Tales of Talon Box Set

by A A Warren

  “Yes, it’s me!” She held out her hand and pulled him to his feet. “Now call off that… whatever that thing is!”

  Talon slipped two fingers into his mouth and whistled. The razor-wing dropped Suphara to the ground and turned its thick neck back. Its wide, dark eyes regarded Talon with a questioning look.

  “Decius, that’s enough!” he shouted.

  The creature shuffled over to them, and Talon ruffled the feathers on the back of his neck.

  Avra shook her head. “Talon, what in blazes are you doing here?”

  Before he could answer, another vibration rumbled through the hull. He looked up. “I could ask you the same. But right now we both need to get out of this sector, before—”

  “We know, the gravity waves. They're affecting our ship too,” Avra replied. She rushed over to the other woman lying on the deck. “Suphara can open a star-path and get us out of here!”

  “Suphara? Who is—”

  “She’s a Sorari battle sister. And my navigator,” Avra snapped. “Assuming your pet didn’t kill her.” She helped the other woman up.

  “I’m… I’m all right,” Suphara rasped through her speaker. She removed her helmet. Talon gave her a surprised glance.

  The woman was like no alien he had ever seen. Her skin was a bright, electric blue color. Her features appeared human… She had a pert nose, high, chiseled cheek bones, and full, sensuous lips. But instead of organic flesh, her body seemed to be carved from brilliant glowing crystal. Her jagged hair and blinking eyes reflected the dim glow tubes in the cargo bay, turning the faint light into a prismatic rainbow of color.

  She glared at Talon, then gave Avra a concerned look. “Orvane… I no longer sense his presence.”

  “Orvane Raygor?” Talon put his hand on Avra’s shoulder. “What do you want with him?”

  Avra stared into his eyes and bit her lip. “It’s a long story. And as you said, we have to get out of here. Is he onboard or not?”

  Talon nodded. “Aye. I left him with my mech. He said he knew how to modulate my dark energy cell to counteract whatever pulled us from our star path.”

  Avra arched her eyebrow. “Dark energy cell? What are you doing with Consortium technology?”

  “This ship belonged to a Consortium princess. It was her pleasure craft. She lent it to me to—”

  Talon paused, noting the bemused smile on Avra’s face. “Nevermind,” he muttered. “As you said, it's a long story. Come, follow me.”

  He led them through the cargo bay to a small access ladder. Climbing up the tube, they made their way to the upper deck. The ship was listing left and right through space, making walking difficult.

  Finally, they reached the bridge. The control panels flickered on and off. Through the cockpit window, they could see massive chunks of rock and debris, drifting alongside them. Everything was being pulled towards the glowing clouds of the nebula.

  There was no sign of Orvane, and Utu was missing as well.

  “Well?” Avra asked.

  “Iberon’s harem,” Talon muttered, glancing out the domed window. “He’s gone. And he’s taken my mech with him.”

  “Those rocks are getting closer,” Suphara said. Talon glanced at the controls. A series of numbers counted down on one of the holo-screens.

  “He took the lifeboat,” Talon said, “These numbers are the data projections Utu was working on, before they left.”

  “What does it mean?” Avra asked.

  “I don’t know for sure. But I’ll wager it’s the time remaining until the next gravity wave. And according to this data, they’re getting stronger each time.”

  Avra turned to the other woman. “We’ll worry about Orvane later. Suphara, get back to the Star Claw. Power up the portal drive and stand by for my signal.”

  The alien woman nodded. “Yes, sister.” She glared at Talon, then turned and left the bridge.

  Avra glanced at the countdown. “Three minutes, fifteen seconds. That doesn’t leave us much time.”

  “Time for what?” Talon asked.

  “Time to round up that pet of yours. We have to get out of this sector before those rocks crush this ship like a ration can.”

  Talon grinned. “Aye. I don’t suppose you have any frozen zebrak in your galley?”

  Avra rolled her eyes and walked off the bridge. “For you? Or your beast?”

  Talon shrugged. “We both need to eat,” he replied, as he followed her into the depths of the ship.

