Ria snorted.
They passed under the factory doors and approached the walkway where Eldi, Yana, Sergeant Kurza and Jaga were engaged in an argument. Behind them, four Chan in white suits were loading the corpses and other parts of the crime scene onto a floating trolley.
"What the hell is going on here?" Taza said, storming up to the official and gesturing at the Chan. "Those bodies are off limits until they have been released by order of the Omnion…the gods.”
"It’s okay, Messenger Arkona. We’ve found the murderer."
"Where is he?"
"Not he. Her. Ria murdered them both." Eldi leveled a shaking finger at the Chan over Taza’s shoulder. "You did this!"
Ria became defensive all of a sudden. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't take me for a fool. I just spoke with Chancellor Vilam and his team. They told me everything. Including how you worked with a Quamat to kill Bulstrad and Namoro."
"Now, wait a minute," Taza demanded, pointing at Eldi. "What evidence do you have?"
"I have all the evidence we need right here." Eldi drew a compad from his folds and waved it around. "Colleagues of mine caught that sniveling snake snooping around in secure archives, trying to delete records of her entry to the factory just before the bodies were found. We checked her dwelling and found this." He flashed a vial. "It’s a rare poison. Impossible to detect with conventional scanners. We’re taking the bodies to run the needed tests using our medical scanners."
Taza looked back and forth as a subtle tension crept onto the walkway. He held up the crystal. "We can confirm that right here. Right now."
"What is that?" Eldi asked, his eyes narrowing.
"It’s the data crystal Chancellor Namoro was holding when he died. One of the factory workers found it before the shut-down."
"Nonsense. The Chan cannot be trusted. Whatever data is on that crystal has been fabricated." He pointed over Taza’s shoulder again. "Seize her!"
Before Taza knew what was happening, Ria had pulled his gun from his holster and held it to the back of his head, its buffers whirring as it charged. She moved with surprising speed, even for a species related to the Shanti.
Four Ushtaran guns made similar sounds as the guards took aim. The Chan dragged Taza to the walkway’s edge, putting her back against the rail and positioning him between herself and the rifles.
"Don’t shoot!" Eldi ordered. "We can’t risk harming another Messenger."
Taza didn’t like the look in Aldo’s eyes. Like he was weighing up the consequences of disobeying that order.
"Hands where I can see them," Ria demanded.
Taza put his hands higher in the air.
"I’ll be taking that." She snatched the data crystal from him.
Taza silently cursed the Ushtarans and the Priodome’s strict one sidearm policy. "Ria, what the hell are you doing?"
"Shut up, Messenger," she hissed, pressing the nuzzle of his own blaster into the base of his skull.
"I have to hand it to you, Ria," Eldi said calmly. "The humble little Chan. The clueless servant. A spy all this time. I must say, you played your role well. If you weren’t such an abhorrent creature, we could have employed someone with your skillset."
Yana stepped closer, one eye peering from behind her rifle’s sight.
“Not another step! Tell your guards to stand down, Eldi.“ Ria pressed the blaster harder still into Taza’s skull, forcing him to bow.
"It’s no use, Ria. You know that this means the death penalty." Eldi waved for Yana to stop and spread his arms before Ria in a non-violent manner. "However, if you come clean, I’ll convince the judges to reduce your sentence. Perhaps life on a Kurkrez penal colony instead. If you put that gun down right now, we might even get you time in one of the Ushtaran mines."
"Ria, do as Viceroy Eldi says," Sergeant Kurza urged. "I don’t want you to get hurt."
Aldo swore again. "Do as he says, or I’ll put you down for your crimes myself, you Chan scum!"
"Standing up for my people can hardly be called a crime."
Eldi sighed. "Put the gun down, Ria. You’re surrounded. There’s nowhere for you to go."
"Do exactly as I say, or I’ll have to kill you," she whispered into Taza’s ear. She raised her voice for the others to hear. "I’ll drop it on one condition."
"You aren’t in any position to make demand—"
"Shut it, Aldo," Eldi cut in. "What do you want?"
