by Alex Guerra
There was a pause from the incoming fire and a different weapon firing from our friend. Taking the opportunity, I popped around the corner again, blasting away at those caught out of cover, dropping a few more. The toads decided to move back into a better position after taking enough losses. We routed them, and they retreated, exchanging shouts and panicked gurgles along the way. I kept a bead on them, in case any of them wanted to turn around and try their luck.
“Make your way over to me,” I said. “I have you covered.”
On my peripheral, the individual popped up, weapon drawn. Small and sleek, the being was dressed in dirtied white armor. I moved out of cover to the other side of the gap in the wreckage, so it could run behind me and not in my line of fire, just in case. The alien rushed in behind me and ducked into cover. Retreating from my position slowly, I joined them.
“Thank you,” it said, its voice coming out of speakers on the front of its helmet. Its voice was a little higher pitched, and with its figure, which looked surprisingly human I might add, it was safe to say she was female, even with her armor on.
The translation was seamless; her native language was just barely audible behind the words. Dotty could even translate her voice and the inflections so closely, it was as if she was a native English speaker. Having Dotty integrated within my mind allowed her to sound as American as I did.
Her breathing slowed visibly as she reloaded her weapon and checked something on what looked like a tablet on her forearm.
I stared at her a bit longer before snapping out of it. “N-no problem,” I said, checking my blaster’s charge. Seeing it only had two shots left in it, I decided to change out the energy pack. The discarded pack landed near my boots, hissing on the sand briefly with its intense heat.
“What are you doing out here and why did those…Patrassi want to fight you?” I asked.
“They followed me out here…after I bested their leader in town. I hurt their collective pride and they wanted redemption,” she said, shrugging it off.
“Bested them? Like winning a game or something?”
“No, I smashed their leader’s face in after they grabbed me. As if finding useful scrap every day on this planet isn’t already hard enough,” she said, holstering her weapon.
The alien looked at me and then my hand. I saw my reflection in her visor.
“My name is Arthur Holland or Art for short. What’s your name?” I asked, introducing myself.
“I’m…Seya Aranis,” she replied, grabbing my forearm with her thin fingers in a spartan handshake. “Did you find anything useful?”
“Useful?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“Well you’re out in The Wrecks, which would make you a scavenger, right?” she asked, examining me quickly. “I’ve never seen armor quite like yours before.”
“I’m not a scavenger, not normally—it’s a long story,” I said. “But I am looking for certain things.”
“So, you didn’t find anything,” she shrugged.
“Well, I grabbed this,” I fished out the pyramid from earlier.
“What…is that?” she asked, giving it a gentle touch.
“It’s from a wrecked ship like my own. I am going to analyze it once I get back.”
“You have a ship?” asked Seya, looking up at me.
“Yeah…two of them,” I added.
The alien put a hand on her hip and looked me up and down briefly. “You’re a rather lucrative scavenger, huh?”
“Not really a scav—wait. Enemies are coming back. Looks like a lot more. We have to go before we get overrun,” I said, eyeing the mass of red blips on the radar, nearly three times as many as before.
“Follow me, I have a transport,” said Seya, waving at me to follow.
Running after her, I wondered how she managed to run on the sand so easily, considering my feet sunk nearly to the ankle with every step. As we swept through the wreckage, I struggled to keep up the entire time.
A small vehicle that looked like an elongated jet ski with saddlebags in the front and back, was floating above the sand. We rushed over to it with Seya jumping on the front and starting up the engine. I was coming up on the rear of the vehicle when I heard a rumble coming from behind me. I turned to look and a horde of Patrassi riding hoverbikes like Seya’s, were booking it right for us and kicking up a cloud of dust behind them.
A loud shot brought me out of my trance. Seya had fired repeatedly into the crowd with a short rifle. The enemies attempted to dodge, one of which, caught a shot in the face and fell off the back of its bike. I jumped on, grabbing Seya tight as she revved the engine, and a loud whine shot us out into the dunes of Harkloon.
