Galactic - Ten Book Space Opera Sci-Fi Boxset

by Colin F. Barnes

  “What in hades was that?” Selena asked from a corner.

  She had watched the whole thing and was just as surprised as her mother.

  “That, ladies, is my new face. I would like to take you somewhere and get you each one for your own uses. Don't worry I know the man who makes them. He is to be trusted and would take care of you if anything were to happen to me.”

  “How can you be sure? You had friends betray you before.” Ariel said trying to not sound too harsh.

  “This man is blood and family…my own father, and as I said to be trusted.” Kyro answered.

  “Now gather what you may need for a few days. I'm not sure if you are safe here anymore. You may need to hide for a while at the very least move about with new faces.”

  Even though they didn’t want to hide, to live life in the shadows, the women understood why they had to until the situation was done, and since they would be hiding with the bounty hunter's family they hoped to be doubly safe.

  Ariel and Selena quickly gathered clothing and other things they may need for an extended stay away from home. Ariel never thought she would be this close to Kyro again, but here he was. She hoped more could come from this but she had to remind herself this was no time to have her mind wandering.

  Once they were packed and ready, Kyro put his new face back on, donning the persona of a courier delivering whatever was in a small box that Ariel handed him to make the disguise more real, they set off. The women packed their things into laundry baskets to appear to be delivering clean clothes. Kyro followed a few feet behind and to the left of them. He didn't want to be seen together but wouldn't risk being too far away. Once they were safely inside his father's compound he could breathe more easily. The walk to Kaleb’s door seemed like an eternity but was really only a half an hour journey. Kaleb Kalil welcomed them warmly. Ariel had spoken to the old man and few times over the years but never could bring herself to share the fact that Selena was born. She felt so ashamed at how she let Deris corrupt her mind against Kyro. It would forever be her greatest mistake in life. Kaleb was over joyed when Kyro introduced Selena as his daughter. Kyro’s mother, Helen, nearly collapsed. She too thought how much Selena looked like Kyro’s aunt. Life was good for a few moments but they had to get serious. Deris had the whole city looking for Kyro and now he was probably looking for the two women as well. Kyro hoped they had a little while longer to get themselves together before what was to come.

  ***

  Outside Ariel’s small home men began to gather. Deris put the word out on the streets to bring Selena to him whatever it took. Beat her, kill her mother, burn the house down…literally anything to capture the girl. Deris was approached by a gambler who needed coin to supply his habit. He sold out Selena and Kyro to Deris. He couldn't attest to what they spoke of but he was from the time when Kyro was a son of the streets and the man recognized the giant man. After hearing of them leaving to the alley to talk, Deris knew that Selena tried to play him. He wouldn't let that stand, so the men gathered some with torches while others stood ready with clubs. They paced around waiting for a signal to begin.

  Deris himself shot his blaster into the evening air signaling the attack on the women, that they assumed were inside. Like a group of hungry beasts, the thugs began beating their way into the house. They swarmed over the small home like a plague of insects, it didn't take long to find out that the women were gone. Deris was fuming. How the hell did they know he was coming? He allowed the group of hooligans to practically dismantle the entire home. People carried off all sorts of items into the night. One man even strode by with Ariel’s prize wool rug over his shoulder and if Deris would've been paying attention he would've noticed a square cut from the corner.

