Starcrasher (Shades Space Opera Book 1)

by Rock Forsberg

  ‘You would say it if you actually were sorry,’ Tredd said, ‘but your reward was apparently better shared with no one.’

  ‘True… I wouldn’t be here without it. If I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have left Eura, wouldn’t have searched the universe for meaning, and wouldn’t have found Nenetl,’ Tommy said, and cast a quick glance over his shoulder, still pointing the gun at them. Drops of sweat on his forehead reflected the bright light above.

  ‘Nenetl?’ Evie asked, thinking aloud. She remembered the name from somewhere, but where?

  Tommy eyed Evie from head to toe, the gunpoint following his gaze, and then turned to Tredd. ‘Who’s the little Jindalar?’

  ‘She’s my pilot, Evie.’

  Tommy raised his chin, and wiped his sweaty forehead. ‘Pilot, eh? You’ve found a cute one,’ he said with a chuckle, his gleaming eyes sliding across her body.

  Evie stared at the gun; it was easier than his eyes. She tried to stay perfectly still, but it became increasingly difficult as her knees started to wobble. Tommy must have noticed her whole body tremble, as he gave a sly smile that made her blush.

  Tommy, however dismissed her, and turned the gun on Tredd. ‘Our old friend, Eddie, was also a pilot. He didn’t do too well in the navy, I heard, and neither did you… but Jill did. She did very well. Good looking lass, too. I’ve met her a few times since.’

  Tredd’s posture had grown stiff again and he stared at Tommy through narrow eyes.

  Tommy grinned.

  There was a moment of silence as the men stared down at each other. Evie felt herself relax, just a bit, as the gun was no longer pointed at her, but then tensed even more as she thought of what might happen if Tommy shot Tredd down.

  ‘Why’d you come here?’ Tredd asked.

  ‘You know why I’m here. Why else would you follow me here than to find my Shade queen? Well, she’s not here yet. We got something the Dawn Alliance wants, but will never give away on the terms they could offer. Now, if you’re nice, I’ll let you go back to your ship and take my message to your leaders.’

  ‘We don’t work for the Dawn Alliance,’ Tredd snapped.

  Tommy smirked, and took a sideways step towards Tredd. ‘Of course you don’t. Only FIST would hire a reject like you.’

  As the men went down to a staring contest, Evie thought about Tommy’s mention of a Shade queen. Did he refer to Nenetl, an ascended queen, one of the Shades? Evie recalled the Shades as folklore – an old tale of mysticism and magic to ease a suffering human soul.

  ‘Who do you work for then?’ Tredd said, breaking the silence.

  ‘Me? I work with Nenetl.’

  Tredd raised an eyebrow. Still holding his hands behind his head, he seemed more relaxed now. ‘And he is…?’

  ‘She is the goddess in exile and one of the five. I take care of her precious girl – keep her away from harm, and folks like you, until it is time.’ He pointed the gun straight at Evie.

  Her shoulders tensed. It was a long time since Evie had learnt about the Shades, but now she recalled the stories. There were five of them, torn apart by a disagreement about the fate of the humanity. It was an old human myth, so strong it had permeated all five races. The old tales flowed back to Evie’s mind – ‘The Purge of the Sun’, ‘The Forging of Shinzaburo’s Blade’, and ‘Nenetl the Thaumaturge’… She didn’t remember reading about her precious girl though.

  ‘A girl?’ Tredd asked, probably wondering the same.

  ‘Ah… you really don’t get it?’ Tommy asked with a Mona Lisa smile on his fat face. ‘I keep her safe until it is the time.’

  Until it is the time. The synapses connected within Evie’s brain. The thing Tredd and Eddie had been searching for was not a device, but the girl.

  ‘The girl,’ Evie whispered and tilted towards Tredd. ‘She is the Starcrasher.’

  Tredd turned his head and his eyes lit up. ‘She’s it?’

  ‘Oh, you didn’t know,’ Tommy said, and took a step back. ‘What a bummer, I really thought you were smarter than that. Well, Aino, why don’t you come and say hi?’

