Humble Beginnings (Tri System's Edge Series Book 1)

by Ron Schrader

  With a newfound courage like she’d never known before, Kalla jumped over the cliff, dropping until she hit the opening of the cave. With relative ease, her hands grabbed hold of the bottom of the opening while her arms launched her up and into the cave.

  “Jarek?” she called out, the sound echoing against the rock. “I need your help.” She waited patiently until he quietly entered the room. “I need to get to my ship. Maybe those people up there can help me fix it.” She spoke with enthusiasm. “You know where my ship is. Can you take me there?”

  “It’s straight down and out in the field,” he replied with little emotion as he turned and walked back into the hallway, disappearing from view.

  “You won’t come with me?” she questioned, full of disappointment. She stood waiting for a response but received none. “Jarek!” she called out one last time. “I . . .” She paused briefly, not quite sure what to say. Although she was having a difficult time admitting it, along with the obvious connection she felt with him, she was beginning to have feelings for him too and hoped he’d want to come with her when she left Paradise. “I’ll try to hurry.” She said softly as she turned toward the opening and jumped over the side, free falling alongside the rock in large spurts, then grabbing onto the side to slow her decent until her feet connected with the moist ground of the valley floor. She brushed the dust from the rock wall off her hands and clothing, then turned to face the thick darkness of the fog.

  ~

  After several hours of unproductive searching, she still had been unable to locate her ship, and with the sun now setting, she had a decision to make. But as she walked through the darkness, she was fascinated by the unprecedented vision she had, along with the lack of fear and anxiety that any normal man or woman would feel in this place. In fact, to her surprise, she felt herself wanting to have a run-in with a Vie so she could extract her revenge for the crew she’d lost. And just as that thought passed through her mind, a screech pierced the darkness ahead of her, slowly getting louder as she began running faster toward the awful noise. Suddenly she could see the dark creature running toward her, knees slightly bent and using its overly long arms to propel itself forward. She could see rows of sharp teeth each time the beast screamed, along with its razor sharp claws slashing toward her in rhythm as it ran.

  As the creature came within reach, she slid between its legs. With her hands outstretched, she grabbed the Vie by the legs, slamming its body against the ground with ease. Quickly standing, she rushed over to the fallen predator, dagger in hand, and stabbed deep into the Vie’s skull, ending its miserable existence.

  “That’s for my crew—my friends.” The words slipped quietly out of her mouth as she wiped blood from the dagger across a patch of grass next to her, examining the thing that had been such a great threat to her just a few short days ago. Now she was the threat, and she loved the feeling of power she had at that moment. But just as she was ready to let her emotions take over, sending her out on a Vie killing spree, logic found its way back into her mind long enough to remind her of why she’d come down here to begin with—to fix her ship and get off this planet.

  Still not sure exactly where her ship was, she began to wander again, figuring she’d eventually find it, when a voice from behind startled her.

  “You’re ship is that way,” said Jarek, pointing to the right of where Kalla was headed.

  “I know,” she lied as she hid her blushing face from his view, happy he’d decided to come with her after all. “I’ve just been exploring down here,” she said unconvincingly.

  “How’d it feel?” came the follow-up response.

  “Feel?” questioned Kalla.

  “Yeah, how’d it feel to kill that Vie?” replied Jarek. Looking over at him to respond, she could see a faint look of hatred in his eyes, a look that sent a brief sensation of fear through her body.

  “It felt good,” she finally said with a minor tone of hesitancy. Not quite ready to explore this new emotion with Jarek here and now, Kalla quickly changed the subject. “So do you want to see my ship?” she said with a smile, then promptly turned and began running in the direction Jarek had pointed.

  Sprinting toward her ship, Kalla couldn’t help but scan the area around her and wish that somehow one of her crew might have survived, even while knowing that was impossible. A few minutes later, having covered several kilometers, Kalla now stood in front of her ship for the first time since she’d left it days earlier. She looked behind just in time to see Jarek appear from the fog, having decided to follow her after all.

  “I just need to get on top of the engine,” she said as Jarek approached. “I won this baby in a card game a few years back.” Her voice became a bit quieter before she continued. “Kinda cheated, but I guess I got what was coming to me.”

  Jarek let a laugh slip out. “You cheated, huh? Well, at least you’re honest enough to confess.” He chuckled.

  A little embarrassed that Jarek had caught that last part, Kalla smiled awkwardly, thinking to herself that she’d better learn to keep her mouth shut around him.

  “So you’re not the good girl I’d imagined, huh?” Jarek stood with his arms folded, looking proud for being so clever.

  “You’ve been ‘imagining’ me have you?” she asked, hoping to dish out some of the embarrassment he’d given her. Even with her heightened vision she barely noticed the faint blushing on his face, but it was enough to make her smile. She turned her head just enough to give Jarek a glimpse of her face as she continued. “And what exactly have you imagined about me?”

  Jarek squirmed as she laughed out loud and turned back toward her ship.

  “Can you give me a lift?” she finally asked, ready to get down to business.

  Apparently grateful for being let off the hook, Jarek grabbed Kalla by the hips and launched her into the air.

