The Last Spartan: Different Paths

by A. E. McCullough

  As Iaido fell silent, Talia once again felt the proximity of the mass of people. The passageway which they were currently traveling must’ve been a major thoroughfare since it was so crowded she feared that if she tripped, she wouldn’t even fall to the ground but would be carried away with the mass of bodies. She kept getting jostled around as she tried to keep pace with the dark form of Iaido. That’s when she realized that she had lost him.

  Stopping quickly, Talia spun around in place frantically looking for the bounty hunter but all she saw was a mass of bodies. Almost all were human and judging from their clothes, simple working class men and women going about their daily lives. At first she thought it would be easy to pick out Iaido’s dark clothes and shaved head from the workers but the more she looked around the less sure she became. That’s when she noticed a small group of ragged men dressed in mis-matched pieces of body armor and clothes standing near one wall just watching her. Two hands grabbed her shoulders; Talia shrieked and spun around.

  Grim faced Iaido said, “You need to keep up. Haven is a dangerous place.”

  Talia couldn’t articulate the relief she felt at the closeness of the bounty hunter but she couldn’t shake the sense that they were being watched. Turning back to where she had seen the ragged men, she was shocked to see that they were no longer there. Looking back at her escort she said, “There were some men over there…”

  Iaido nodded. Gently grabbing her arm, he guided her back down the thoroughfare. “I know. We’ve had a tail since we left the Nemesis.”

  “A what?”

  “A tail. Its slang for someone following you.”

  Talia thought about it for a second before responding. “I get it. A tail, like the prehensile appendage on a marsupial. That’s an interesting analogy. You Terrans are an inventive lot.”

  “You have no idea. I am still surprised by my people daily.” Iaido guided her off the main thoroughfare and they ducked onto a side passageway. “They are inventive but also greedy. I’m sure there is a bounty on our head. We need to get to a safer area of the station.”

  Talia asked, “Where are we going?”

  “I have an errand to run.” Iaido held up the scroll. “My Sensei asked me to deliver this to a man named Ishmael. Somehow he knew I would be coming here.”

  “He sounds like a wise man. I would like to meet him one day.”

  “He’s dead.”

  “How did he die?”

  “I killed him.”

  “Oh Iaido, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

  “It’s okay. I am striving to make my peace with it. I am saddened by his loss and somehow feel slightly empty. Its not how it happened, it was combat, people die. No, the one thing that bothers me is why it happened.”

  “What do you mean?”asked Talia.

  “Why? Why would my Sensei invite me to perform but instead challenge me to a duel?”

  “I take it, that behavior was out of character for him.”

  “To say the least.”

  “Then, the answer is simple; either he was forced to act or he chose to act in such a manner.”

  Iaido stopped in his tracks so quickly, that Talia took several steps before realizing. Turning back to him, she didn’t expect to see a grin on his face but there it was so she asked, “What?”

  “You’re right. There are only two reasons and if so, then that gives me a place to start. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Talia said as they entered the core of the station and it was her turn to stop suddenly.

  Since Haven was converted from an old Coalition starbase, the core rotated. Having a rotating core was one of the easiest and most cost efficient means to generate gravity. The open area had been converted into a garden with plants from all over the known galaxy. There were hundreds of farm crops from Earth but there were also the rare moon ferns from Sylvanis which towered over fifty feet. Every variety of plant was chosen for two reasons, hardiness and usefulness. The need for the farm crops and fruit trees was obvious; they supplemented the fresh produce available on the stations. Other plants, like the moon fern helped with the oxygen production and reduction of carbon dioxide. The side effect was that the few corridors which ran through the core of the station offered some of the most beautiful sights available on the station.

  As Talia looked down or up at the slowly spinning garden, she felt a bit queasy and snapped her eyes back to the walkway and steadied herself with the handrail.

  Iaido grinned. “Now you understand why this corridor is empty. It seems that few can walk through here without feeling the effects of vertigo.”

  Every time Talia lifted here gaze from the walkway, she felt her stomach flip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would affect me this way.”

  Iaido gently grabbed her arm. “Close your eyes.”

  She resisted for a moment.

  “Trust me. Close your eyes. We need to move. Our tail will figure out we came this way any moment and it would be best if we are gone before they arrive.”

  Talia nodded and followed the gentle pressure on her arm and they moved through the core of the station. She knew almost immediately when they entered the main area of the station due to the different sounds. As they came to an abrupt stop, she felt the tension in Iaido’s grip for a split second before he removed his hand. Turning to where she knew he stood she asked, “May I open my eyes yet?”

  “Sure, but you might not like what you see.”

  Talia stifled a scream as she opened her eyes and discovered that they were surrounded by five Mantodeas and three Terrans, all with heavy blasters leveled at their chest. The humans were dressed in black combat fatigues, neatly pressed and unadorned of any rank insignias. However, all eight wore a red bandolier across their shoulders from left to right with the emblem of a red ‘V’ inside a red circle prominently displayed.

  Iaido slowly raised his hands and said, “Don’t make any sudden moves and follow all of their commands. We are not in any danger, these are the Haven Wardens. It seems that we are to have an audience with the Vetter.”