"Have Aldo and Yana lower their weapons. They can hold them, but I don’t trust them not to shoot if I put mine down."
Yana and Aldo smirked as though that were the most ridiculous demand they had ever heard.
"Do as she said.”
The guard’s eyes widened in disbelief. "But—"
"Do it," Eldi commanded, cutting Aldo off again. "Kurza and Jaga are better positioned anyway. Lower your weapons."
They conformed begrudgingly, letting the rifles drop by their sides.
"Okay, I’m lowering my gun."
A blast echoed through the factory as steam exploded from a pipe above Aldo’s head. The Ushtaran screamed in agony as the mist covered the walkway.
Discharged plasma sailed overhead, one bolt narrowly missing Taza.
"Stop shooting, you idiots," Eldi shouted.
"Go!" Ria cried in his ear.
He didn’t know where she wanted him to go, but found he didn’t need to know anything as she shoved him over the walkway rail. He emerged from the spreading mist, the factory spinning around his head as he slid toward the production line floor.
He tried grabbing hold of something, but the ramp was too smooth, its angle too sharp. His armor rattled as he hit the factory floor and rolled onto his side. He stole a glance up at the walkway. It was difficult to tell from the angle, but it appeared that Sergeant Kurza and Officer Jaga were in a gunfight with the others.
"They’re getting away!" Eldi called from the walkway far above. "After them!"
He turned to find Ria scrambling for the blaster.
Taza climbed to his feet and made a run for the weapon. As he dove with hands outstretched, Ria’s hands knocked it across the concrete floor.
Taza tumbled onto his shoulder and sprang to his feet. He made a run for the weapon again, but Ria tackled him back to the ground.
They wrestled in a tangle of limbs. Taza got the Chan in a headlock, but she somehow slipped out of his hold and twisted an arm behind his back, his TEK’s servos whining under the strain.
Taza gritted his teeth. "What the hell has gotten into you?"
"Listen," she said, glancing back to the walkway. "We need to get out of here before—"
"We aren’t going anywhere." He ducked out of her grapple, almost tearing his arm from its socket. He twisted on his heel and pulled his knife. He’d had enough of people taking advantage of his trusting nature. The Shroud was making him soft. He would return to the Orinmore with his report and leave the nebula the next time the North Star headed out. He wouldn’t miss the place a single iota.
In a flash, a blade appeared in Ria’s hands. Her eyes flicked between Taza’s knife and the battle on the walkway.
"You don’t understand. We need to—"
"Give me the data crystal," he said, stabbing at her breastplate.
She called his bluff and parried the blow with ease.
They swiped, dodged, and parried, each seeking an opening.
How the hell can she be this good with a blade?
"Then I’ll take it from your body." He lunged forward, committing to the attack, but not aiming for her vitals. He had to neutralize the threat, but he would keep her alive for questioning if he could.
She dodged his attack and he almost stepped into the disposal hole.
He regained his footing and spun with a back-handed blow and Ria jumped just beyond his reach.
He circled around, eager to get away from the opening in the floor. If Ria continued causing trouble, pushing her into the gaping maw would take care of matters.
He went in for another attack and his blade caught on her handguard.
He twisted his weapon and her blade spun free into the deep shaft.
"The crystal?" he beckoned with his free hand.
"Don’t underestimate me just because I’m small." Ria closed her fists and took up a fighting stance.
He couldn’t help but think how like Clio she was in that regard. Small yet feisty. "Don’t worry, I’ve had plenty of practice fighting shorties."
He sprang forward, swiping for her abdomen.
The back of his head slammed into the concrete floor, and the Omnion blade clattered as he skidded into the walkway ramp.
Ria stood around twenty feet away, the air around her SIG shimmering.
A force pulse cannon was the last thing he expected.
She fetched his gun and aimed it in his direction.
Taza punched his SIG, activating his ghost-drive. He scooped his knife from the ground and charged.