  ***

  Cane waited patiently, he knew eventually Kyro would come home to see his family. The want to see his kin once more would outweigh the need to stay hidden. Cane wore his own disguise of sorts a wide brimmed hat the farmers wore covered his face and bruised neck nicely. Just when he thought the plan ridiculous, he saw a man that stood out like a sore thumb. The same huge blond man from the boarding house. The one who helped pry the door open to Kyro’s room. Here he was walking behind what looked like Kyro’s ex-wife and a beautiful girl the color of night. The sheriff nearly choked on a mouth full of chew weed. This big bastard had to be involved somehow, had to be Kalil’s partner or something. Sure enough the group went to Kaleb Kalil’s door and were let in. Cane had to get closer, to uncover what was going on. He crept to a side window and looked in. He nearly cried out when he saw the group being embraced by Kyro’s parents. Whatever this was Cane was determined to find out. No man laid hands on him and just got away with the act. The sheriff then thought of the most wonderful idea, maybe he could bring Deris over and let him take care of business then turn around and arrest Deris for the obvious murders. Yes, it could all work out and maybe Cane could convince the authorities that Kyro had already received payment, so the ten-thousand Zen could also come his way. By the gods he was loving how it was falling into place. Cane thought he could make it all workout in his favor. In one night he could become the hero of Sentos, get rich and take care of two of his enemies all at once. He smiled and jogged back down the alley going towards old town and the gambling house. There he would notify Deris and set it all in motion. Then he could kick back with a drink and watch it all unfold.

  ***

  Kaleb and Helen couldn't be happier to see their son but were completely overjoyed to see Selena. They had forgiven Ariel years ago, believing that life was not made for grudges. Helen was always a kind women and it showed in her treatment of Kyro’s ex-wife. She also believed it was fate for her son Kyro to leave Sentos because it made him a greater man. Now they were all together and she made a simple dinner to share as family. Helen wasn’t a simpleton she understood the gravity of the situation. She knew this would more than likely be the one and only time their entire family would dine together. Helen couldn’t let that ruin the time she had, grieving was for later, at the moment she was happy to talk and laugh over the meal she quickly made. Kyro knew that they didn't have much time but being in the same mindset as his mother he took these few moments knowing full well he probably would never have time like this again. Ariel helped make plates of bread, cheese and fruit to pass around. She hadn't experienced hospitality like this since her grandfather was alive and he had been gone nearly six years now. Ariel put her hand in her pocket and rubbed the piece of wool rug she brought with them. She smiled and could hear Guise say she was channeling the ancestors. The moment was almost too good. Kaleb was afraid of the darkness to come but nothing could completely spoil the meal and company he was enjoying. He forced himself not to think on what was coming their way. The elder Kalil was too wise to think that Deris wouldn't find out somehow about his guests. He was old enough to know to revel in the good times while they lasted, and so for a while her did just that.

  ***

  Cane couldn't wait to see Deris face when he showed up at the gambling house. He just hoped he could get a word out before being attacked. If he was shanked by the captains before making his intentions clear, or fake intentions that is, it would all go to shit. No, he couldn’t spoil this opportunity for revenge, fame and more importantly cold hard coin. The sheriff declared himself immediately to the young men shooting dice out front. He too knew them as Deris’s captains from the many times he held them in jail for various crimes. The captains stopped rolling dice as Cane approached with his hands raised.

  “Not here to fight boys. I have a proposition for your boss that he may want to hear.”

  One man of maybe twenty-five smiled and ashed a cigar into the wind. The particles flew into Canes face but he tried to seem like he didn't notice.

  “Ok sheriff, wait here and we will tell the boss. If he's interested, you will know.” the cigar smoker said.

  Cane nodded his consent, what else could be done? He preferred to walk in straight to the office and bust the door
in like a man but he knew he really had no authority here. For a second he wondered why he came here and why he decided to join forces with a man that only days before he paid to have killed. Cane was almost second guessing the whole thing, but then remembered how nice life would be with ten thousand Zen laying around. Yes…it would be worth it, especially after he double crossed the jerk he was currently waiting to hear from. After these two brutes took care of each other he would swoop in as the hero and finally do away with Deris too. The rich folk of the city would name him Sir Cane and give him a special day. His mind was really running wild now. Cane shook his brain back into focus, first things first. He had to get Deris to cooperate with him, then and only then could he begin to dream. If the thug king didn't help he may not be able to pull any of it off. Out the door of the gambling house came Deris Fel. He motioned two of his men over and they quickly patted Cane down. He showed Deris his side arm and asked, “A man such as myself, of my station, would seem strange to walk unarmed wouldn't he?”