  “The who?” Talia asked.

  “Leonard Vetter, the man who runs Haven.”

  “What does he want with us?”

  “That is the question of the night.”

  They followed the Wardens through the winding corridors of Haven. With the Wardens leading the way, they made record time transitioning the whole of the station until they reached the very uppermost level of Haven. The Wardens stopped at the doorway and gestured with their blasters.

  The two stepped through the door and was greeted with a spectacular sight. The room was large; oval shaped and full of the necessary electronic equipment needed to run a station the size of Haven but that wasn’t what caught their attention. The roof of the room was transparent which revealed the entire solar system. It was breathtaking.

  After a moment, they wrenched their eyes away from the heavens to see that they were being watched by the lone person on the bridge; with a single clap of his hands, the roof shifted slowly to opaque and the lights in the room came back on to reveal their host, Leonard Vetter.

  He was obviously human, stocky but not fat with a strong square jaw line and slightly graying hair and the classic five o’clock shadow. His smile seemed genuine when he said, “Welcome…welcome. Come in…come in.”

  Talia glanced at Iaido and tried to guess what he was thinking but she was unable to glean one iota of information from his face. But as he started to move forward, she watched him scan the area looking for threats. She copied his movements but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. There were only the three of them and only one door. Therefore, no threats.

  Iaido took several steps into the room and stopped about five paces away from their host. Keeping his hands away from his weapons he said, “Greetings Master Vetter. It is an honor to finally meet you.”

  “Iaido Achilles Spartan and Talia Stargleam, welcome to Haven.”

  Talia remembered her manners and curtsi
ed but remained silent.

  “You may be wondering why I asked you to join me.”

  Iaido said, “The question had crossed my mind.”

  “It seems that you two have made some enemies back on Earth.”

  Vetter moved over to a nearby console and punched a few buttons. The vid-displays popped up with a WANTED poster bearing the caption, Dead or Alive. Iaido’s image and statics were on it with the reward of one million credits. The poster also had listed as a known accomplice Talia Stargleam with the warning: ‘BEWARE EXPERT SHARPSHOOTER’.

  Iaido casually shifted his stance. “I hope you don’t intend on trying to collect on that bounty because if any of the gun turrets in this room open up, you will be dead before they are fully deployed.”

  Vetter looked shocked for a second before he regained his control and shook his head. “No. Not at all. I brought you here to warn you and offer my assistance. Anything that pisses off the Coalition this much is a bonus for me.”

  Iaido relaxed slightly and Talia let out a breath that she didn’t even realize she was holding until that moment.

  Vetter continued. “I’ve had my Wardens block the full scale broadcast of this poster but we can’t be sure that it hasn’t gotten out to the general public. And you realize that if someone tries to claim the bounty, we will not be able to stop them?”

  Iaido nodded his head. “I understand. Even though you are not interested in the bounty, you cannot jeopardize your trade agreements with Earth over this incident. Correct?”

  Vetter grinned. “It’s such a pleasure doing business with a true professional. If you get through this alive, come see me. I’ll have some work for you.”

  Realizing their audience was at an end, Iaido began to back out taking Talia with him. As they reached the door he said, “Remember the Alamo.”

  Vetter looked up from his console and the surprise on his face was obvious.

  The door slid shut and the couple found themselves alone in the corridor. Iaido turned around and began to retrace their steps to the lower areas of the station.

  Talia was the first to break the silence. “Remember the Alamo?” She cocked her head to the side and asked, “Why would you say that to him?”

  “The Alamo was originally a small church where seventy Texans held off the whole of the Mexican army during the War of 1812. It became a byword for being outnumbered but clinging to your beliefs. It was also the name of the first starship to defect from the Coalition Fleet. It was hunted down and destroyed but not before taking three other ships with it. During the Galactic Civil War, the confederacy used both legends of the Alamo to help build morale.”

  “Are you suggesting that he was a Confederate?”

  “Aye, I know he was. I’ve done my background on him and know his history. And now he knows that I know.”

  Talia shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Vetter called us up here for two reasons; one - to warn us and two – as a display of power. By me saying three simple words, I have shown him that I know more about him than he believed possible.”

  “But why?”

  “On Earth we have a game known as chess. It has been around since the Dark Ages and it was once called the game of kings because it taught the royals to look ahead and move their pieces strategically. Both Vetter’s and my moves will only come to fruition later down the road.”

  Talia just shook her head and silently followed the strange bounty hunter who was both her guardian and companion. There seemed to be so much more to learn about these Terrans than was ever hinted at during her time in the Seminary. She just hoped that she would have enough time to fully understand the Terran race before her mission was complete.

  CHAPTER 18

  Iaido paused at an information terminal to locate his destination.

  Although he had been to Haven many times, the station was so large that he had never visited every shop. The retrofitted starbase was broken down into six major sections. The operations section at the very ‘top’ of the station was considered off limits to non-essential personnel, while the lowest sections consisted primarily of storage and uninhabitable areas. The space docks took up most of the outer region, which left one area for the market and the remaining two for living quarters.