  She landed easily atop the ship, which was approximately ten meters high and twenty-five meters long—large enough to live on but still pretty small compared to most trade ships around.

  The ship was an older-model Diamond-Class vessel, deriving its name from the diamond-like shape it most closely resembled. The single engine, an Ion 8000, sat inside the back of the ship with a large thruster that protruded outward. The front of the ship housed the cockpit, which curved in a forty-five degree angle, downward from the rest of the ship. A single landing gear arm dropped down to support the weight in the front of the ship while three similar arms making a V-like shape from the middle to the rear of the ship supported the back. A single ramp, already folded open below the cockpit, would allow them to enter the ship when the time came, hopefully free of any Vie, but right now Kalla just needed the engine stabilizer that was only accessible from the outer engine compartment on top of the ship.

  Atop the ship, Kalla now headed toward the rear, where she would remove the broken stabilizer. As she approached the compartment, she realized that her tools were inside her ship. About to call down to Jarek, she paused and wondered if she had the strength to loosen the large bolts with her hands. Anxious to try, she crouched down and began turning the first of six tightly torqued bolts using her new strength, smiling profusely as the bolt moved with each turn.

  With the initial shock of what had happened to her now fading, she began to feel very fortunate to have landed here, in spite of the loss of her crew. They had paid a great price, a death she’d managed to avoid thanks to Jarek, and she would never forget them, but she was still a small-time criminal. The more she thought about it, the harder it was to shake the idea that she needed to be better, to do something good with her newfound abilities. But her thought was interrupted.

  “You still up there?” Jarek called out, waking Kalla from her imagination.

  “Yeah, almost done,” she replied as she focused on the task of pulling the engine component she’d come here for. She worked quickly and removed the part with ease, having spent many hours working on this engine to the point that she knew it all too well.

  Aft
er replacing the compartment cover and putting the bolts all back in place to keep from losing any parts, Kalla walked over to the small winglike section to the right of the ship and jumped off, landing gracefully on the valley floor. “Let me grab a satchel from the cabin.” With an approving nod from Jarek, she walked toward the ramp and entered the ship, hoping to find it free of Vie.

  As she entered, the hallway where she stood lit up automatically, followed by several other lights throughout and around the ship.

  “Those lights might just bring some visitors our way,” Jarek called out with notable concern in his voice. “I can’t say I’d mind getting to eliminate a few more vermin tonight, but those lights might bring more than both of us will want to handle all at once.” Kalla stepped back onto the ramp and peered out at Jarek, who now stood alert, his back to the ship and his fists clenched in preparation for a fight.

  “I thought you weren’t afraid of the Vie,” she said with some concern.

  “I once took on over thirty Vie.” He spoke cautiously, carefully choosing his next words. “I’d rather not do that again.”

  Sensing his concern, Kalla moved quickly and headed toward the back of the ship and into the cargo hold, where she quickly surveyed several large crates stacked high to the ceiling. Her thoughts inevitably drifted back to her crew, followed by a mild feeling of guilt. Having already thought that she could change and do more good with her abilities, she couldn’t help but feel wrong about these crates. After all, they’d been acquired in a less-than-honest fashion, and all in the name of turning a profit. “Just this one last time,” she whispered under her breath before turning and heading back toward the entrance, stopping halfway and visiting a small supply room.

  “What’s taking you so long?” Jarek shouted.

  “Just one more minute,” came her response from inside as she loaded a shoulder belt with clips for the two guns now holstered on both sides of her waist. “I’m grabbing more ammo!”

  A few minutes later Kalla appeared on the ramp holding a large satchel to carry the engine stabilizer in, along with a belt she’d slung over her left shoulder, full of loaded clips for the pistols at her side.

  Jumping off the ramp, she turned back toward the ship and punched a code into a small pad above her head. When she finished, the ramp began to close, sealing the entrance, while the lights in and around the ship began switching off. Kalla then walked toward Jarek and dropped the satchel and engine stabilizer at his feet. “A girl never can have too many guns,” she said with faint smile as she began walking in the direction of the cliffs.

  “I guess so,” Jarek blurted out. “I just hope we don’t need to use all of those bullets,” he mumbled as Kalla walked past him into the fog. “If you even have enough,” she heard him say quietly.

  “Don’t forget the bag,” she called back in jest.

  ~

  The two made the long walk back to the cliff face in silence, side by side in the darkness, listening with their heightened senses to the screeching sounds that surrounded them on all sides, far off in the distance, some many kilometers away. And yet, in spite of the sounds of terror that any other man or woman in their shoes might fear, Jarek and Kalla walked as if it were just a late-night stroll, though mildly rushed by Jarek, who seemed extra tense.

  “I don’t get you,” Kalla blurted out. “Earlier tonight you seemed almost anxious to get into a fight with some Vie, and now you’re acting like they scare you.” Kalla waited briefly for a response that never came before breaking the silence once more. “What’s your deal?” she asked, demanding an answer with her tone.

  “I can hear a lot of them tonight,” he said quietly. “The last time I tested my limits . . .” He paused before finally finishing. “Let’s just get back up the cliff.”