Arthur, you have been moving away from the mission’s parameters.
It’s too late now, Dotty, we gotta fight through this. Don’t kill me off just yet.
The toads hadn’t given up. Rounds were hitting the sand around us, and a few blasts flew by us completely. I was uncomfortable with how close these shots were getting and reached for my blaster, attempting to shoot back one-handed. My half-assed attempt at shooting the monster of a weapon with one hand did manage to clip the engine on one of the bikes, slowing the pursuer down. Unfortunately, there were at least another dozen bikes—or more—behind us. If we wanted to live longer, we were going to need something more.
“Dotty, we need help, get Dagger ready for a quick EVAC!” I shouted over the sounds of engines and gunfire.
Yes, Art. Support is already inbound.
Seya twisted and turned the bike through a canyon. It was a good idea, considering the path was narrow and only allowed one or two bikes to pursue us at a time. There was more cover, as well as opportunities for breaking line of sight.
There was a bigger weapon stashed on the left side of the bike. I grabbed it and pulled it free. It looked familiar, but I had no idea how it shot. I spun around, sticking the butt of the weapon firmly into my shoulder and took aim. Once the lead pursuer came around a blind corner, I squeezed the trigger and chunks of slag slung out, peppering the vehicle and its pilot. They scraped against the canyon wall, losing control and crashing. The second pursuer dodged their wrecked friend and came for us.
Shotgun—got it, I mused.
I blasted away mercilessly at the toads, either killing them outright or keeping them at bay long enough to not let them get a clear shot on us. I kept shooting the weapon until it went dry. Not finding any more ammo on the hoverbike, the weapon was returned to its home alongside Seya. Taking us higher and higher through the canyon until we crested the top and onto a plateau, there was nowhere else but back down the way we came or over the edge.
“I didn’t take them all out yet!” I told her.
She looked over her shoulder at me, then out in front of her to a cliff edge.
“You’re going to jump it?” I asked in disbelief.
I drew my blaster, pointing it behind us at the exit, with the engines growing louder and echoing from the canyon. I fidgeted with the grip in anticipation. The horde crested the top of the ramp and I fired a bunch of rounds at them. Seya punched it, catapulting us to top speed quickly. The ledge came closer and closer when we saw Dagger rise before us, unleashing a barrage of gunfire on our pursuers.
Seya slammed the air brakes, drifting us sideways as we came to a halt in a plume of sand. Looking to our left, the ship deleted the pack in a cloud of bloody mist and dust. A few of the bikes caught fire, while others exploded. Scrap and mush was all that was left, with smoke columns forming, reaching for the teal sky.
“Holy shit, Dotty…” I said in awe.
The ship landed between us and the group, lowering its ramp.
“Nice ship, Art,” said Seya.
I got off the hoverbike and made my way towards the ship while Seya sat quietly watching me.
“Well? Do you want a ride or are you going to take that back?” I asked, pointing at the bike.
“Actually, I was hoping to go somewhere off-planet, if you don't mind. I was t
rying to save enough credits to purchase a ship of my own to leave this place, but I can pay you for a ride” said Seya.
I thought about it for a moment. Besides Dotty, the alien would be the next closest thing to a friend I had at the moment… and I was a long way from home. We made a good team so far—not bad for total strangers—but what baggage would she be bringing with her? I decided to give Dotty the last say on this, as it clearly had the mission parameters in mind.
Yes, Arthur, I believe Seya would be a good fit for our mission. There are sufficient crew quarters and accommodations aboard The Pillar is plentiful.
“You can come along with me. I won’t need any payment, but one last thing before we go,” I added, “My mission is to help fight the Vael Empire, so if you are a sympathizer, this is not going to work out. There’s already a lot to do without getting in each other’s way.”
“May the empire burn. You won't have a problem with me,” said Seya. “I’m trying to get in touch with the Galactic Conglomerate to get back into the fight.”