Ria opened fire. Several shots went wide, but three bolts of plasma struck home, expending his shields.
He plunged his blade into her SIG, sending a spray of sparks across the factory floor.
Ria clutched his forearm and yelled as she pushed him back.
She shot at a tall container next to the hole.
Taza wondered what she was doing when the container’s door fell open, spilling forth a wave of white powder.
He looked down and saw dust on his hands.
"Ria! Run!" Sergeant Kurza called from the walkway rail before she could open fire on Taza again.
It was difficult to tell from the distance, but the Ushtaran Sergeant held what appeared to be a gaping wound in his abdomen. Taza could just about make out entrails dangling between the guard’s legs.
"Go…" his metallic voice gurgled. He slumped onto the walkway, becoming still.
Ria took several steps towards the ramp when Aldo and Yana appeared at the rail, soon followed by Eldi.
"Your friends are dead, Ria." Eldi’s voice boomed across the factory floor. “Come now!"
Ria screamed and opened fire.
Aldo and Yana returned the gesture.
Molten bolts rained.
A line of plasma cut up the concrete inches from Taza’s boots. He looked for cover, but reaching the nearest machine meant getting caught in the crossfire.
Ria fired over her shoulder as she ran in Taza’s direction.
He looked between the Chan and the Ushtarans, frozen by indecision.
Aldo and Yana leapt over the rail, setting pursuit.
With horror, Taza realized that Ria was running full tilt and had no intention of stopping.
"Ria, what the—"
She shouldered him clean off his feet.
A cold and musty wind rose up to meet them as they sailed over the lip of the catacomb opening and hurtled into total darkness.
23
The Void
Grimshaw tumbled through a blurred canvas of muddied color. He stopped struggling against whatever invisible forces tugged at him and came to a jarring stop. As dizziness faded, he found himself floating in a giant recovery tank filled with a pale-green substance somewhere between gas and liquid. The green swirled into a tunnel of sorts wherever Grimshaw cast his eyes. He activated his helmet, but nothing happened. He checked his SIG and found its battery cells depleted. Whatever advanced tech had beamed him inside the tank had drained his gear of power. He swung his arms and rotated his body to see what lay behind. He looked down on the Walk of Gods as though trapped inside its ceiling. Kaliff stood at the arena doors in the corridor below, a frozen blur behind lightly-frosted glass. Grimshaw called, but the heavy vapor muted his words. He swam forward and the Krag glided further out of reach. The harder Grimshaw swam, the further the frosted glass drifted. He kept swimming, but it was no good. His arms burned with exhaustion and his lungs with lack of oxygen.
Starved of air, his head spun. He pursed his lips tight as his chest cramped, his muscles struggling to fill his lungs. His diaphragm overcame his will and he inhaled the green vapor.
The pain abated and life flowed back into his body, pulling his mind back from the brink. He huffed and puffed, recovering from self-suffocation, and wondered how he could breathe without dying. Though quasi-liquid in nature, the substance was breathable. As he inhaled mouthfuls, it lent more energy to his bones than expected. He felt like he could smash through that frosted glass with ease…if only he could reach it. Perhaps with his newfound strength, he could.
He swam around in search of the window again but could not find it. Realizing he was lost in the endless ocean of green, panic tugged. He slowed his breathing and told himself he needed to think. Doing so made the panic worse.
A distant light caught his attention. It whizzed back and forth at great speed, stopping in one spot for a few moments before zooming off to another, as though in search of something.
Not knowing whether it posed a threat, Grimshaw decided not to draw any attention to himself. When the light finally zig-zagged out of existence, he relaxed.
Something moved out the corner of his eye. He tensed in fright as the light stopped just beyond arm’s reach. It pulsed white as it floated lazily before him.
It pounced and danced excitedly around his head. Having calmed down, it drifted before him again and rocked back and forth as though trying to communicate.
"You want me to follow you?"
He spoke the words, but he didn’t hear them.
