by Hao Yang
“Are you in charge?” Mark said impatiently.
“If you don’t have a gun, I am in charge.” The short kid said as he flashed his rifle.
“Pennington is expecting me.”
“And you are?’
“Tell him. His old buddy from special force 23rd division.” Mark said coldly.
“Hold on.” The short kid said and then ran inside.
After about 10 minutes, a small door near the big gate opened and Pennington crippled out of the door. He looked around 50 and had a large build, a bald head and a square face with thin eyes and thick lips. Mark and Pennington hugged each other.
“It’s been a while, my man.” Pennington said happily as he patted Mark’s shoulder.
“About five years.”
“How are you doing?”
“As you can see, I am here.” Mark smiled.
“Good man. Good.” Pennington said emotionally.
“What happened to your leg?”
“I will tell you later. Now it is the time for a drink.” Pennington said happily. They walked through the door, got on a convertible jeep and drove further into the slum. After passing through several big gates, they stopped at a battered three-floor building.
“Come on. I want you to meet someone.” Pennington said.
“Sounds like someone I knew.”
“Oh, yea!”
They got off the jeep, walked into the building and went directly to the basement. It looked like any other basements. But after they walked through a hidden door, they entered the underground tunnels. There were molds and rust everywhere. Some of the steels were hanging down as if they would fall at any time. They walked about five minutes and arrived at a small bunker.
“Look, who is here?” Pennington shouted as he stepped into the bunker, followed by Mark.
“Oh, Mark, this is a surprise.” A middle aged man said as he stood up from a wooden chair.
“Colonel!” Mark said in surprise. The man standing in front of him used to be his commander. His name was Salmon. He had a large and overweight body, a round face with dark green eyes and a goatee.
“Man, I am not gonna lie. You look like shit.” Salmon said directly.
Mark nodded reluctantly.
“Take a seat. Sit down.” Salmon said as he pointed at a chair next to him.
Mark sat next to Salmon.
“So, Pennington told me that you were looking for a job. Yes?”
“Yea.”
“What happened to the mine job? You work there for like two or three years something?.”
“About three years. I was laid off. You know the economy was bad these days.” Mark said in embarrassment.
“Tell me about it. Even this business is getting rough.” Salmon sighed.
“What about yourself? I thought you got an office job in the government. That is everyone’s dream.”
“Well, you know me. Say whatever I want. It got me into a fight with some guy whose father was a big name. I was lucky, at least I didn’t go to jail.” Salmon said easily.
“Was it a good fight?” Mark chuckled.
“Oh, yea, I beat the piss out of him.”
They all laughed loudly.
Salmon then talked about the daily life of a gunman, including patrolling the territory, guarding the drug factory, protecting important people and killing opponents from time to time.
Mark also learned something about the drug business. When Salmon said the business was getting rough, he wasn’t joking. More and more locals were getting into this business and as the margin became smaller, eliminating competitors became one important means to stay in the market. There were also other threats. These days they sold half of drugs to other species including both first and second class species. Since drug dealers didn’t have spacecraft, other species came to Earth to do business and half of the deals went wrong. Some species just didn’t want to pay. The Human government was also a problem. The government wanted to make money from drugs as well, needless to say the big pharmaceutical companies who backed up the government for clearing the illegal drug manufacture. As a result, the government took the drug problem more seriously than before. In their eyes, the drug dealers were leeches sucking money out of their pockets.
Later Mark left Salmon and went to the bedroom. It was a smelly and dim basement cramped with some 20 beds. Other gunmen looked at him coldly and didn’t even bother to say hello. Mark put his only bag on the thin mattress dotted with blood spots. He felt it would be his bed for the rest of his life.
Chapter 53
In the night following the second round game, Jason and Gloria met in the library.
“Are you alright?” Gloria asked as they hugged each other.
“Yea, I am fine. Look.” Jason said and put up a gun show, flashing his arms.
Gloria laughed.
“You watched the game?”
“Yes, of course. That was a smart move.” Gloria said in an admiring tone.
“Well, only works one time.” Jason chuckled.
“Jason, I am quite sure General Klizan is after you. He wouldn’t stop until you are dead.” Gloria said seriously.
“I know. But there is nothing I can do. But let’s see the good side. The way he tried to kill me in the game proved that he didn’t plan to kill me in plain sight.” Jason said happily.
“You can always see the good side, can’t you?” Gloria grinned.
“From time to time.” Jason smiled.
They held each other’s hand and sat side by side near a table.
“Maybe I can hide in one of planets.” Jason said slowly.
“I will go with you.” Gloria said without hesitation.
“What about your family?” Jason asked.
“I have found someone more important.” Gloria said slowly as she put her head on Jason’s shoulder.
Jason looked at Gloria into her eyes. Then he lowered his head and kissed Gloria on her lips. It was soft and smooth. Jason felt a warm current running through his body. Gloria quickly kissed him back passionately. She felt her whole body was electrified. Time stood still. After a long while, they stopped to catch their breath.
“That was great!” Gloria said excitedly, her face still flushing red.
“I love it!” Jason said happily.
