Ty grinned, his jagged teeth taking up the majority of his face. “And two, I thought you deserved it a little bit, eh?” He cackled.
“Not cool, Ty. Not cool at all,” Ryze said.
“Ladies, I am very sorry. I hope my men weren’t too rough. I had to sell it,” Ty said. “And I hope you understand.”
“We’ve been through worse lately,” Jade said.
“Much worse,” Wylow added.
“Plus, I enjoyed watching Ryze squirm.” Jade flashed him a grin.
He glowered at her, feeling like a fool. Not the first time, either.
“I’m only joking, Ryze,” Jade said. “Relax.”
The door whooshed open and in came two of the bugs from earlier, Sixeg and an unnamed one. They pushed carts of food in front of them, stopping near the middle of the table. If Ryze’s stomach had been growling before, it was roaring now from the smell. One of the carts held a large pan full of the Cryton IV stir fry Ryze was wild about. Dessert pastries were piled high on the other. Sixeg grabbed a pitcher of blue wine and four glasses from a shelf below. He poured for them all. Ryze wasted no time in bringing it to his lips and taking a gulp. The liquid made his taste buds go wild. He drank it down in about three seconds, savoring the burn in his throat and the fire radiating out from his chest. Sixeg poured more.
“It’s custom for us of Cryton IV to treat our guests with hospitality and warmth. So, here’s some of both. Enjoy your dinner.”
Mouth watering, head already buzzing, Ryze said, “I take back everything bad I’ve ever said about you, Ty.”
“It looks delicious. Thank you so much,” Jade said, being the polite one.
“Yes, thank you,” Wylow said.
The bounty hunter, the queen of Xovia, and her protector dug in.
Sixeg debated for a moment on the ground level, watching the other bugs put the Starblazer back together.
But only for a moment.
Though he made a decent amount of fragments from working with Ty, even more if he personally oversaw one of his heists, three million credits was three million credits. In short: that was a lot of money he could spend on drinks and women. Hell, he could even get off this rock and head to the inner galaxy, on a planet with rich folk and clean air.
Sixeg walked through the hangar, raising one of his hands to the busy bugs.
“You working hard or hardly working, Six?” one shouted his way. You often had to yell to be heard over the rumbling equipment and stardrives.
Sixeg’s voice jittered when he replied. “Just going out for a smoke break.”
The bug, Axel, cocked his head. “Didn’t know you smoked, Six.”
“Just started, can’t stop. You know how it goes.”
“I do. See ya in a bit, man. Oh, and we could use some help on these turrets. Lotta scorching there, and you’re the weapons master.”
Sixeg smiled. “I’ll be right back.” Not totally a lie. He didn’t smoke, never liked the taste of it or the way it made him feel lightheaded, but he would be right back.
As he walked through the hangar, he wondered if Axel could sense his lie. Probably not, you’re being paranoid, just let it go, the bug thought. And since when did anyone really care about the Dominion here? Ty hated them, but that was because he got all the money, while we only got a small slice of the pie. Ain’t fair, if you ask me. I gotta call this in before someone else does. That three million credits is mine, all mine. I deserve it.
The odds of someone else calling it in were slim. About a dozen bugs knew that Starlo and the queen were here. The other workers didn’t; had just thought the racket over in Bay Nine was a pricing dispute. The dozen who did know were a loyal bunch, who’d probably kiss Ty’s feet if he wanted them to. Then again, they probably thought Sixeg was loyal, too.
Wrong. Only thing he was loyal to was money.
He walked out of the hangar, the ring looming in the distance. Even out here, on the outskirts of the big city, it looked massive. Above him, cruiser traffic buzzed and hummed. He made sure to get as far away from the hangar as possible without acting suspiciously. Lucky for him, he knew where the cameras were; most that worked here didn’t even know there were cameras. Sixeg dodged them and sat on a power box, his back to the hangar. There, he tapped into his holopad, bringing up the Net. The top story was about the fugitives, and below their pictures was a frequency line number. Sixeg clicked on it, and his holopad connected to the line millions of lightyears away almost instantaneously.
“Dominion Services,” a bored-sounding woman answered.
“Put me through to the God-King, please.”
The woman on the other end laughed. “Honey, he doesn’t talk to just anyone.”
“I’m not just anyone.” Sixeg scrolled through his photo reel. He chose one he’d taken in secret of the fugitives, and of a few he took of the Starblazer and her damage, both inside and outside.
“Why’s that? What makes you special?”
“Because I know where the queen of Xovia and her accomplices are.”
“You and a million others. Unless you can show us some proof—” The woman’s voice stopped abruptly, but not because of a transmission error.