  “Yes, of course.” Deris replied. “I figured you would have at least one blaster. No, I was looking for com devices…like the one that sneaky bitch probably snuck into the meeting I had with her.”

  Cane smiled, he could work with this somehow and bend the situation to his needs like he planned. He then told Deris of what he had witnessed at Kaleb Kalil’s compound across town. Deris agreed to take the home of Kaleb and to kill Kyro and anyone he deemed not to live. He only wanted to gather the full force of the Sentos streets to his side. The conversation ended with a shaky truce to not intentionally hurt each other in the process…naturally neither of the men meant to keep their promise.

  Deris was excited to get the news he had waited for, finally Kyro Kalil would be dead and he could stop looking over his shoulder every damn second. He never feared any man the way he did this one, it went beyond being afraid, it was more a respect of knowing what Kyro was capable of. Hi gut told him that maybe he should have been a better friend instead of an enemy and none of this would be happening. No more of that, no use in thinking that way, war is coming. What was done was something that couldn’t be changed…they were now enemies, that was for sure. Deris smoked a cigar while watching the stars and looked upon the rings of Sentos that circled the planet. He wondered if he would be gazing at the same sight in a few days. He sipped his brandy and sighed, thoughts like that had been plaguing him since he caught word of Kyro’s return.

  ***

  The bounty hunter had an itch on his skin and nervous flips in the pit of his stomach. He could feel that something would happen soon, possibly that very night. Kyro couldn’t believe how he, the great bounty hunter, was holed up. He was the hunted, what a shitty turn of events. He simply meant to land, scope the place out and go blast Deris Fel into the dust…but here he was. Complications never were his thing maybe that's why he left so easily to begin with but here he was with Ariel and Selena. God’s sake him, he had even brought his parents into it. What in hades did he think he was doing? How could he endanger the handful of people he actually cared for, and to have it known that the great hunter was hiding with his mom and dad. His credibility was going to take a major beating from this. No, this wouldn't do. He couldn't have an army of criminals descend on his parent’s home. They would wreck all his father ever worked for. The compound that they lived in had been in their family since his great, great- grandparents came from a destroyed Earth. Kyro knew he had to think carefully but he couldn’t put these people at risk. This was not him…to hide and wait. He was the one who hunted not the other way around. To sit there and allow Deris to come into the family home and trash what was proudly built, or worse, to kill someone he loved…he couldn’t abide any of that. It was time to do what he was famous for, to hunt. He wouldn't wait for a fight to come to him he would take it to Deris and shove it down his throat. Kyro began to plot, this would be the most important hunt of his career, of his life and he could not fail. Slipping into Kaleb’s workshop wasn’t easy for such a big man but Kyro could sneak better than people half his size. Quickly, he made a few new faces of various types, knowing he may have a need for them. He methodically cleaned his blaster, it had been weeks since he held it in his hand and it felt just right.

  When Kyro arrived back on Sentos he was his usual over confident, cocky self…a wolf, but somewhere in a few days he’d become a rabbit hiding in a hole, he didn't like that. Kyro understood it was from realizing that he was a father and from the need to protect Selena but he was doing her no good being this mouse in a hole. He was a man, a bounty hunter, and a killer, having no fear of any situation and taking control was his strength while doing his job. So that's what he would be again. No more hiding he was going to finish this.

  Chapter Five

  Cane became too comfortable the more he thought on his brilliant plans. The man became so comfortable he even decided to go back to Kaleb’s house to check in, again wearing his ludicrous wide brimmed hat. He snuck across a side street and up to the Kalil residence. He pushed the hat back on his head and peered through the window pane and into the house. This worked well the evening before when the house was booming with the excitement of Kyro’s arrival with Ariel and Selena, now in broad daylight, it was less of a good idea. People walking to the market watched him, vendors setting up their stalls took notice. Who was this man spying through their friend’s windows? Cane was completely oblivious to the crowd of people who were watching his every move, and once his giant hat slipped from his head the people in the street were even more curious as to why the sheriff was looking in someone’s house like this. After way too long Cane finally noticed a gathering of neighbors whispering and gesturing at him.