  From within the shadows she stepped, almost as if she was floating. She had curly blonde hair, big pinkish eyes, and a pale rounded face with a pointy nose, similar to a Jindalar, but human. She wore a white gown with a pink trim.

  ‘This is Aino,’ Tommy said, lowering his hand to her shoulder. ‘Aino, this man here is my old friend, and she’s his girlfriend. Say hi.’

  ‘Hi,’ Aino said, in a barely an audible voice, and waved her skinny hand. She was just a child; Evie guessed thirteen years tops.

  Tommy gave the girl a quick smile, making sure Tredd or Evie didn’t do anything. ‘If you came here for her, be certain I will do everything I can to protect her. This is why the gun stays.’

  ‘Is it true? Did she make the stars move?’ Tredd asked.

  Tommy touched Aino’s hand. ‘Did you, Aino?’

  ‘I’m so sorry…’ she said, and almost wept. She looked so small and frail.

  ‘It’s all right,’ Evie whispered to the girl. Holding up her arms was making her shoulders burn, and she hoped the situation would end; she hoped Tredd would do something.

  ‘Yeah,’ Tommy said with a grin, ‘we did a bit of a demonstration there…’

  Tredd looked down at the little girl beside the chubby man. ‘If she’s going to destroy the world, what’s in it for you?’

  Tommy snorted. ‘Look at you, look at me, and look at this world: where have we come from, and what we have made of ourselves?’ He waved his free hand as he spoke, but had an uncanny ability to keep the gun pointed straight. ‘We have everything, we rule the stars, and yet we are simple mammals. This experimentation is not moving forward anymore. It needs to be scrapped, thrown away, before a new world can take its place. Nenetl will make me and Aino immortal Shades in her new universe.’

  As Tommy spoke, Evie recalled the stories of Shades. It was just like in ‘Nenetl the Thaumaturge’: a strong wizard, unsatisfied with the universe, she catalysed the end of the five. She became desolate, unable to carry out her dark deed alone, waiting for the right time. She blinked. It was an epic myth, nothing more. Perhaps Tommy had been reading too much into it. In thinking she was actually real, he was clearly not the brightest star in the sky.

  ‘Supposing this Shade is real,’ Tredd said, ‘why would you think she’d take you along?’

  ‘Nenetl is real. She wants me to stand beside her as an equal. Aino and I, we are unlike the others, we are… evolved,’ Tommy said, and then with a sullen look, raised the gun to point at Tredd’s face. ‘I know what you’re thinking… but you’re wrong. She’s appeared to me many times, and I know she’s real, she wants me, and she needs me. They all are real, and they are coming back. This universe is going to expire soon.’

  Evie gulped. According to the myth, the return of the Shades would signify a release, an end of an era. What if it was true after all?

  ‘So,’ Tredd said, ‘this… Shade goddess… just came up to you one day and promised to make you immortal in exchange for the girl?’

  Tommy snorted. ‘Don’t play ignorant with me. It was a matter of the right moment. Her request to find and pick up Aino was a natural course of things. I’ve sensed Aino since her birth, like I’ve sensed the other evolved beings. The ripples of their presence, I call it a veil… I have it, she has it, and you, old friend, have it too.’

  To Evie, Tommy sounded sincere and so matter of fact, as if he was talking about running a cafe, but he talked about the Shades, veils, and evolved beings. His circuit was clearly missing a few wires. Looking for confirmation, Evie glanced at Tredd on her side. He, however, stared Tommy with an unsympathetic expression.

  Glowering, Tredd said, ‘You are insane.’

  ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. These times ask for more creative action.’ Tommy waved his gun and settled it on Evie this time.

  ‘In that, you are correct.’ Tred
d pulled out a gun of his own – Evie hadn’t seen him do anything that quickly, like a perfectly practised movement – and pointed it at Aino, a red sparkle of a laser pointer moving about her forehead. ‘You pull that trigger and she’s dead.’

  Aino and Tommy both froze, and so did Evie. She held her breath, thinking about where this would lead, as the seconds became very slow. Tommy eyed Tredd, considering, pondering options. Tredd looked set to blow the girl’s head off. Evie realised that it was his mission. To save the universe, he had to destroy the Starcrasher. To destroy the Starcrasher, he was going to kill the child.