Sixeg’s pictures had pushed through, each with their own timestamp and coordinates.
Proof enough, he thought. Proof enough.
Twenty-Five
They spent the night in the workers’ quarters. Considering the planet, the apartments were pretty nice. They all got their own. Each was completely furnished, had its own kitchen with a fridge box full of food, and a bathroom. Ryze wasn’t hungry. After the feast they'd shared with Ty he didn’t think he’d ever need to eat again. The thought crossed his mind that Ty could’ve poisoned the food or fed them some type of muscle inhibitor, but Ryze’s hunger for real food won out in the end. So far, a few hours had passed, and he felt just fine.
Slowly, his suspicions melted away. Ty had even allowed him to oversee the repairing of his ship, and Ryze nearly cried when he saw what they’d accomplished. She looked brand new, fresh off the assembly line. He had placed a hand on the warm hull and smiled. He'd also gathered his valuables. Helmet, flayzer, and a few blasguns. He wanted to clean the weapons up and get the helmet back in order. If anything, it would pass the time.
“She’ll be done by sunrise, and then you can be on your way to wherever it is you’re going,” Ty told them earlier. “Your ship will never have flown better. In the meantime, I have a few empty rooms you can stay in. It will be safer that way, considering how much the Hunil and the Dominion want your head.”
“That would be lovely,” Jade said. “Thank you so much for your hospitality, we greatly appreciate it.” She nudged Ryze and spoke softly. “Say thank you.”
Ryze did, taking the bug’s upper right hand and shaking it. “I really owe you one now, huh?”
“No, Starlo…you owe me a dozen.”
Now he was lying on the bed. The helmet fixed, but without enough power to put Spex through. The chrome of the guns gleamed on the table next to him.
The bed wasn’t too comfortable, but it beat the one installed in his quarters on the Starblazer. Sleep, however, didn’t come. He tossed and turned, uneasy in a former enemy’s place. A feeling of doom was hanging over his head, heavier than ever.
Twenty-Six
Ryze jerked awake, covered in sweat. Nightmares again. These, he couldn’t remember, but knew they were terrible. His body ached from thrashing in his sleep, and his head pounded from the wine he’d drank the night before.
“Are you all right, sir?” a voice echoed in the room.
Ryze’s eyes widened. Was he still dreaming? Did that voice belong to a monster that wanted his head?
He didn’t know where he was.
“Sir? I’m detecting—”
Then it hit him. He was at Ty’s, an old adversary who didn’t want to kill him and the voice belonged to—
“Spex!” Ryze jumped out of bed and grabbed his helmet. “Man, am I glad to hear you!”
“I’m okay, Spex. I just had a nightmare and didn’t know where I was for a bit.”
“I understand, sir. Might I add that I apolo—”
“Don’t apologize,” Ryze said, sitting down on the side of the bed. He couldn’t say the next part. If he had, the words would’ve been: But it’s nice to have someone who cares about me. Even if you are watching me when I sleep, you weirdo.
“Your suit displays your vital signs, sir. I’m not spying. There’s not much else a bodiless AI can do with an inoperable ship.”
“Gods, Spex, are you a mind reader?”
“No. I just deduced—”
“Yada-yada-yada, how’s the Star? Tell her I miss her.”
“I cannot communicate with the ship the way I can communicate with you, sir, but I will do my best.”
“You always do, Spex.”
“The Starblazer is doing fine. She will be up and running within the hour, sir. The…um, bugs have done quite a job in putting her back together.”
“They may be ugly,” Ryze said, “but they’re hard workers.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and wiped his face with his hands. Sweaty. Still tired. He looked at the clock on the wall, but he didn’t recognize the time, not here on Cryton IV. So he slipped his helmet on and checked the Common time conversion with his HUD. Three hours until the sun came up.
A knock came at the entrance, startling him. He quickly took off his helm, got up, walked out of the bedroom, and cracked the door open.
Jade stood there.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Can I come in?” She looked worried and as exhausted as he was.
He motioned her in. She sat on a bench. “You okay?” He could tell she wasn’t, even though when it came to comforting people, he was about as good at it as a cybersoldier.
“No,” she answered.
Silence fell between the two.
Ryze wrinkled his brow. “Well, what is it?”
“It’s the mission.” She shook her head. For a moment, Ryze thought she might cry, and that scared him more than looking down the barrel of a blaster ever had. “I know I give off this air of confidence, but I’m scared, Ryze. I’m really scared.” She met his gaze. Fear seemed to have carved out a permanent home within them.
“It’ll be okay,” Ryze said, his voice unsure.
