by A A Warren
“Well, look who’s limping back to my dusty little rock,” the old man drawled. “Maybe you’d get here faster if you dumped that mech out the airlock and got yourself a real co-pilot.”
Talon glanced at Utu. If the marshal’s insult had offended the repair mech, it showed no sign of it.
“The thought had occurred to me,” Talon replied.
“So I take it the fugitive didn’t give you any problems?”
Talon taped some keys on his console. “See for yourself.”
A metal slab the size of a man slid from the wall behind the cockpit. Orvane hung suspended inside, trapped in a glowing stasis field. The glow of his phosphorescent orange eyes had dimmed, and his mouth hung frozen in a grimace of fear.
The hologram of Marshal Waylan chuckled. “Well done, lad. Well done.”
Talon thought for a moment. “There were other men following him. Assassins, by the look of them.”
Waylan shrugged. “I’m sure you’re not the only one after the price on his head. Besides, a bloodthirsty outlaw like this Orvane makes plenty of enemies.”
Talon eyed the hologram as he leaned back in his chair. His brow furrowed, and a troubled look crossed his face. “One of these men bore the symbol you showed me… the mark of the Eternal Shadow. Are you certain Orvane is responsible for attacking the passenger liner?”
The marshal squinted at him. “Why do you ask?”
Talon shrugged. “I spent years fighting in the arenas of the Dominion. I know a killer when I see one. The way they move, the look in their eyes. And this alien, Orvane… I tell you, he’s no more a killer than I am a priest.”
The marshal stroked a tuft of gray stubble on his chin. “You may be right, son. But I wouldn’t be too sure. Things aren’t always what they seem. And either way, that’s for the justiciars to decide.”
Talon nodded. “Very well. We’re heading back to Gesa at maximum speed. Have my bounty ready, so I can replace the—”
“What about the statue?” The marshal asked.
Talon glared at the hologram. “What statue? What are you talking about, old man?”
The marshal’s withered lips curled into a frown. “Orvane and his men stole cargo from that liner. The merchant who posted the reward said he was missing a statue. A ‘Zedrakon royal tabeki’, he called it.”
“What in Nitara’s Nine Hells is a tabeki?”
The marshal shrugged. “How in blazes should I know? According to the report, it’s a statue with wings. Some kind of bird-type thing, I suppose. About this big.”
The hologram of the marshal zoomed out, revealing his body from the waist up. He spread his hands apart, about the width of a gourd.
“There was no mention of a statue,” Talon snapped. His voice had a cold, dangerous edge, like a blade being drawn from a scabbard. “The bounty was for Orvane. And Orvane is what you’ll get.”
The marshal shrugged. “The Order of the Blue Star doesn’t tell me everything, kid. All I know is, I got a hyper-transmission from our citadel today. And the word from on high is, no statue… no bounty.”
“And how am I supposed to—”
Before Talon could finish his sentence, the hull rumbled and shook. An alarm wailed on the bridge, and sparks erupted from the communications array. The marshal’s hologram blinked out of existence.
Talon spun around in his chair. “Utu, what in blazes—”
Another impact jostled the ship. The controls flickered and dimmed. Utu frantically tapped on a console, using all eight metal tendrils to call up data on the screens.
“There has been a gravimetric disturbance in this region of space,” the mech said. “A massive energy surge has interfered with the ship’s power relays. The vessel’s star-path has collapsed.”
Another alarm wailed, this one even louder than the first. Talon’s head snapped up, and his crimson eye reflected the light from the holo-display. A tiny dot blinked to life on the screen, directly behind their vessel.
Muttering a silent curse, Talon grabbed the controls and threw the ship into a steep dive. Utu struggled to remain seated as its tentacles danced across the controls, re-routing power from various subsystems.
“This unit requires stability to maintain shield and engine power,” the mech’s droning voice called out. “Why have you—”
“Brace yourself, mech!” Talon shouted, cutting off Utu’s complaints. “I don’t know what kind of ‘gravimetric disturbance’ could pull a ship out of a star-path. But that second alarm was a tactical alert. There’s another ship in the area, and it’s closing in on us at full speed!”