“I love it, too.” Gloria smiled.
They kissed again. This time was even longer. They stopped when they were both tired.
“Have you ever thought about the future?” Gloria asked.
Jason knew what she meant. He tried not to think about this kind of thing, but it was like a splinter in his mind. He sighed and said, “I don’t know.”
“We can leave this place. There are so many planets out there. We can pick one and live there forever.” Gloria said hastily.
“Do you know the story of Logan and Lilisa?”
Gloria nodded and said, “She was from family L. If she couldn’t make it work, nobody could.”
“I see. It pretty much means we don’t even stand a chance.” Jason said in a low tone.
Gloria felt bad about bringing this up. She looked at Jason and asked, “What are you going to do with your life?”
“Before I met you, I planned to graduate from the training center and get an officer job in Guardian Fleet. I always thought I was up to something big, something important to Human or even to the whole universe.”
“And after you met me?”
“Now I want to fulfill my girl’s dream. That is my life.” Jason said firmly.
“Am I the girl?”
“No, you are not.” Jason tried to sound serious, but it didn’t work.
“Oh, really?” Gloria knew Jason was teasing her. She sat on his laps and gave him a big kiss.
“I can kiss you all day.” Jason said.
“I guess we just need to find a day. Oh, you know what, the semester break is coming.” Gloria said excitedly.
“Ah, yes.”
“We can go somewhere.”
“Ah...”
“What?”
“I am thinking where we can go. A Human and a Glycan.” Jason said hesitatingly.
“I can use some disguise then nobody could tell I am a Glycan.” Gloria said easily.
“Sure, that will work and we can have sex, I suppose.” Jason said carefully.
“What is sex? Like what they did in the movie?” Gloria asked innocently.
“Ah…It was the reproduction of Human being.” Jason finally came to this answer after searching every corner of his brain.
“Oh, I see. So if we tried that, I will be pregnant?”
“I actually don’t know. I...I...really don’t know.” Jason said nervously.
“Alright. Why not?”
“How Glycans have sex?” Jason asked shyly.
“It was the fusion of crystals.”
“How it works?”
Gloria thought for several seconds and asked, “Are you sure you want to know?”
“No.” Jason shook his head.
Later, they decided to go to planet Tjeit, a resort planet that was opened to both first and second class species. Needless to say, Tjeit was not on the list of beautiful planets and it was a far cry from those fantastic planets available only to the first class species, but they had to find a place where Jason could go.
Chapter 54
The operation committee of Guardian Fleet had routine meetings every two weeks. The main topic of several recent meetings had been surrounding the construction of new combat vessels for Guardian Fleet. The UG senior council would decide whether to build new vessels or not. But the operation committee did need to come up with a proposal. So there they were, all nine generals sat near a round table in a conference room.
“Given the fact that the newest ships in the fleet is two decades old, we really need to build new ships.” Estian General Geijoa said seriously.
“I absolutely agree.” Oireitan General Ru aihotr said as he pulled up a diagram which showed the current vessels in the fleet.
“As you can see, half of the vessels were out of date and a fourth of them was due for main overhaul. The weapon systems on all vessels needs to be updated as well.” General Ru aihotr said.
“It seemed they still can carry their duties!” Yaseen General Ihiet said in a relaxed tone.
“There is a difference between doing the job and performing well.” Uainanese General T-Regae said.
“I didn’t really see a big difference.” Ajiese general Tieutin said easily.
“Because we didn’t send out our ships. For the past nine months, we only did 12 missions and that included some token ones.” General Ru aihotr said.
“You are the one who always vote against sending out ships.” Lysisese General Maitheiteitine chuckled.
“Because I don’t want to embarrass ourselves. Look at our ships, some of them are worse than those used by second class species.” General Ru aihotr said angrily.
“I don’t see any embarrassment. As we all know the vessels are more like a symbol, right?” Itinese General Aeit said.
“Absolutely!” General Maitheiteitine said firmly.
“General A R Ire, what do you think?” General Aeit turned to Diilre General A R Ire.
General A R Ire was polishing his long nails. He didn’t even look up and said, “Well, you guys know me.” It was Diilre’s policies to show no preference.
The discussion continued and Generals from Estian, Oireitan and Uainanese were still trying to convince others. Kalan knew this meeting would end up with the same result just like the last one. General Klizan had told him to vote against building new vessels. Kalan knew it was all about money. Estian, Oireitan and Uainanese were vigorously supporting building new ships because of their robust economies. But other species had been struggling to make ends meet.
Later, the meeting ended up with the result Kalan expected. He was upset that he couldn’t have more say in the meeting. No money, no talk. That was the rule.
Right now, he was heading to the medical complex in the Glycan living zone. He heard from Neiteo, the deputy chief of Seventh fleet, that his son Nissen was injured in the training center, so he decided to take a look.
When Kalan walked into the ward, Nissen was asleep and Kalan saw Klaycon was sitting next to Nissen. He walked to Klaycon and asked, “How Nissen got injured?”
Klaycon saluted Kalan and said, “He had an accident.”