  Chapter Fourteen

  A gray fog surrounded Talon. He peered left and right, struggling to make out shapes in the swirling mist. His crimson eye pulsed with light… he could see its blood-red glow, illuminating the billowing clouds around him.

  Dark energy, he thought. The crystal in my eye reacts to the presence of dark energy. The bond… this is another vision!

  “Salena!” He called out. His voice seemed to echo in the distance, shouting over and over into the darkness. “Salena… Salena… Salena…”

  There was no response.

  He reached over his shoulder and drew his axe. Triggering the blade, he held the blazing weapon before him, like a torch. Some of the swirling mist burned away, and he saw charred, dusty rocks beneath his feet.

  “I know this place!” he shouted, as he trudged through the fog. “We’re back on your home world. Why do you keep bringing me here… what do you wish to show me?”

  A great darkness… A great darkness is coming!

  He narrowed his eyes as he peered into the mist. He tried to pinpoint the direction of her voice... It seemed to come from everywhere at once.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance. A flash of lighting erupted within the clouds. He saw shadows, moving through the thick fog. He moved towards them, swinging the axe left and right.

  “What darkness?” He should. “What is coming? Avra is here, with me! Tell me, and we shall all face it together!”

  Avra… She laughed, a faint chuckle echoing through the billowing clouds. A good match for you, my warrior… I am glad you found each other.

  Another low rumble rose up in the distance. But this time, the sound was not thunder. Talon titled his head as he listened. The sound grew louder… closer.

  Clank. Clank. Clank…

  It was footsteps. Metal boots. Marching… an army was marching towards him.

  Another crack of lightning pierced the floor. In the sudden, brilliant burst of light, Talon saw Salena, hovering in the air before him. She was a black shadow silhouetted against the clouds, and her eyes glowed with a blinding blue light.

  The lightning faded away. Talon squinted, struggling to make her out in the darkness.

  “Salena, where are you? Tell me and I will find you. We both will, perhaps we can free you, or—”

  KEEERRRAAACCK!

  Another bolt of lightning tore through the clouds, striking the ground a few meters away. Talon threw up his arms to protect himself from the sudden explosion of heat and electricity. He felt a hot wind blast his skin.

  Salena hovered even closer. Behind her, he saw figures, marching in unison. It was a line of soldiers, clad in heavy battle armor. Then he spotted another row. And another. There were dozens…. No, hundreds of them, stretching behind her into the distance.

  The light died out. In the pitch-black darkness he could only see her blue eyes, blazing like stars in the void. Then, behind her, a pair or red eyes glowed to life. Then another… and another. A galaxy of crimson orbs peered at Talon, glaring at him from the shadows.

  A faint light rose behind them. It grew brighter, warmer… like the sun raising up behind the morning mist. But this was faster. Much faster…

  The Zedrakon, Salena hissed. They have destroyed entire worlds. And they are coming…

  The warm, glowing light move across the ground, closer and closer. Talon could make it out now… a wall of fire, rushing towards them. The mechs burned and exploded as it passed over them. The ground splintered into bursts of black cinders and exploding rock. De
bris flew into the air, and the clouds of mist bunted away.

  Salena raised her hand. A blast of wind struck him, hurling him backwards. The fire rushed closer. It engulfed Salena's body, reducing her to writing ash.

  Run, my warrior… run!

  Talon felt arms grabbing him from behind… clawed hands, reaching out from the darkness, pulling him away from the fire. He struggled to break free, but the tendrils snaked around him, like tentacles of pure shadow. He reached out for Salena, but it was too late… the fire rushed closer. He could feel its heat, burning his skin.

  “Salena, wait!”

  The darkness crawled across his face, flowed into his mouth. It enveloped him, sliding across his skin like the cold caress of a spectral lover. He felt the freezing shadow cover his face, pour into his mouth, until only his shimmering crystal eye peered out.

  Talon gasped and shot up in bed. He ran his hands through his sweat soaked hair. He glanced around the tiny room. It was at once familiar and yet foreign… He panted for breath, as he slowly came to his senses. He wasn't lost in a fog, or back on his ship. He was aboard the Star Claw… the vessel that had first carried him away from slavery in a Dominion arena.

