by J. P. Yager
He patted Boost's head. "Good work."
After finding a burial service that handled Ecath and Nymarian rites, he had to excuse himself at the service station for another one of his tremor attacks. This one had put him on his back and almost caused him to black out. To make matters worse, his veins were turning a lighter shade of blue and he had a headache he couldn't shake off—more reminders his time was running out.
The two pushed their way through the crowd of traders, visitors, and locals. He nearly tripped over the large roots of a Loira'lei tree, which pushed through the cement walkway. Flowers were in full bloom and floating through the air, bringing acidic rose flavors to the air.
The cities of Flora had pretty heavy speeder traffic too. Hover cars and bikes thundered overhead on aerial roads. Ground level had crowded foot traffic. With the glowing blue leaves of the Loira'lei growing around buildings into the sky, it was truly a city that was always aglow. It never slept, and on this side of the world, it was forever night. He placed a hand on a nearby tree’s bark and heard the odd whispers of the tree. It eased his pain with a song he couldn’t understand.
Then, he wound his way around the bustling streets and found the bar he recognized. As soon as he entered, he heard the usual grumbles of "Earthborn." It was a slur throughout this part of the universe; "as stupid as an Earthborn" was a common insult. Just another aide-mémoire that those still left from Earth had lost their world and their respect in the universe.
Trevor pulled up a seat at the bar and ordered two Ecath dishes with which he was familiar. Since it was always dark on this side of Flora, it was always time for breakfast.
The barkeep was a female Ecath, a deviously beautiful, long-eared, furry-skinned version of Daphkalian. She, like all Ecath, was a tall mix of feline features though the female’s ears were as long as a rabbit's. "Impatient to die like all Earthborn," she sneered.
Trev realized he was cutting in line to order at the bar. He apologized and waited his turn.
He realized he wasn't the only flight crew member out to get a quick meal. There were some common alien species like Asterions; Preslich, which were like large thin snakes with two arms and legs; other beautifully feral Ecath; and Gymon, which were a purple-skinned telepathic race that looked like what might happen if whales and humans were combined into something. One large Gymon in particular was leering at him over his drink, wide-set eyes unblinking, and skin appearing sickly wet and slippery. Trev turned away.
Boost popped up next to him. Oblivious.
"Did you get the usual supplies?" Trevor asked him.
Boost nodded.
An order of oddly colored meat and eggs appeared before him. He picked up a fork and knife and went to work. Like a starving man, Trev plowed through the meal in minutes. He washed it down with an orange moko, which was basically all alcohol with a bite of citrus.
"Ready?" Trevor asked pushing himself from the bar.
Trev paid his bill at the exit, scanning his wristband.
"Should we get some more…" Trevor began. His voice trailed off when he saw Daphkalian a good hundred meters away talking to a dark-cloaked figure. He could really be talking to anyone, but Trev felt in his gut it was sinister.
Daphkalian nodded a few times and pointed toward the dock where they were parked. As he continued to speak, he kept checking around himself to make sure he wasn't being watched. Finally, the dark figure nodded back, and then the two parted ways.
Instead of seeing where Daph went next, Trevor followed the cloaked figure.
"We need to return to the ship," Boost warned.
"Shut up, stupid. C'mon." Trevor hid in the crowd as Daphkalian lumbered by. As soon as he was gone, he jetted through the busy plaza to where he'd last seen the dark figure. The alley was thick with activity. At the end, the dark figure turned.
Trevor barreled down a separate street to head the figure off. He pushed on, not thinking of what he would do should he catch up to confront this mysterious person.
What if he's armed? he thought. Well, I'm armed too. Even though he didn't know how to use the sword, it was still a weapon.
When he hit another cross street, he stopped. Boost rolled into his leg painfully and backed up. Trev fought the urge to disassemble the robot and peered around the corner. He saw the dark figure had stopped and was speaking with two others.
Trevor ignored their dingy confines and smells of refuse in the cramped alley, closed his eyes and listened.