Chapter Twelve
The control sticks vibrated in Talon’s hands as he forced the tiny ship into a series of evasive maneuvers. A volley of pulse bolts streaked past the port side bow, lighting up the cockpit with a fiery glow.
“Enemy vessel closing in,” Utu said, monitoring the tactical display on the holo-screen. “They are powering up their weapon systems for another attack.”
Talon grit his teeth, as he threw the ship into a stomach-churning dive. “I don’t suppose you can give me any useful information?” he asked, keeping his eyes focused out the cockpit window. “A ship ID perhaps? Any design vulnerabilities, or—”
ZAAARK!!!
A massive bolt of energy clipped the starboard wing. The impact spun the ship sideways, and the deck plates rattled beneath his feet. A jet of steam vented into the cockpit, as a bank of power relays exploded above his head. Sparks cascaded down to the floor, and the control panel’s lights pulsed and flickered.
“Starboard maneuvering thrusters disabled,” Utu announced, consulting a damage control readout.
“Orion’s blazing bow!” Talon shouted. “That last shot nearly took off the wing! That was a heavy pulse cannon. Only capital ships carry weapons that powerful! We should have detected anything that size, before—”
“Sensor readings indicate the vessel is equipped with a cloaking field,” Utu replied. The mech’s eye stalks focused on the glowing holo-display at its station. “Such systems require a cool-down period once they are disengaged. It is unlikely they can cloak again until—”
Suddenly the hull groaned, and the ship lurched sideways. Talon’s head snapped back in the pilot’s chair. Sirens wailed, and emergency lights bathed the cockpit in a crimson glow.
“Utu,” he gasped. “Can’t… Pull up! Thruster… malfunction!”
“Negative,” the mech replied. “The gravimetric disturbance that collapsed the star-path has grown stronger. The ship is caught in its pull. And the enemy vessel appears to be trapped as well.”
Finally, the intense gravitational pull died down and the ship swooped out of the power dive.
The mech gestured to the tactical display with one of its spidery metal limps. “This anomaly seems to emit bursts of gravity waves. It has altered the course of both vessels, along a similar trajectory.”
Another burst of energy bolts streaked above the cockpit. The vessel shuddered, as a few shots impacted on the rear shields.
“Whoever they are, the anomaly doesn’t seem to have impaired their accuracy,” Talon muttered. He threw the ship into a banked turn. “How long until the next gravity wave?”
“Unknown at this time,” Utu replied. “There is insufficient data to—”
The ship groaned and lurched sideways again. Talon braced himself, as the hull creaked and rattled around them. The muscles in his neck popped like cords of steel, as he forced his head to turn towards the tactical display.
“It’s… Pulling us… Towards the… Nebula!” He gasped.
Utu magnified the glowing clouds of dust on the display. “That is correct. A cloud of debris surrounds the nebula. Particles of rock, ice, and dust, left over from an exploded star. The largest fragments exceed the size of this vessel by a significant margin.”
The wave of gravity ceased. The ship’s engines whined in protest as it lurched back on course. “You’re saying it will pull us into the rocks, where we’ll be crushed?”<
br />
“That is an accurate assessment,” the mech replied in a calm voice.
Another vibration rattled through the hull. “Now what?” Talon snapped. “Another gravity wave?”
“Negative,” the mech replied. “The enemy vessel has deployed a stasis beam. We do not have sufficient power to break free.”
Talon stood up and drew his axe. “That can only mean one thing. They wish to board us.”
“You should remain secured in your seat,” Utu warned. “This unit has analyzed the pattern of disturbances. The next wave will hit in 5 minutes, 42 seconds, 16 milli—”
“Gra… Gravi...” a voice croaked behind them.
Talon glanced at the prisoner's slab. Orvane’s body still hung suspended in the glowing field. Somehow, he had forced his mouth to form a portion of a word.
“What are you saying,” Talon demanded, marching up to the tiny alien and glaring down at him. “Do you know what this anomaly is?”