  Despite his memories of the dark vision that haunted him, his lips curled into a faint smile as he remembered the time he spent on this ship. Avra, Zobo… Salena. It had only been a little more than a year ago, but it seemed so far away.

  CLANG! CLANG!

  His head snapped towards the door. The loud noise repeated… He sighed, as he realized someone was pounding on the door to his quarters.

  “Save your knuckles,” he shouted. “I’m coming.” He climbed out of bed and pulled on his breeches. “Enter,” he called out, once he was somewhat covered.

  The door slid open. A woman stood silhouetted in the entrance.

  “Well, well… Still haven’t taken to shirts, I see.” Avra stepped into his quarters. Her emerald eyes sparkled in the light, and she flashed him a radiant smile. “By the gods! When we parted ways on Koral, I thought… I thought I’d never see you again.”

  Talon laughed and grappled her in a bear hug. “I’m not that easy to be rid of, apparently.”

  She gasped, as his powerful arms wrapped around her. She pushed against his chest, and pulled away. A large window looked out from the wall behind them. Beyond the transparent portal, the swirling colors of a star-path ignited the dark void of space. The light gave her fiery hair a copper glow.

  Talon looked down at her. She met his gaze. “What is it?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”

  She shook her head. “No. But a lot has happened since I last saw you. The Sorari… I was an outcast, you remember?”

  Talon nodded. The Sorari were a secretive group of female warriors. Some thought them to a be a cult… A matriarchy, who brainwashed troubled runaway girls from war torn worlds, forcing them to become brutal killers. But Talon knew firsthand that the galaxy could be a dangerous place. And for good or ill, the Sorari were fierce warriors, with their own inscrutable code of honor.

  “I do,” he replied. “I remember they forced you out of the order… Ignofacci, they called you.”

  “I am ignofacci no longer,” Avra said, her voice heard as steel. “I returned to the Sorari enclave on L’Kya. I proved myself in the trial of Burning Tears. It… it was brutal. I suffered great pain. Some of the other sisters wield dark energy. They reached inside me, and—“ She shuddered and looked away.

  Talon nested a hand on her shoulder. “Avra, you fought by my side,” he said in a quiet voice. “You saved my life, and millions of lives. You never had anything to prove. Not to me, at least.”

  She nodded. “Maybe not to you. But to me…” She moved over to the window and gazed out at the tapestry of shifting light and color. Talon’s reflection stood next to hers in the transparent panel.

  “At any rate, I survived their tests. They wiped the past clean, and my training resumed. After everything you and I faced, I felt strong. Powerful. I wasn’t afraid anymore, nothing held me back.”

  Talon nodded. “It is good to fight beside people you trust. I’m happy for you.”

  “Not so fast. To become a full sister, I must still pass the final test. The honor kill… A debt of blood must be paid.”

  “What debt?” Talon asked.

  “A Sorari sister was killed. Now, another sister must avenge her death. Or in this case, two sisters.”

  “Suphara,” Talon replied. “That’s why you two were hunting Orvane?”

  Avra nodded. “According to Blue Star hyper-transmissions, Orvane’s band of outlaws attacked a merchant guild freighter. Killed the merchant and vented Kaliope into space. She was his Sorari bodyguard. Then he slaughtered everyone else on board, and destroyed the ship. All to steal a few trinkets. Some chips, some gold shares. And a statue… some kind of bird thing.”

  Talon glanced down at her. “A statue? You mean a tabeki?”

  She looked up at him in surprise. “Yeah, that’s what it said on the manifest. How did you know that?”

  “There’s a bounty on Orvane’s head. I was heading back to Gesa to collect my reward, when Marshal Waylan sent word to me. He told me about this missing trinket. Said the reward would only be paid if I returned the statue as well.”

  Avra smiled. “When last we left, you were signing on with the Dominion Merchant Marines. Now you’re a bounty hunter in the lawless stars?”

  Talon shook his head. “Much has happened to me as well. I’ve been trying to return to the Dominion for months now. My ship broke down in the Gyre. I’ve been stuck here ever since.”

  Avra chuckled and walked over to a cabinet on the wall. She slid it open and pulled out an unmarked glass bottle. “Your ship? You mean the princess’s pleasure yacht?”