With a thick Ruveran accent, one spoke to the others. "What the crews of Breaker VI and IX are searching for is right here, docked at station thirty-one. Get as many soldiers as you can right now and meet me there."
The others didn't say a word, but Trevor imagined they agreed to his order.
When Trev heard them coming his way, he pulled his cloak over his head and began walking in the other direction as nonchalantly as possible. Apparently, with their eye on the prize, they didn't take notice. Two of them walked hastily past him.
Trevor realized the missing one was going to the ship to stop them from taking off while backup arrived. The crazy thought left in his head was that he either had to stop him from getting there or beat him to it. He took a deep breath and ran. Boost rolled after him.
-o-
The refueling crew finished up and drove away. Nathan was outside the ship, doing a final walkaround check to make sure all panels were closed and the pad was clear of debris. There were some new battle scars from their escape, but nothing too serious. He had found the transmitter they had pinned to them that had disabled their force drive. It had taken him a few minutes to take it apart and create an antidisrupter from it. They wouldn't be able to get away with that trick again.
After he felt comfortable with his check, he walked back up the cargo ramp. His cargo hold was surprisingly empty at the moment, more than it usually was.
The compartment itself was two hundred feet long and fifty feet wide. Its track record was pretty solid, even though there were moments when the antigravity kicked off. They were currently in a slick-floor configuration, but could easily flip rollers for palletized cargo. The rails they used could hug any size or type of pallet. The only thing on the floor was Kaida's equipment, which was tied down with straps, and Nathan's off-road vehicle, the CTV-44 Hammerhead, which was tied down with chains.
He thought about making sure the battery still worked on his vehicle when he sensed someone coming up behind him.
"Daphkalian. There you are," Nathan said.
The large man just shrugged his reply. "Where's Kaida?" he asked.
"She's helping me with something, probably sitting at the table I left her at."
"Good." Daphkalian produced a light assault pistol from the back of his pants. The barrel was leveled at Nathan's face.
"Whoa, easy." Nathan had his hands open to show he was unarmed.
"Put these on." Daph chucked wrist bindings at Nathan's feet.
"That's the plan? With me bound, you go in there and steal the data pad unhindered?" Nathan asked.
"Just do it," Daph snarled.
Why doesn’t he just shoot me? Nathan grabbed up the bindings slowly. "Did you ever think what would happen to you after you lost your use? Ruverans can't be trusted."
"Shut up, old man. I read the alien's notes. I know what he told you. Even though most of it is completely ridiculous, I know an opportunity to get rich when I see one. They are paying me handsomely."
"I'm sure they will." Nathan clicked the bindings closed, and they turned red, indicating they were closed and locked.
Metallic footsteps rang out as Kaida walked into the cargo hold. Her eyes were down on the pad, and her brow was furrowed in thought.
"That makes this easier," Daph said quietly, facing toward her.
Kaida looked up and saw the situation as it appeared. Nathan was in handcuffs with Daphkalian pointing a gun at him. The gun slowly turned on her.
"I'm going to need that." Daphkalian smiled.
Kaida's eyes went to the pad in her hand and then back to the gun. "I don't understand what's going on here."
"I don't have time for this." Daph approached her. As he reached out to grab the pad away, he felt a quick, sharp pain in the nape of his neck. Then he fell and saw nothing as he crumpled unconscious to the floor.
Nathan dropped the heavy bindings on the floor and clapped his hands free of dust.
Kaida's mouth had dropped open. She played the quick scene over again to make sure she understood. One second, Daph was coming for her, towering as he did. Nathan was in bindings off to the side, and then he was right behind him as the giant fell forward, having dealt some powerful blow.
"How did you…?"
"They teach that on the first day of the academy."
Another sound broke through the hollow cargo bay. Nathan turned around and saw his nephew bounding up the ramp, Boost rolling up right behind him.
"We…we've been…" Trevor struggled for oxygen.