  Evie could not believe this was happening. She turned to Tredd. His face was determined, his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot the girl. ‘Give me one reason not to kill her.’

  ‘She’s a child…’ Tommy said, without showing any emotion. ‘What are you trying to gain by this?’

  ‘Give your gun to Evie.’ Tredd nodded sideways to Evie, his eyes fixed on Tommy.

  The men stared at each other, evaluating, calculating, ready to make a move. Waiting to get shot, for Evie the seconds felt like minutes. Her mind was racing. If Tredd shot the girl, Tommy would shoot her. If Tredd even flinched, Tommy would shoot her. If she moved, Tommy would shoot her. If Tommy wanted, he could shoot her. There was no obvious outcome without her getting shot. It was hell and she started trembling.

  Tommy sighed and said, ‘Fine, you win.’ He lowered his weapon and stepped forward to Evie.

  Evie let out a sigh of relief and started walking towards Tommy to pick up the gun. As she did, she saw him raise the gun again. Before she could do anything, she felt the painful blow of the laser burst on her chest, and then she was falling backwards. The last thing she felt was the cold stone hitting the back of her head.

  INTERLUDE

  ALMOST TWENTY YEARS AGO AT A DAWN ALLIANCE NAVY BATTLE CRUISER

  Tredd shared quarters with five other guys, who were, like him, picked up from various parts of the neighbouring solar systems, all with backgrounds of felony. They were thieves, arsonists, rapists and killers – you name it, there was one who had done it. No one was legally an adult yet, but they would soon be – provided they lived long enough. Most didn’t. The boys were assigned to a front-line battalion, to be taken out on a field where their odds of survival were less than a tenth of a percentage point. For the Dawn Alliance, this was cheaper and more effective than having the convicts rot for years in prison.

  Tredd wondered what had happened, and how the police had got to Naido. He had always come across as a professional, taking care of the minute details. Perhaps that was not the case. Perhaps their business partner had become sloppy, and that had cost Tredd his life.

  His first mission was down on a planet called Dahlam. They were deployed on the outskirts of the city of Jura, which was being held by the local rebellious unit. Jura held great strategic importance, as it was by one of the biggest uranium mines and was the main source of nuclear fuel – used by most spaceships for their propulsion and most notably the Dawn Alliance space cruisers – supplying an area consisting of over a dozen stars. The rebels had secured the city using urban guerrilla tactics, and while the Dawn Alliance threatened them with missiles from one of their battleships, the rebel commanders knew the Dawn Alliance would never fire those missiles. The number of civilians within the city, and more importantly, the value of its operations, made the use of weapons of mass destruction a choice that would end the careers of generals. So instead of a missile, the admirals decided to deploy soldiers – a lot of them.

  Landers, each carrying two teams of six to a total of over ten thousand teams, took them down towards the battlefield. Tredd was told that they outnumbered the enemy forty to one, and while the rebels were deeply embedded within the city among the civilians, the sheer number of Dawn Alliance troops would easily turn the skirmish into their victory. The orders were easy: kill all the rebels or be killed doing it.

  Nobody except the leader had any real combat experience. The boys had all received the same training – four weeks of physical hell – before they had been sent out.

  The team leader was a guy his age, a convict like Tredd, but already with three suicide missions under his belt. This had gotten him promoted to lance corporal and the responsibility of leading a team. It did not spare him being assigned to the front lines though. His demeanour made him seem much older than he was – perhaps it was his respect for war, the blast wound on his thigh, or the cold stare in his eyes that made him a veteran in the eyes of the wet-eared boys.

  The young soldiers were waiting nervously, clutching their weapons and lucky charms, saying nothing. As the landing craft turned into position above the city, through a small round window on the side of the craft Tredd could see Dahlam under him. It was much bigger than he had thought, but surprisingly limited in its sprawl, as though bound by an invisible wall. Outside the city bounds were the endless light brown desert sands and wind-blown dunes.