  The info terminal directed him to the ‘Louisville Deck’ – which was level twenty-two of the Market section. Every level was named for a city, modern, ancient or otherwise. Since Haven had a multi-cultural population, sometimes the names were odd. Supposedly helped the inhabitants recall their roots and made it easier for many to find their way around. Iaido always found it trivial and frustrating but since he couldn’t change it, he just accepted it.

  Locating his destination, Iaido paused to study his surroundings before entering.

  It was a trinket shop and seemed to be filled with knick-knacks from all over the galaxy. Several baskets of rugs and a stuffed long-toothed cat adorned the storefront with only one aisle way visible and seemed to wind through the store. The traffic on this level was less than they had encountered earlier but there was still a steady flow of people moving about. Iaido leaned against the opposite wall and calmly waited.

  Talia looked around. “What are we waiting for?”

  “Patience. Just because that is our destination, that doesn’t mean I am going to rush in without a proper recon.”

  “Recon?”

  Iaido rolled his eyes and took a calming breath. “It’s a military term for reconnaissance.” He nodded at the store. “We have no idea what’s in there but by watching traffic patterns we can learn a lot. For example, since we have arrived approximately one-hundred and seventy-five people have passed the shop but no one has entered. Furthermore, both stores to either side have had steady traffic. What does that tell you?”

  “I don’t know.” Talia shrugged and brushed a stray lock of her silver hair behind her ears.

  “Either the store owner Ishmael or the merchandise he sells isn’t popular with the locals.”

  Talia pulled out her tarot deck and began to shuffle them. Iaido realized that it was a nervous habit she had and said nothing about it as he continued to watch for ten more minutes without anyone entering or exiting the store. Pushing himself from the wall, they moved across the pedestrian traffic and stepped inside.

  If walking into the Sylvan Embassy in New Atlanta was like stepping back in time, then entering this shop was like entering a nineteenth century museum crossed with a vaudeville magic store and there is no other way to describe the place other than cluttered. There were knick-knacks piled on top of boxes which were stacked next to piles of junk. Iaido didn’t even recognize most of the trinkets in the store. An ornamental stone sarcophagus stood on a pedestal and seemed to serve the purpose of the main counter since it was the only uncluttered surface. A ledger book and a silver bell sat on its top next to the sign ‘ring for service’.

  As they stepped up to the counter, Talia rang the bell.

  Moving quietly for someone his size, Ishmael stepped out from the back room to stand behind the sarcophagus and studied his two customers.

  Few things in life seemed to catch Iaido off guard. Maybe it was his training but when the lizard-like Lemurian stepped out, Iaido’s first instinct was to draw his blade. Reining in his combat urges, Iaido studied the storekeeper.

  At first glance it was obvious that somewhere far back on the evolutionary ladder the Lemurians were related to crocodiles or alligators of ancient earth. Imagine an alligator’s rear legs elongated enough to allow the reptile to stand erect at nearly seven foot; while the front legs lengthened enough to use as arms. Both hands and feet sported three inch long claws, yet the dexterity of the race could not be discounted. This Lemurian’s hide was a reddish-brown with a black crest running the length of his back. His eyes were slightly elevated like those of a crocodile’s and when he blinked, a second eyelid closed sideways proving that his ancestors spent many hours underwater. His left eye was cloudy and judging from an
old scar that ran the length of his snout, Ishmael had seen the horrors of war up close and personal. He was dressed in a simple dark brown robe and calmly watched his two customers.

  After several minutes, Iaido placed both hands together and bowed but never took his eyes off of the Lemurian. “I am Iaido Spartan.”

  “Greetingzz earthling… they call me Izzhmael.” His voice was dry and whispery. His long tongue, like that of a snake, flickered in and out as he talked.

  Iaido pulled out the scroll. “My master asked me to bring you this.”

  Ishmael gently took the offered object and bowed his head. “I izz zzorry for your lozzzz.”

  Iaido cocked his head slightly. “How can you know of the Sensei’s death?”

  Ishmael slowly unrolled the scroll and scanned the document. “There izz much I know and much I do not know but if you have this zzcroll then Kenzzai izz dead.”

  The hissing on certain words threw Iaido for a moment. His long snake-like tongue which flicked in and out when he talked was also distracting but it was the reference to his master as Kensai or sword-saint which caught him off guard. Before he could ask more, the Lemurian rerolled the scroll and passed it back to him.

  “Thizz izz for you. It izz hizz lazzt will and tezztement.”

  Iaido unrolled the scroll and scanned it. Ishmael was right; it was his master’s will. “Then why was I instructed to bring it to you?”

  The Lemurian reached down and pulled open the sarcophagus. Talia and Iaido could hear the clanking of items being moved around before Ishmael pulled out a bundle of black cloth. Closing the lid, Ishmael set down the bundle and stepped back. “Thizz izz for you. It izz to be your legacy.”

  Curious and confused, Iaido reached out. The moment his hand touched the bundle, his heart skipped a beat. Could it be? As the black wrapping fell away and the light fell across the ancient blade, Iaido couldn’t help but gasp at the sight. “Do you know what this is?”

  “Yezz. It izz the Zzword of the Elementzz, uzzed by the firzzt Kenzzai to bring harmony to hizz land.”