“Grav… Gravimet…” the creature’s lips struggled to move in the inertia-sapping field. Talon stared into his eyes for a second, then slammed his fist on the glowing controls mounted to the slab. The field dimmed, then blinked out. Orvane fell from the slab and thudded to the floor.
“Out with it!” Talon shouted. “There’s no time for games!”
“Gravimetric bomb,” the tiny alien sputtered. “Generates graviton waves… rips through space time. Creates micro black holes!”
Talon gave the alien a suspicious glare. “I’ve never heard of such a weapon.”
Orvane coughed and wheezed, as he staggered to his feet. “Old… old tech. Before the fall of Star Cross Throne. I can fix. Adjust portal drive to compensate. We must open star-path. Leave quickly, before it sucks us in!”
Talon glanced up at the mech. “Utu?”
“This unit can confirm that his technical data seems correct. Next gravimetric wave will hit in 4 minutes, 16 seconds—”
A loud thud cut off the mech’s monotone voice. The clang of metal scraping against metal echoed through the cockpit.
“Docking clamps,” Talon said. He looked up as a shadow moved across the cockpit. “They’ve pulled us in.”
“Both ships must leave,” Orvane said, still gasping for breath as he leaned against the stasis slab. “Or both ships be destroyed.”
“Very well, Orvane. It seems we have little choice… we must work together. Help Utu, see if the two of you can get a star-path open.”
The alien’s eyes regained their bright orange glow. The diminutive, furry face wrinkled into a frown. A few stray fangs poked out from the creature’s rubbery lips. “Very dangerous here. Gravity waves get stronger,” Orvane said. “Where you go?”
Talon hefted his axe. “I’m going to welcome our visitors. I’ll try to be back in…” his voice trailed off.
One of Utu’s glowing eye stalks rotated towards him. “3 minutes, 54 seconds, 18 milli—”
“Just fix the ship while I’m gone,” Talon muttered. He turned and stalked into the shadows of the rear cabin. “Before that thing tears us all to pieces.”
Chapter Thirteen
The two armored women stomped into the airlock. They had replaced their bulky thruster suits with sleek environmental battle armor. The suits’ sealed, tinted helmets protected them in the event of sudden decompression, and the dura-plas plates layered over skintight Kev-tex mesh was lighter, making it easier to move and fight.
The leader braced herself, as the ship shook and rattled again. She held up a heavy pulse rifle, as the airlock door hissed open. A burst of vented steam filled the chamber. As the mist swirled away, she saw the door of the captured vessel remained locked.
“Those gravity waves are getting worse,” the woman said through her helmet. The armor’s speaker gave her voice an inhuman, electronic tone. “We need to grab Orvane and get out of here, quick. I thought you hacked their onboard systems?”
Suphara glanced down at the wrist display mounted to her gauntlet. “I did. Something is blocking my override algorithms.”
“Pretty sophisticated counter-measures for an outlaw in the Gyre, don’t you think?”
Suphara placed her hand on the sealed door of the ship. A small porthole looked into the vessel, but the corridor beyond was pitch black. She bowed her head, as the metal beneath her hand began to glow with blue light. Brilliant lines of energy radiated from her fingers, like a cobalt neon spiderweb.
“I sense multiple life forms… Orvane is definitely onboard. But there are others… Human, and something else as well.”
The leader glanced up, as the metal creaked and groaned around them. “We don’t have much time. Can you blow the door?”
Suphara shook her head. “If I do, I won’t have enough energy left to open a star-path out of here.”
“Guess we do this the hard way then,” the leader snapped. She raised her rifle. “Stand back.”
Suphara stepped away from the door. The leader opened fire, sending a steady stream of pulse bolts into the locking mechanism. The heavy-duty bolt began to glow and melt, as the gun spat more energy into the air.
Finally, the control panel sparked and exploded. There was a hiss of escaping air, and the door slid open a few centimeters.
The leader grabbed the metal panel and forced it open further. “Switching to infrared,” she said as she stepped into the darkened corridor. “Keep your eyes open. If Orvane is on board, I want him al—”
Suddenly she gasped, as a strong hand clamped over her arm. Something yanked her into the corridor. As she tumbled to the floor, a blazing orange glow lit up the airlock chamber. She winced, as the flash of light overloaded the visual amplification systems in her armor’s visor.