“The conglomerate? Hell, Dotty and I are trying to reach the conglomerate too,” I admitted.
“Then I believe I can help you with that,” she said.
“That’s all I had to hear,” I waved Seya and her bike aboard.
Seya looked around. “Where’s your friend?” she asked.
“Who?” I asked.
“The one piloting the ship—Dotty?” said Seya.
“Oh. It’s an artificial intelligence helping me out,” I tapped the side of my helmet.
“A pleasure to meet you, Seya Aranis. I am Dotty,” came the A.I.’s voice through my helmet speakers.
“H-Hello…” replied Seya with a hesitant nod.
We strapped ourselves in and Dagger took off. It nosed up as it placed us on a path to rendezvous with The Pillar in low orbit. I cracked my helmet open and wiped a hand over my face, the heat from the planet still lingered on my suit. Seya checked some readings on the tablet and gave a quick nod. She removed her helmet, revealing her face.
Hair of snow fell away from the helmet, resting lightly around her collar in lazy wisps. Her eyes had a soft bioluminescent glow of white and gold. There was a purple-pink hue to her skin and pointed ears, while the rest of her features look remarkably, and eerily, human.
She looked up at me, studying my features also, until we realized we had been eyeing each other and looked away.
“What…are you?” she asked me, breaking the silence between us.
“I’m human…from the planet Earth,” I said, thinking back to the blue planet. “You?”
“I am Darkkon. I’m originally from planet Ilo, the capital planet of my people. Did your race just recently come into this part of the galaxy? I have never seen your kind before, but your appearance…” she paused.
“I know…we look so much alike. Perhaps our people share an ancient ancestor?” I proposed. “My people…they are still back on the only home they’ve ever known. We haven’t made any colonies anywhere yet but plans to colonize our moon, or even a planet nearby is in the works. We may even start in the next decade or two!” I explained, getting excited at the thought of humanity finally reaching out beyond Earth.
“So, then you’re a scout or something—trying to find a planet to live on?” she asked, fumbling with her helmet in her lap.
“No, I’m actually not supposed to be out here. This is just where I ended up. I can’t go back yet and there is something I have been tasked with in the meantime,” I explained.
“Something to do with that thing there?” she pointed her chin to my side pocket containing the pyramid.
“Not necessarily, but it may offer some other answers for now anyway,” I shrugged.
With my stomach rising as we entered zero gravity, my harness kept me secured. The Pillar’s hangar opened and disabled its camouflage. I watched through the canopy with Seya.
“Wow!” gasped Seya, gazing at the larger ship.
I shared the same sentiment. I hadn’t gotten a great look at The Pillar while leaving for Harkloon, but the ship was massive. The only time I had seen something of this size was when I went to a naval museum in California when I was a boy. Seeing something this large floating through space was something else. It was even larger than some of the waterborne vessels I had seen in my time in the Marines.
Dotty brought us into the hangar and secured us to the deck with a thud that shook the dropship slightly once we entered The Pillar’s gravity field. Unstrapping myself, I got up and began to make my way down the hold’s ramp with Seya slowly in tow, admiring the interior.
“This is yours?” she asked, placing her helmet under her arm.
“It is now,” I said, proceeding up the ramp.
I made my way to the bridge, the doors staying open for Seya as she tailed me through the ship’s corridors, admiring the bulkhead. Dotty had instructed me to place the pyramid in a console which scanned for information. The process would take a long time to decrypt before its information became accessible. I stared down at the desert planet from one of the viewports. Its reddish-orange sand blended together with its teal sky. The few white clouds available shifted and were pushed aside by a large dust storm forming from the south pole, heading towards the equator.
“Amazing…I haven’t seen Harkloon from this angle for over two years,” said Seya, looking out at the view.
“Will you miss it?” I asked, curiously.