“Will it?”
“Yeah. I mean, at least up until Zed, then you’re on your own.” He laughed.
Jade didn’t find it funny. “So that’s it? You’re really leaving us after we get to Zed?”
“I’d leave you now if I could,” he said, expecting Jade to throw one of her zingers back his way.
No zinger came. So much for lightening the mood.
Jade clutched the crystal around her neck, and her eyes turned watery. The crystal wasn’t glowing.
Ryze cleared his throat, pulled a chair out, and sat down in front of the queen. The truth was, he had made up his mind about staying on for this mission the moment he met the women. He had grown to like them more than he could have ever anticipated. They were brave, fun, and daring, the perfect foil to the man he’d become after fleeing his home planet. Besides, taking on the Dominion, though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, was a hell of a lot better than tracking down murderers and thieves for a measly paycheck. Plus, he’d never have to deal with Coliseum or the Hub again if things turned out the way he expected them to.
And what he expected was that this mission would most likely be his last.
So you might as well make it a good one, Starlo.
He reached out and put his hand on Jade’s shoulder. “That wasn’t nice, I’m sorry. I can be kind of a jerk sometimes, I know, but listen, Jade, I’m staying, I’m sticking around. That is…if you’ll have me?”
She smiled. “Kind of a jerk?”
Ryze scowled. “Don’t make me change my mind.”
Jade wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “I’m joking. Where’s that obnoxious sense of humor of yours, Starlo?”
He kept his scowl.
“Fine,” she said, “we’ll have you. This is your mission as much as it’s mine and Wylow’s. We’re in this together, whether we like it or not, I think. But answer me one question.”
“Shoot.”
“Why?” she asked. “Why did you change your mind?”
“Because, believe it or not, I care about the galaxy.” Ryze stood, turned, and grabbed his helmet—old faithful, right up there with his blaster and his ship, all shining like new. “And because you’re all right, Jade. You’re a badass, just like your father, and badassery goes a long way with me.”
Jade was all business again, turning on her regal tone. “Thank you, Starlo. You’re not too bad yourself. I see why my father liked you.”
“He was a great man. Not only will Xovia miss him, but the galaxy is a darker place without him around,” Ryze said. As Jade teared up again, the comm in his helmet chirped. Ryze answered. “Yeah, Spex?”
“The Starblazer is in full working condition, sir. Quicker than expected, too. We have full shields, a repaired regulator circuit, and a clean QJ drive. Ty has also donated two new turrets, some ammunition, and reupholstered the couch in the main hold and the seats in the cockpit.”
“Wow,” Ryze said. “I guess I really do owe Ty a dozen favors, probably more.”
Wylow entered through the open door. “What’s going on?”
“The ship’s fixed,” Jade answered. “We can leave now. And…on top of that, a new member’s just joined our crew. I think he’s in it for the long haul.”
Wylow looked at Ryze. “I knew you’d come around.”
“Make that two new members,” Spex added from the helmet speakers.
Ryze laughed, shaking his head. “You guys ready?”
They nodded.
He nodded back, smiling. “All right, then. Let’s go save the galaxy.”
Want to know how Ryze and Spex became best friends? Join Spencer’s Star Team and get a free copy of Ship Seeker, a Cosmic Outlaw prequel story!
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Afterword
Starblazer and the rest of the series is my love letter to all things Star Wars. Without that wonderful franchise, I don’t know what I would’ve done growing up. Jedi and their infinite wisdom got me through some tough times. High school, mostly, but that place is harsh on all of us, and we get through it in our own ways. Mine just happened to be by watching a Star Wars movie every night and bringing the official Star Wars magazine, Star Wars Insider, to study hall every day. I mean, I’ve watched The Empire Strikes Back more times than I can count, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
A little background about me: I grew up on a steady diet of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror (Stephen King is by far my favorite author). I write spooky stories under a different name, but although the genre often deals with the supernatural, it’s still grounded in reality and usually takes place in our world.
Space opera…not so much. I love that about the genre. There’s nothing better than hopping in an imaginary spaceship, traveling faster than the speed of light to some exotic planet, and saving a species of odd aliens from the tyranny of an evil galactic empire.
C’mon, it sounds pretty damn cool, doesn’t it? Yeah, you know it does.
But before I can hop into this particular starship and get the hell out of here, I’ll need a co-pilot. Someone brave. Someone awesome.
Someone like you.
So, how about it? You want to help me explore the galaxy?
S.M.
October 16, 2019
About t
he Author
Spencer Maxwell lives in Ohio with his beautiful wife, daughter, and their five furry best friends.
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