Squinting through the glowing haze, she could make out a tall, muscular figure charging towards her. She fired, but her attacker dodged to the left, faster than a jungle cat. Her shots struck a control panel on the wall, sending a shower of white-hot sparks into the air.
She heard the hum of a plasma weapon… the fiery blade swung through the darkness, slashing through the barrel of her rifle. She dropped the useless weapon, and threw up an arm, blocking the shaft of the glowing weapon. Before the attacker could break away, she kicked her boot into his abdomen.
He grunted in pain as the blow knocked him back. The prone woman shook her head, struggling to clear the dazzling spots from her eyes.
Suphara rolled into the chamber and raised her pistol. She fired, sending three pulse bolts streaking through the darkness. Their attacker cried out, as an energy blast scorched his shoulder. He spun around and hurled his axe towards her.
As the weapon spun through the air, Suphara raised her free hand. A shimmering blue barrier glowed to life before her. The axe struck the shield and bounced off. The fiery blade buried itself in the deck.
The leader raised her hand, shielding her eyes from the blinding glow of the dark energy forcefield. “Damn it Suphara, your shield is too bright! I can’t see!”
“You’ll see even less when I take your head,” the man’s voice bellowed from the shadows.
The lights in the corridor flickered, providing a faint glow in the darkened space. The leader looked up. As her visual sensors adjusted to the light, she saw a hulking, muscular figure, charging for the buried plasma axe. He glanced over his shoulder at her… A single crimson eye glared at her in the dim light.
“No,” she whispered. “It can’t be…”
Suddenly, the floor seemed to drop beneath their feet. All three bodies flew up into the air and slammed into the ceiling. The leader gasped in pain, as she felt her innards pummeled by the crushing gravity wave. The man hung pinned between the two women. The leader grit her teeth, and forced her neck to turn so she could face him.
“Ta… Tal…” The pressure on her chest was so great she could barely speak. The man’s crimson eye pulsed and glowed back at her. She reached out to him, forcing her muscles to push against the crippling gravity.
The deck plates belo
w them bulged and swelled. Then the floor erupted, sending mangled shards of metal flying towards them.
She grabbed one of the metal shards in her armored fist, stopping it from impaling his head. The man gave her a surprised glance.
“Who are—” he began.
Before he could finish his question, the gravity waves subsided. Suphara screamed as they fell to the floor. Their bodies smashed through the ruptured deck plates and kept falling, crashing into the floor below.
The leader stumbled to her feet, weak and gasping for air. She glanced around… they were in a small cargo bay. Freeze dried carcasses of meat hung from hooks in the ceiling. A stack of dry food barrels filled the far corner of the chamber.
The man staggered away from them and grabbed the shaft of his axe from the debris on floor. “Who are you?” he demanded. “What are you doing on my ship?”
Before she could answer, Suphara pounced. The armored woman dove through the air, tackling the man to the ground. Pinning his axe to the floor with her knee, she raised her free arm. A crackling blade of blue energy emerged from her fist.
“Where is he?” she shouted. “Where is Orvane Raygor?”
A low growl echoed through the dim cargo bay. The leader spun around, peering into the shadows. A massive creature exploded through the stack of barrels, knocking them to the ground. The armored woman dove out of the way, as the scattered containers rolled across the deck. The beast loped towards the fallen man. An angry roar bellowed from its blunt, fanged snout. The animal barreled into Suphara, knocking her off the man and carrying her across the cargo bay in its mouth.
With a vicious snarl, the beast slammed her into the wall. It raised one of its savage hooked wings, preparing to strike.
The leader stumbled to her feet and grabbed her helmet in both her hands. With a loud hiss, she released the environmental seal and tugged it off. Long, fiery red hair cascaded down past her shoulders. She glared at the man on the ground with piercing, emerald green eyes.
“Talon!” she shouted.
He looked up at her in surprise. “Avra? Is that you?”