  Their craft landed with a thump – a synchronised impact orchestrated by a central system – with the other five thousand or so crafts in a perfect circle around the city.

  Tredd unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up with his team. For a few long seconds they stood there in line, clutching their weapons, waiting. The tall boy in front of him was shaking, a drip of sweat running down the side of his neck. Tredd noticed he was shaking as well. This was no training. This was real.

  Daylight blinded him as doors opened.

  ‘Kill or be killed! For the Dawn! Until the end!’ their team lead shouted, conveniently positioned in the farthest corner from the door. Two teams rushed out of the door, into the scorching sunlight, and into the invisible rebel gunfire.

  Blood spilt as the first three got their guts ripped by shots from somewhere.

  From then on, it was hell.

  Tredd ran. It was the only way to go.

  Screams and the smell of scorched blood filled the air.

  He fired his weapon at the buildings.

  He took cover among the stones.

  The events that happened then, in Tredd’s memories, had turned to a nightmarish blur of severed limbs, wasted lives, and crying men. He wondered how he had made it, sweating in the sun, avoiding the enemy fire by sheer luck. Perhaps he didn’t think at all back then, he just ran. He didn’t have time, and perhaps it had saved his life.

  By the time they made it to the city, at least a third of their forces were gone. The rebels had mastered the art of urban warfare. Inside the city, the veteran rebel soldiers ambushed and eliminated the teams of the Dawn Alliance Navy one by one.

  It was a massacre. Bodies of young soldiers lay broken and scattered around the streets. Screams of agony echoed between the tall buildings, and a vile stench of blood and charred flesh filled the air.

  Tredd could not find anyone from his team. Perhaps he was the only one who was still alive. He found a group of strange soldiers, and after regrouping with them he found himself entering an abandoned church for an unknown god behind the shadow of a tall tower. There he found a moment of peace by the altar.

  ‘They’re killing us all!’ cried a hysterical boy, clutching his rifle with knuckles all white and tears running down his dirty cheeks. ‘I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to go home…’

  ‘Shut up,’ said a tall blonde guy without a nametag. He seemed older, at least twenty, and colder, like he could shoot down anyone who opposed his plans. ‘See that tall tower? They’ve got the panoramic terrace with at least three snipers killing our friends out there – anyone got bombs?’

  Two guys with heavy backpacks raised their hands.

  ‘How much have you got?’ The blonde guy stepped towards the bombers. He had the insignia of a corporal.

  The bombers opened their packs while everyone else gathered around them. Both had two plasma-balls, easily capable of taking down the whole tower. Tredd was sure everyone thought the same.

  ‘This city is full of civilians,’ someone said.


  ‘This is war,’ Tredd said, and armed his assault rifle with more force than necessary. ‘Everyone’s a blasting rebel around here.’

  ‘That’s right!’ The tall blonde guy pumped his fist in the air, and pointed at the bombers. ‘You two, get down and secure the bombs. And you,’ he said, pointing a finger at Tredd, ‘go down to escort the bombers with me. The rest of you stay here and provide us cover. Got that?’

  ‘Roger.’ And off they went.

  Running down the stairs, a thought crossed Tredd’s mind. Perhaps there were civilians in these buildings. Perhaps he should have taken the other side. But there were so many rebels. His body was tired and his mind terrified. He wanted to get this done, and get out, and he was not going to ask people if they were part of the war or not. It was either him or them, and he was going to make sure it was not him.

  They ran across the street to the tower. It was tall, much bigger than they had thought looking at it from a distance. Sandstorms were common in Dahlam and the buildings were designed accordingly. Tall metal poles ran across the walls, creating a strong triangular support for the lobby and the few dozen floors above it. It was also eerily quiet – no one around, the guard post empty. Perhaps the building had been evacuated.

  ‘Set the bombs,’ the blonde guy ordered.

  The two bombers ran in opposite directions, and knelt down to unload their plasma-bombs onto the opposite bases of the support structure. Tredd and the blonde surveyed the surroundings for hostile activity.

  ‘What did you do to get here?’ Tredd moved slowly sideways and surveyed the perimeter.

  The blonde guy stopped. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘What’s your crime?’