  “No,” she responded. “First you seem fearless and now this? I thought the Vie couldn’t hurt us.”

  “I’m not afraid of them,” he said with conviction, grabbing her arm and turning her toward him. “But they are still dangerous, even to us.” He let go of her arm and started walking again.

  Although she still wasn’t completely satisfied with his response, Kalla decided to let it go for now, glad that he’d changed his mind and decided to join her.

  In spite of his apparent concern, and even with the noise all around them, no attacker disturbed their journey back to the wall that night. When they finally approached the face of the cliff, Jarek led them to the spot that was directly below his home in the rock, where they both began the ascent up the wall, reaching the cave with relative ease.

  “So why did you change your mind? Why did you help me?” Kalla asked sincerely as the two climbed onto the horizontal surface of the cave floor, lit only by the dim moonlight that shone down from the sky. “I thought you . . .”

  “I don’t know, really,” said Jarek, cutting her off. “I guess it is kind of nice to not be all alone anymore, and I suppose I could have done worse than you.” He grinned as the words rolled off his tongue.

  “You’re not starting to like me, are you?” replied Kalla playfully. “You know, you could come with me. With my crew gone, I could use the help, and I’d like the company.” The two smiled at one another as they awkwardly glanced about, neither one willing to make direct eye contact for long.

  “Well, when it’s light out, I guess we could pay our neighbors a visit, see if they can help fix that thing from your ship,” Jarek said, changing the subject.

  Kalla nodded in agreement while Jarek stood and headed for the other room.

  “If you need anything, I’ll just be resting.” He quickly disappeared into the dark hallway that wound slightly into the adjacent room of the dwelling, leaving Kalla alone.

  “But I’m not even tired . . .” She spoke softly as she looked out the opening and stared into the star-filled sky. She sat down by the entrance of the cave and admired the beauty of the stars in the sky. But sleep soon had its way with her, as she found her eyes getting heavier until the battle was finally lost.

  ~

  The room was different, more clouded than usual, when she finally opened her eyes. She felt as though she were trapped somewhere between a dream and reality, unable to break free. The room was hers as she remembered it, only it was exceptionally pale now as she examined her surroundings. Something seemed so wrong about this, but she just couldn’t quite figure out what. Her nightmares had not only gotten worse, but they had now begun to enter her reality as well. She was surprised to still be breathing as she remembered the Vie that had attacked her in the hallway earlier, just as the drugs had started kicking in. She had embraced the idea of death, and yet here she was, awake in this confusion once more.

  The more she thought about what had happened earlier, the more odd it seemed that a Vie, of all things, could possibly exist in both her dreams and this reality she lived in. “Nothing makes sense.” She spoke softly, desperately trying to sort out the confusion in her mind.

  She tried to sit up but found she could hardly move, as though a large weight was pressing against her entire body. She rolled her head forward as far as she could to get a view of her body only to find nothing out of the ordinary. The same restraints that had always held her in bed were still being used, and yet she had almost no mobility at all. This reality had long ago worn out its welcome, but with this new and highly uncomfortable sensation of being unable to move, she was done. This had gone on far too long, and she couldn’t take another second of this madness.

  “What’s wrong with me?!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, eyes clenched shut as she released her frustration into the stale air of the room. Quite suddenly, her eyes opened to a very different reality than where she’d just been, one she’d briefly seen before, one that felt more real.

  With very little mobility, she carefully surveyed the room as best she could to find that she was alone except for Dr. Carter, who sat at a desk across the room from where she lay. She wondered why he hadn’t heard her yell, but he acted as
though nothing had happened. Attempting to free herself, she soon found that some very thick metal bands held her body down quite securely to the table where she lay, with smaller metal restraints holding her wrists and ankles tightly in place. Even her head was being held down by a thick metal band that sat just above her forehead, making it difficult to even turn her head from side to side.

  As she continued to look around the room in an attempt to make sense of what was going on, she noticed from the corner of her right eye the IV rack she’d seen before, with several clear tubes all making their way beyond her view. She assumed that the tubes were attached to her but couldn’t be sure as her entire body felt mildly numb.

  With the odd discoveries she had made, a feeling of anxiety and panic began to emerge, her breathing becoming more rapid and irregular. But instead of allowing the anxiety to overtake her, she took control of her emotions and soon felt an inner strength emerge, allowing her to relax. As she closed her eyes, memories began flooding her mind, memories that seemed to be an awful lot like the dreams she’d been having.

  Chapter 8

  The AGV touched down on top of the mining control center, which was suspended directly over the largest meyrite mine on Esaria. General Quinn jumped out of the vehicle the moment it came to a stop, and began walking toward the lift station that would take him down into the belly of the large mining machine. Pulling the door open, the general quickly stepped inside the lift and pressed the comm button on the control panel.

  “General Quinn here,” he said with authority. “Requesting to enter.” The lift operator obeyed the order, activating the lift, which began to move down into the structure. As soon as it stopped, the general opened the door and stepped out into a small room facing the airlock. Static hissed from a speaker near the airlock until an operator’s voice filled the room.