  “Oh, hell! Damn it!” he muttered as he quickly jogged up the block to get away from the staring.

  Surely they would just assume he was doing police work and nothing more, he hoped. Cane learned nothing new from this…other than spying is not his forte after all.

  By the time word reached Kaleb from one of his neighbors about the sheriff being way too nosey he was already in a panic. Kyro had vanished sometime that morning, leaving him to wonder what would happen next. The father in Kaleb was fuming over his son sneaking away to finish the fight alone. However, the man in Kaleb had nothing but respect for the man Kyro had become. His son didn't want any of them to get hurt, and that was very heartwarming but also frustrating. He hated to think of the fight Kyro was walking into, he chose to go at it alone…to spare them. Kaleb was desperate to find a way to help but he was unsure what was best. He didn’t want Kyro to be alone but he knew that he may be a hindrance at his age. Kaleb was getting up in years, being seventy-six in Sentos, especially not being in the upper caste of society, was nearly unheard of. Perhaps he should just go and find his son, he thought, he would die a hero now, it would mean more than going to sleep and never waking up, or having his lungs riddled with tumors. He looked to himself in a mirror, he held up his fists, they trembled with age. He felt helpless for a moment before his racing mind fumbled over an idea, perhaps there was other ways to help Kyro…

  ***

  Selena tried on her new face and was surprised at how seamlessly it fit to her skin. The matrixing blurred her skin tone to one of a softer shade of brown. Her hair appeared smooth and hung to her waist shining with a reddish hue. The transformation was shocking; one would never have thought that this was Selena standing in front of Helen’s mirror. Selena smiled then frowned because she knew her father had left to finish the fight with Deris. The thoughts of Kyro waking into that snakes den alone made her frustrated, and after Kaleb had reported that the sheriff was seen spying through the windows, she had no doubt that her father was in a lot of trouble... not that he couldn't handle himself. Selena knew he was a famous man hunter, she knew he had been through all the star systems getting rid of countless bag guys of all different races and species. She just didn't like the idea of him going to fight Deris Fel, maybe it was because she knew how Fel operated. He had no
honor and would fight dirty without a second thought. To occupy her mind and release built-up stress, Selena began going through the exercises her grandfather taught her. They always helped to focus her mind, body and spirit. Amazingly her disguise held true and never slipped, she was hypnotized by the stranger in the mirror flowing through her regular exercise. If she could barely distinguish herself, others wouldn't see her coming at all. Selena was trained to fight, she had put her skills to the test a few times and now was ready for her biggest challenge of all.

  ***

  Kyro had taken a few new faces from his father's workshop. The one he wore at the moment was the visage of a Norosi, who were similar to the Slovi face he had worn already except for the hair. His new look came with a ponytail of bright orange. When he looked in a mirror his normally dark brown eyes were now a shining neon green, luckily for him these people were often seen trading in Sentos. He wasted no time and made his way to Deris’s side of town. Kyro headed for the gambling house, surely the bastard would be hiding there, gathering his forces, and resting up, knowing his old friend Deris would have drank Brandy the night before to calm any cowardice left twitching in him, with any hopes he and his men would be passed out, things were much easier when folks were sleeping. Kyro knew he couldn't be so lucky to have all of Deris men laid up. He also knew they would be cautious of any stranger, he just hoped his new face could get him close enough to blast a hole in the lord of the streets. The bounty hunter had equipped his blasters with silencing devices and prayed to take out as many men as he could before someone realized it was him in disguise. Going to the gambling house truly was just that, a gamble, the stakes would be collected of his flesh and blood, and he was damn sure the house would take all that it was owed. There was a possibility that Deris was hiding in one of his other holes throughout the city but something in the bounty hunter’s gut told him that wasn’t the case.