  “It’s a long story,” Talon replied with a smirk.

  She popped the cork on the bottle and sat on the cabinet. “I’ll bet it is.” She took a long swig from the bottle, then tossed it to Talon. “Here, have some. This used to be my quarters before I moved into the Captain’s suite. I stashed this here a while ago.”

  Talon tilted the bottle to his lips and took a sip. The liquid trickled down his throat, and he exploded in a fit of coughing. He stared at the neon green fluid inside the bottle, as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “Nitara’s Nine Hells, woman! It’s good, but it burns like vermirak venom!”

  Avra arched a single eyebrow and grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Seeing as I distilled it myself from engine cleaner. So why were you in such a hurry to get back to the Dominion?”

  Talon frowned. “I’ve been having strange dreams. Visions, perhaps. About Salena, and others. My old battle trainer, Orex Griff... I learned he may still be alive.”

  Avra narrowed her eyes and drank again. “Wait, Salena? Are you saying Sal could be alive as well?

  Talon shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. Here in the Gyre, the visions or whatever they are… they’ve faded. Grown weaker.”

  Avra set the bottle down and gazed at him thoughtfully. “That makes sense. There’s a black hole a few sectors from here. They call it the cosmic fountain. It shoots a massive stream of ionized gas and radiation into space. It’s huge, we’re talking light years across. They say something about the radiation it puts out interferes with dark energy. Maybe that’s affecting your bond, or whatever you call it…” Her voice trailed off, as she saw the grave look on his face.

  “Talon, you look like you just returned from the Haunted Stars! What aren’t you telling me?”

  Talon furrowed his brow. “The last vision I had… Salena said a great darkness was coming. Something that destroyed worlds. I saw fire, Avra. Enough fire to burn an entire planet.”

  Avra whistled. She handed him the bottle. “Here. Sounds like you a drink more than I do.”

  Talon took another swig. “I feel like Orvane is a part of this, somehow. These visions, the gravity waves, this missing statue…” He clenched his hand in a fist,
and glared at Avra. “I know it’s all connected, but I can’t see how.”

  Talon set the bottle down, as Avra stood and walked over to him. “We’ll figure it out together. My contact told me about an associate of his. A brother, on Zakarba. My guess is Orvane will head there. We’ll track him down, and make him tell us what’s going on.”

  Talon gripped her waist, feeling her taut flesh beneath his fingers. He smiled up at her. “Aye. That we will.”

  Avra grinned, as she pulled down the zipper on her leather jumpsuit. “Now, enough talk. Travel is slow in the Gyre. Our journey could take days.”

  She pushed him backwards, and he fell laughing onto the bed. She crawled on top of him and pressed her mouth to his. Her kisses devoured him, while her hands slid over the rippling muscles of his chest and arms. She bit down on his lip, as he ran his fingers through her long, fiery hair.

  “You seem to have quite an appetite,” Talon said with a grin.

  “Only women are allowed in the Sorari center,” she breathed into his ear. “I almost forgot what a man's touch feels like.”

  “Then I shall remind you.”

  He rolled over, pinning her arms to the bed. She groaned and closed her eyes. Outside, the ship delved deeper into the endless tunnel of shimmering light.

  Chapter Fifteen

  THE GYRE, WILD SPACE

  Unidentified Sector

  Volonte Er’Gosi stood beneath a vast transparent dome, his metal arms clasped behind his back. His mechanical eyes peered up through the observatory’s bubble, examining the dark void that lay beyond. Distant stars twinkled in the black depths. He knew the light from some of them had taken billions of years to travel across the infinite gulf of space and time to reach him. The light he saw, the light that formed their image, was older than any living thing in the galaxy. Older, even, than him.

  The servo-motors in his eyes clicked and whirred, as he focused on one of the fainter burning orbs of gas. He wondered if he was peering back into a past that no longer existed. How many of these stars had gone supernova, or collapsed into black holes? How many of the sparkling jewels that glittered in the heavens were stellar ghosts… echoes of a forgotten past, journeying for eternity across the endless cosmos?