"Betrayed? We know," Nathan finished. "More on the way?"
Trevor nodded vigorously.
Nathan surveyed the situation and prioritized. "I'll put this one in the cell." He was looking at Daph. "Boost, get the engines going. Trevor, take care of that Ruveran running across the tarmac. Ms. Elwin…" He paused for a moment as he lost his train of thought. Her smell had reached his nose. "Please find your seat."
The group broke off into their respective duties.
Nathan dragged Daphkalian off to the holding cell as Boost rolled off toward the cockpit.
That left Trevor watching the dark-cloaked figure he'd been racing against. The figure had a large blaster rifle in his arms, and he fired on their craft. The shots were insanely close to the mark for someone so far away.
Trevor dialed into the cargo hold control panel. He rerouted a few systems here and there, directed the anti-grav toward the back, and then hit the activate button.
The encroaching enemy was struck by the invisible force and went flying backward. His gun continued fifty yards farther.
"Good-bye." Trevor flicked the switches back to normal mode and closed the ramp. The light went green as soon as the ship's door was closed and the locks fully engaged. Shield control powered on shortly after.
He ran up through the ship. He didn't see Kaida seated when he rushed through the pax compartment and realized why when he reached the cockpit. She was sitting behind the pilot's seat. No one was allowed in the front of his uncle's jet besides flight crew, and there was an even stricter rule with women. It was unbelievably archaic, but so was his uncle.
As Trevor went to warn her that his uncle would kill her if he found her there, Nathan came up the stairs. Slightly winded from dragging the traitorous giant around, he eyed Kaida, innocently buckled down inside his cockpit. She looked up questioningly.
Trevor watched as his uncle paused to let loose the demons and then suddenly took his seat without a sound. Trev's jaw dropped.
"Where we at?" he asked Trev.
Trevor cleared his throat to hide his surprise. "Before takeoff checklist."
Outside the ship, a handful of soldiers were running toward them, guns blazing. Their laser fire pinged off the Wrath's shields harmlessly. The ship spun around, took flight, and shot off into the lower atmosphere of Flora.
On the ground, one out-of-breath soldier ran up to the others. "It's all right. Breaker VI and Breaker IX have just arrived."
Chapter 7
"What in the world is that?" Rayph asked his supervisor.
Jeb, boss of Outpost Z-19, laughed. "Don't blame the game. You're the one who doesn't understand the rules. This is all about tactics."
Rayph tossed the board game aside, knocking the pieces to the ground. This game, chess, couldn't be more confusing. There was no way to attack your opponent outright. Maybe if they were playing a shooter or a strategy game on his console, he'd teach his boss a lesson. Earth games made no sense. Probably why their people had died out.
Rayph decided to go back to work and actually learn his job while Jeb went to go get more snacks from the storage cupboard in the next room. Maybe he would try this chess game later.
Outpost Z-19 was about the worst assignment you could get as an Ecath. Rayph had failed flight aptitude tests, science tests, and military training, and when he had tried to make it as a writer, he became a laughingstock. So for Rayph, the outpost gig was perfect—decent pay, barely any responsibility, and best yet, no work. All he had to do was monitor a few machines, and that was that.
The outpost was small. The bottom floor contained the rec room, which connected to a shared sleeping quarters and a bathroom. Then there were stairs that led to the small upper floor. Rayph wound his way up those tower steps and opened the door.
When he arrived, he saw a red blinking light on one of the computers and walked up to it. It took him a second to figure out it was actually one of their recording machines.
Rayph knew enough to work the thing. He dialed the knob up, put his headset on, and pushed "play."
There was a lot of static. "Hello?…Come in Z-19. This is Outpost R-81. We have reports of an anomaly in space. We know what you're thinking, but it's not a rift. It's something else. We can't seem to figure out what it is with our equipment yet. At its current rate of speed, coming from the Outer Rim, it will reach us at 1244 standard synch time. We'll let you know if it's something to worry about."