However, the light must have, for it danced up and down enthusiastically like it was nodding. It zoomed off into the misty green and Grimshaw kicked. He propelled through the smoke-water at great speed, cool streams brushing his face like refreshing air. The light shrank to a point as it sped ahead. It vanished. Grimshaw found himself alone again. He searched in every direction to no avail.
He swam in random directions, trying to locate the light but only found emptiness. He tried not to worry. He felt more than heard something move behind and a wave washed over him, causing him to bob in several directions. He fought for control of his body and spun around, eyes scanning, but whatever had caused the sudden shift was nowhere to be seen. He turned back to find a shadow drifting in the mist above. As it descended, it took the form of some otherworldly demon. Panicked, he propelled himself backwards, never taking his eyes off the monster. As fast as he moved, the horns, claws, and teeth gained. The harder he kicked, the more solid it became. The demon’s skin rippled as countless eyelids opened.
He fought the temptation to spin around, knowing that as soon as he did so, the creature would close in. He slammed into something solid, and stars exploded in his head. He shook the motes out of his eyes and found the light floating just out of arm’s reach again. Or perhaps this was a different light. It appeared bigger. Remembering the horror that chased him, Grimshaw looked over his shoulder, but the nightmare was nowhere to be seen.
The light shook from side to side as though shaking its head with disapproval.
He was about to ask for answers when a shadow fell over him. A tendril grabbed his waist and pulled him away.
The light sprang after him, frantically zig-zagging closer.
Grimshaw reached out with all his strength until his arm was about to pop out of his shoulder. His trembling fingers touched the light, and a strong, reassuring presence took hold of his body.
The tendril lost its hold, and the light dragged Grimshaw with blistering speed in the opposite direction.
The light slowed to a stop. Grimshaw couldn’t tell whether they had been traveling through the endless green for hours or minutes. The alien vapor was interfering with his sense of time. The light let go and bobbed several feet away in a spot completely identical to the one they had left. Floating in the substance, Grimshaw couldn’t help but feel how ethereal it all was. Either he was dreaming, or the strange atmosphere was playing tricks on him.
He was watching the swaying light when he exploded into a room, his heart racing,
his vision swimming. The liquid cleared, and he found a set of alien arms with curled fingers extending from his body. His heart thudded harder and his mind began to reel.
What the fuck is this?
He stood in a dark cave, the air heavy with the stench of decay. Dripping sounds bounced through hollow tunnels. The sounds of gravel crunching under stones came from behind, and Grimshaw turned slowly, his joints and muscles stiff and lethargic.
The darkness receded as his eyes adjusted, revealing a crooked creature with gnarled limbs much like his own.
"Breathe slowly, Grimshaw." The creature before him clicked and clacked, but he somehow understood its words. "You will return to your own body soon. In the meantime, I need you to listen. We don’t have long."
"What…what is this?" His throat vibrated with croaks, not dissimilar to a frog’s, like his alien mouth wasn't meant for things as complex as words, but he knew what he was saying. As did the other.
"I don’t understand.” He stepped forward for a better look at the alien with which he spoke.
"There is no time for a detailed explanation. Your human body cannot survive here. You currently inhabit a vessel. Part of your consciousness has been transferred to another body so that we may communicate. Think of it as uploading your mind to a machine."
"Is this a test?" The words produced a series of gurgles.
"I know this seems strange, but it was the only way to bring you here. To show you what must be done."
The knotty frog-like creature pulled at two chest flaps. The skin peeled back to reveal a swirling red star where its heart should have been. "We must join minds before you get pulled back through the void. Even now, you’ll feel your mind trying to return."
Grimshaw pulled at his own flaps and was surprised when red light spilled from the hole in his chest. He had no idea what was going on or whether he could trust this strange creature, but the way it spoke felt familiar. Something gnawing at the back of his mind told him that cooperating was the right thing to do.
They drew close, one red star touching the other.
The Galactic Sentinel: Ultimate Edition: 4 Books with 2000+ Pages of Highly Entertaining Sci-Fi Space Adventure Page 94