“No way, I hope I never have to come back here. The way things were going with scavenging, it would have taken me another five years before I would have been able to buy my own ship,” she said, resting an arm up against the viewport and placing her forehead onto it. “Thank you.”
She stayed that way for a while and took in the view for closure. I imagined that being the reason anyway.
“Dotty, please proceed with our mission,” I instructed.
“Resuming search of the nearest power cores,” the A.I. replied.
“Well then, would you like me to show you around?” I asked.
Seya turned to me and nodded with a smile.
FIVE
Out of all the rooms to choose from, the Darkkon woman settled into the one right next to mine. Unlike me, she had an easier time eating some of the basic meals that were offered in the galley. I continued having difficulty swallowing the foreign food. I envied her, as I could only make so many different imitations of anything back home. It involved a lot of trial and error before getting something passable. Unfortunately, I could only handle so many taste tests riddled with errors in a day.
Dotty gave Seya a white uniform like mine, after what I would imagine, was a much-needed shower. Now in the thinner uniform, her thin and shapely figure had become clearer. I caught myself staring and averted my eyes. When she looked over to me, I pretended to check some readings I didn’t understand on a console.
This was the second alien I had seen this close besides whatever species Caulder Erso was. I doubted his species’ women were anywhere near as attractive as Seya—a Darkkon. It reminded me that the galaxy was full of other bipedal monsters and aliens—the Patrassi we had faced on Harkloon being a great example. Six-foot-tall toad-men, who rolled around in gangs trying to kill you.
Dotty moved us around the nearby systems for some time to narrow the search for the next power core. We would need to keep searching the galaxy until we found what we needed. Until then, we would jump and scan, jump and scan, all the while, I was just along for the ride.
“Well, you’ve been off planet for a few days now, did you have any particular destination in mind?” I asked, breaking the silence between us, at what was now breakfast, according to the ship’s time.
She looked over to me, taking a bite out of some food. She had been reading her tablet, which she referred to as a dataslate.
“Yes, of course. I didn’t want to interfere with your work. To be honest, I was glad to have finally left that place. The conglomerate gave me several coordinates to us
e in the event we needed to regroup. I would suggest going back to the base I had come from, but that is no longer possible,” she responded with a sigh.
“Why not?” I asked, taking another bite out of the protein bar. This one was an imitation of berries and an almond paste I was not too crazy about.
“Shortly after leaving for Harkloon, I had received word that the empire found our base. They either killed or imprisoned all the members there. In the event something like this were to happen, I am to use any of these coordinates,” she explained.
“But you don’t know where they lead?” I asked.
“No, it ensures that the conglomerate and its bases remain in secrecy. It’s harder to give up something you don’t know, right?” she said and pointed a utensil at me. “The conglomerate can use someone like you and this ship,” she gestured a hand around the bulkhead.
Pausing for a moment, I thought about the mission Dotty had given me. I couldn’t go back home yet, which was a cold fact I had to deal with. If we continued looking for these cores, there was a possibility we would run into danger again. Like on Harkloon, although admittedly, that was mostly my curiosity’s fault. At the very least, having more allies would prove useful.
“Give the coordinates to Dotty. We will look at the nearest ones for now,” I instructed, finishing my protein bar.
Seya flicked through her dataslate a couple of times, tapping a few commands into it. She pinched the screen with her fingers and made a throwing motion at a nearby console, which began to glow.
This technology was beyond my comprehension; it was like magic. Not knowing how she knew how to use some of the consoles, I had my suspicions. Perhaps the technology was easy for her to figure out. I would have to trust her as I did Dotty.
“Coordinates received,” replied Dotty.
“Let us know when it would be most convenient to stop at the nearest destination,” I said, taking a drink. I looked at Seya over the cup’s rim. “So, I must ask, why were you in the desert alone when your allies are all over the place?”
She looked at me and pursed her lips. “My mission on Harkloon was to broker a deal with the local gangs, to gain more support for the conglomerate. I wasn’t alone when I went…” she added, looking down at her clasped hands.