Rayph shrugged. The guy sounded older; he'd probably been doing this a long time—at least long enough to know better than to worry about nothing. Most events in space weren't anything to sweat over. A star collapsed here and there, meteor showers—it was nothing to go overboard with. Rayph wondered why the older man sounded so concerned.
He put his headset back down and threw his feet up. At the top of the outpost, there was a pretty nice view of the Milky Way Galaxy. It was beautiful the way it spiraled into itself like it had spinning tentacles.
Rayph had heard his boss talking about how in his day, there had been a war through this system, and one of the planets had been taken out. Leave it to the humanoids to figure out that kind of destructive power. He couldn't remember what that planet was called. Were they the ones that made chess?
"Anything new?"
Rayph turned and saw the boss eating a package of bitter wafers. It was probably why he was so large in the middle, which was strange for an Ecath. They were usually all lithe and catlike. Jeb was pretty fat and slow. He hoped he didn't turn into a Jeb working there.
"Naw," Rayph answered. "R-81 reported some weird space anomaly, but I doubt it amounts to anything."
"You want to come back downstairs and go another round?" Jeb had Rayph's white king in his hand.
Rayph shook his head and smiled. "I don't—"
"Z-19, Z-19, come in!" the voice from the radio called, panic-stricken.
Rayph watched his boss lumber over to the radio and answer. He also saw the clock above his head read 1242.
"Go ahead," his supervisor said calmly.
"I need to relay something back to Flora and quick. The anomaly…it's something…it's unbelievable! Warn them that they have to declare Protocol 3."
His boss wiped a crumb off his shirt. "Did you say Protocol 3?"
"We don't have time for this!" the voice yelled. "Yes! This thing is…it's, like, it's consuming everything! They must be warned before it's too late."
"I will."
"Good. Make the call, and then try to save yourself. Oh no…it's—"
The connection went dead.
"What was that about?" Rayph asked. He wasn't sure whether he should joke about it or what. The concern on Jeb's face said that would not be wise.
His boss pulled up an old-school phone, which Rayph had never seen. He immediately got a voice from the other end.
"Hello?"
"Initiate Protocol 3."
"Identity."
"Y-Eight-Two-M-Five-D-Three-Zero."
The other person ended the call.<
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His boss put the receiver down.
Before Rayph could ask anything, he saw something that scared him, something on his boss's face. He grew even more worried when Jeb covered his mouth with his hands. His eyes were looking out far in the distance.
Rayph tried to see what his boss was seeing. Out in space, he didn't really see anything new. Suddenly, he saw movement. It was subtle, like a trick of the eye. Then when he realized it was real, his own mouth became guarded, as if he didn't want the words spoken.
Out there, shadowy tendrils, like snakes, were winding their way through the Milky Way. Stars were disappearing. One whole side of where they were looking vanished in a type of dark vortex that was traveling forward.
"It's just like he said," Rayph said.
Nothing was shown on their monitors, and those things reached far beyond whatever the space event was. It was like the darkness really wasn't there, and yet what had been there was gone. Readings on planets and stars vanished.
Rayph shook his boss out of it. "We have to get to the ship."
"In eighteen thousand years, we have never had to order a Protocol 3."
Rayph was pulling him down to their ship. "What is a Protocol 3?"
Finally, his supervisor relented and started following him down. "Evacuate the planet."
Chapter 8
Trevor couldn't take his eyes of the radar display; the moon-sized blips grew closer. Sensors indicated the giant battleships were closing in on the planet, sweeping it for signs of them. They were both screening it from the other side of the world, working their way toward the Wrath.
Sweat had either accumulated from the heat generated by the cockpit equipment or from blind fear. It didn't really matter what the cause though. Things were tense. Either way, Trev did his best to clear the moisture off with his sleeve.
Nathan pulled up on the stick so they'd miss a collision with a stream of Florian ships. They were flying out like scared minnows down a creek. Docking stations were bursting open with countless spacecrafts. Those on approach into the planet were turning around.