“Klaycon, I can tell you are hiding something. Don’t waste my time.” Kalan said unhappily.
“Alright.” Klaycon told his father how they fought with Jason and what happened to Nissen.
Kalan completely forgot about Jason. He remembered when Jason was delivered to planet Agirue, he lost a lot of blood and was nearly dead. But after all these, he was still alive. Then he realized that Jason might have something to do with the Oracle, because he and the oracle was on the same vessel Mark drove away.
“Four of you didn’t kill him?” Kalan asked in surprise.
“Yea, but next time, we will.” Klaycon said confidently.
“There is no next time for your guys. You understand?” Kalan said impatiently.
“Why?”
“There is no why. It is an order!” Kalan said firmly. He didn’t want Klaycon to destroy a potential lead to the Oracle.
“Do you understand?” Kalan asked with a straight face.
“Yes, General.” Klaycon sounded like a lamb, lowering his head on the chest.
“Why do you want to kill him?”
“I just want to finish the job I started.” Klaycon said. He knew he couldn’t tell his father the emotional drive he had.
“I see. You did bring that Human to Sylareon. Now let me worry about this. You understand?”
“Yes.”
Kalan left Klaycon and rushed to his office in the guardian fleet. He had a gut feeling that this Human boy Jason would lead him to the oracle.
Chapter 55
Normally trainees were free after seven and they had one day off every week. But Jason didn’t have that much free time. He had to clean toilets everyday. After he finished the dinner, he came to restroom and picked up his tools like usual. Just at this moment, two Wurqans stepped in the restroom. They had dark red skin and long arms. Jason couldn’t recall their names but he remembered seeing them in the classes from time to time. One of them walked around as if he was picking the best toilet to use. He whispered something to his watch. Then two Sityeuens rushed into the restroom.
“In a hurry, huh?” Jason joked. He knew one of the Sityeuens. Dreon was the leader of a team Jason defeated in the second round. All Sityeuens didn’t have nose but only two small button like holes and they didn’t have eyelids.
“This is not personal.” Dreon said calmly.
They slowly surrounded Jason. Dreon was facing Jason’s front. Another Sityeuen went behind Jason’s back and one Wurqan was standing on Jason’s each side.
Jason dashed forward and kicked Dreon on his chest. Dreon slumped on the floor. Before Jason could kick him again, two Wurqans grasped his shoulders from each side and the Sityeuen grabbed his waist. But the two Wurqans couldn’t match Jason’s strength and Jason grabbed their hair.
“Ah, aaaaaah.”
“Aaaaaaaah” Two Wurqans screamed as Jason pulled their hair. One of them lost the grab and Jason knocked him down with his knee. He then punched the other Wurqan to unconscious.
Dreon just stood up and he saw Jason throwing the Sityeuen at a wall. He had no idea Jason was this strong. Jason came to Dreon, caught his neck and lifted his body from the floor. Even though Dreon was punching Jason’s face, Jason didn’t let it go. Very soon, Dreon lost steam, his arms dangling aside. Jason watched others running toward him and shouted, “One more step, I will kill him!”
The other three guys stopped immediately.
Jason put Dreon on the ground, but still clenched his neck. He grasped Dreon’s right forearm with his right hand and stretched it far from Dreon’s body.
“This is what you will get, if you mess with me!” Jason said angrily as he squeezed it hard.
“Clank.” Dreon right forearm broke in half. A piece of bone stuck out of the bloody skin.
“Aaaaaaaah. Aaaaaah” Dreon screamed desperately.
The other three was shocked, their eyes bulging out, their face twisted.
Jason moved his hand to Dreon’s other arm and said, “Well, Dreon, I want you listen to me carefully.”
“Yes, yes, yes. I am listening.” Dreon shouted, his eyes filled with tears.
“If you bother me again, you will lose this one as well.” Jason said calmly.
“Yes. Yes. I...I...I...I understand.” Dreon stammered.
“Anyone else?” Jason shouted as he looked around at others.
No one made a sound. They all casted their eyes on the floor.
“Very well.” Jason said easily as he dropped Dreon.
The other three guys slowly moved to Dreon and picked him up from the ground. They carried Dreon on their shoulders, heading to the door.
Jason watched them leaving the restroom with a big smile on his face.
Chapter 56
It was midnight, quiet and dark. General Kalan carefully made his way to the weapon depot for second class species. It took Kalan a while to find Jason’s armor suit. He knew Jason would wear this armor suit very soon for the final of the ball game. He took out a small container and opened it cautiously. A one centimeter long spider like tracer slowly crawled out of the container and crawled into the armor suit. Kalan knew as soon as Jason got into this armor suit, the spider would get into his body and Jason would never know it.
The next morning, Jason and his teammates were waiting for their armor suits at the shooting range.
“I heard you broke someone’s arm.” Sayilin said
“Everyone knew that already?” Jason asked in surprise.
“You are famous!” Sayilin said in a joking voice.
“Of course I am famous. Who else is cleaning toilets these days?” Jason said easily.
His teammates laughed.
“So it is true you broke Dreon’s arm.” Idi said in a doubting voice.