”
“And what did the bartender say?”
“It was Bain. You know him. He wouldn’t give an Ashkelon the time of day. He told him to take a hike.”
The female who looked like a Human - but was not - had been using the name Loen here, on this backwater planet on the edge of the Orion Arm. Now Loen gave a brief nod, a gesture of indirect thanks.
“I doubt he was looking for me, but give Bain my regards when you see him.”
“Why don’t you tell him yourself? He’s on duty tonight, I think. And you just got paid - I’m sure he’d like it if you spread some of that around!”
“I may do just that, Elon. Sounds like a good idea.”
With a wave, Loen departed the jail, moving back to her rented truck parked outside. She got in and left, driving slowly back toward the shuttleport, thinking.
Another damn Ashkelon, come to hunt me down and kill me. Let’s see, how many is that? Six, now?
Loen pounded the wheel of the truck a couple of times, shook her head, and cursed somewhat creatively in a rare language known as English. Then she settled down and calmly drove the truck back to the rental facility. Turning it in, she walked to her shuttle parked on the dark pavement of the nearby port, entered, closed the hatch, and moved to the galley. Slumping into a chair, she splayed out her legs and smashed her fist down on the tabletop in frustration and anger.
Why can’t they leave me alone? Why? Just leave me alone for once!
Heaving a sigh, she thought about her situation.
I should just run. Just run now. Don’t even hesitate. Get the hell out of here while I still can.
But…I’d like to say goodbye to Jianna. I wonder if I can take that chance. The damn Ashkelon are good trackers. I don’t have much time. But maybe enough time to say goodbye to her…
Deciding, Loen jumped to her feet and grabbed her pistol belt. Strapping it on, she hurried out of the ship, trotted to the terminal, walked through and out the other side to the transport station. In five minutes, she was on a train to downtown. Using the embedded transmitter in her head, she sent a quick message to the family she lived with - when she wasn’t on her ship.
Taking a seat in the end corner of the car, she stayed alert for anything unusual, but nothing happened. The car was nearly deserted anyway - two Kaeru couples with their luggage, a couple of Jatra workers from the port heading home after their shift, and one Tilvex businessman who looked like he had experienced a long day.
Changing trains at Kaeru Central, she took the express to the suburbs and within fifteen minutes was at her destination. She walked the two blocks to a small cottage, knocked on the door, and was rewarded by the joyful screams of a child.
The door opened and a young Kaeru of five years swarmed into her arms, Loen picking her up with ease and holding her tight, winking at her and planting a kiss on her cheek. Behind the child, her mother came into view, reaching out for Loen and holding her shoulder, ushering her into the house.
“Loen! How wonderful to see you! Please come in, come in, I’m so sorry we have just finished dinner, but I can get you something if you like!” gushed the female Kaeru who answered the door.
“Oh, no, Jian, I’ve eaten,” lied Loen. “I just wanted to see you and Jianna before I have to leave again.”
“Oh, no, you mean you have to go again so soon? Oh, we were hoping you’d be able to spend some time with us!”
Loen shook her head. “No, I have to go right away. I just wanted to come and say goodbye, and kiss this little weasel goodnight!” Loen shook the child gently, planting another kiss on her cheek and then pulling her close for a hug. “I see she’s in her pajamas already, so my timing is perfect!”
Loen walked the child to her bedroom in the back of the cottage and laid her gently on her bed, then sat beside her for a good twenty minutes, reading books to her. After the third book, and a good deal of whining for a fourth one - which Loen firmly declined - Jianna finally went to sleep. Walking back to the kitchen, Loen found Jian waiting with two cups of bishat, a strong coffee-like drink that the Kaeru loved.
“Bishat?” asked Jian. Loen smiled and sat down. For another half-hour, they talked and drank bishat, chatting, exchanging news and stories. Jian brought Loen up to date on Jianna’s latest escapades, and news of the city and the planet, while Loen brought Jian up to date on happenings outside the system - at least those she knew about. Before they knew it, it was getting late. Loen knew she needed to leave. She heaved a sigh.
“If I’m going to get launched by tomorrow morning, Jian, I’d better get going. I’ve got to get that old tub of mine ready for flight.”
“But do you really have to go so soon? You just got here!” exclaimed Jian. “Tialan will be so sorry he missed you!”
“And I’m sorry I missed him as well, Jian. Please give him my love and tell him…well, just tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t see him this trip.”
“But…can’t you wait even one more day? He’ll be back from Tilvex tomorrow night!”
Loen stood up. “I can’t, Jian, I’m sorry. I’ve got to get outbound no later than dawn. But it’s so good to see you!”
Jian walked her to the door, and gave her one final hug before she opened it. “Will you be gone long?”
“Not too long,” Loen lied. “Just a few weeks, I hope.”
Or forever…
“We’ll miss you. Come see us as soon as you get back!”
Loen, tears forming in her eyes, nodded and gave Jian one final hug. Then she turned and walked down the sidewalk, now letting the tears flow.
People think Goblins don’t cry. They couldn’t be more wrong.
She turned at the street and started walking the two blocks back to the train station. Perhaps she was distracted at the thought of once again leaving a planet forever, leaving behind good friends, the people she had grown to love over the last two years as she tried to make a home here on Kaeru. Or perhaps it was just the tears in her eyes that did it. But for whatever reason, the normally alert and sensitive Goblin didn’t sense the Ashkelon hiding in the hedge beside the road. When he fired the EMP pistol at her, she dropped like a bag of cement.
Coming out of his
hiding place, Zimra zu Akribi stood over the crumpled figure on the pavement, holding the EMP pistol steady on her in case he needed to fire again. But Loen lay motionless, frozen, not even twitching.
“I hope you can hear me, you Goblin bitch. I hope you know who I am. I am Zimra zu Akribi. You killed my uncle. You killed my planet. Now I’m going to kill you. Yes, I know who you are, Admiral Rita Page. You ran far and fast, and you sank deep into the culture of a dozen planets, but always I pick up your trail again. Now - it ends here. Now you die.”
Phoenix System
2,075 Lights from Earth
“How’s it look?” asked Marta.
“Not bad,” said Gen. “All systems are functional. Everything checks in the green. System drive, tDrive, holotank, sensors - it all looks good.”
“How about weapons? We might need those, you know.”
“Well, I can’t actually fire off any to check them, but they all show green on the console.”
“Chill!” said Marta. “The living areas need a good clean, though. Everything’s dusty. And there’s no food in the reefers.”
“Well, we can get food. I’ve got ten thousand saved up. Enough to stock the ship and keep us in beans for about six months. After that, we’ll have to find work, or something.”
Marta stood in the galley of the small starship, looking around. At 25, she was a powerfully built woman, not fat, but well-muscled. Her face reflected a hint of her mother’s Ukrainian ancestry. As she had just completed her mandatory two years in the Phoenix militia, her hair was short, cut in a military style.
Beside her, Gen was an inch taller, and although also well-muscled, she was just a touch slimmer than Marta. Both had spent their teenage summers working in the fields, or in construction, and - after two years of university - both had served their mandatory military stints. That meant both were in the best shape of their lives.
Where Marta’s hair was blond, like her mother Tatiana, Gen had her biological mother’s dark, curly locks - although she hated her curls, and kept her hair short.
Remnants: Broken Galaxy Book Five Page 30