by Daniel Huber
Cloaked in anonymity,
their identities were forever lost
in the passage of time.
CHAPTER 1
Few things in life, when experienced time and again, succeed in maintaining their charm from the first time to the hundredth time and the thousandth time. Quade Decairus could think of only a handful; the rise of Bethel's sun over the dew covered green grass that carpeted the hills, the milky pastels of Tal-Min Vista's aurora borealis. There were other scattered, more forgettable images and experiences. But the one thing that stood out in his mind at this particular moment in time, was the feeling of landing on a planet. When one's ship enters the gravitational pull of the atmosphere, so different from the guiding, tubal suction of the leylines, drawing you, almost coaxing you, toward its very existence. The parting mist of the clouds as you break through them and peer beyond their haze to see the round body of the planet, so serene and peaceful at that distance, no matter what the truth of the surface world actually is. Few things seem so wondrous as the blur of blue oceans and brown land masses as they come into view, take form and presence as the viridian hue of trees becomes evident, the character of the terrain slowly revealing itself while the pull of the planet's gravity continues to assert, virtually beckon. The anticipation of arriving on a world from that vantage point was always the same; limitless possibility, and a sense of mortality as one ponders how large the world, whatever world, truly is against the minute size of a simple being.
In bold contrast, that sense of wonder dwindles quickly when one is sitting in the sterile, uninteresting periphery of a space station, waiting and waiting for one's arranged appointment to arrive. So easily forgotten, those profound images of planets and not so long ago experiences. So easy now, to focus on the humming of air filtration generators, of buzzing conversation that carried on within the confines of the public quadrant where Quade had been waiting for - how long now - two hours? He looked to his wrist chron. Yes, two hours, twenty-one minutes. Typical behavior for Thanach, or any Venrey for that matter. So wrapped up in the thrill of their hunt, even simple courtesies fell by the wayside. It certainly was more thrilling to be hunting for new leylines, discovering never before seen nexus points, but the Venrey’s inability to keep to a timetable already had Quade behind schedule and this was his last stop before finally going home. Quade glanced up to the countdown clock above the archway. The space station would go on lockdown in less than an hour and all traffic would be blocked while the docks were used for incoming supply ships. If Thanach didn’t show up before then, Quade would be stuck for at least four more hours, which felt like four days at this point. Since age was virtually irrelevant to the Venrey, they viewed time overall quite differently. Quade doubted that Thanach could even tell him how old he actually was if he were asked, given the unnatural way the Venrey extend their life. But was it unnatural, he silently questioned, or just unnatural to him? Quade dismissed the thought, having lost the ability to wax philosophical on the Venrey at this belated hour of their arrival.
Quade shifted in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. Staring at the clock again, he pushed his bangs from his brow, ran his hand over the long black waves of his hair. He’d often thought of cutting it, but Trina liked the way it looked and the way it tickled her face when he held her against his shoulder, so he left it long. He glanced about the area again, his patience wearing thin. He knew the Venrey was nearby. This was just their annoying way, their predictably routine methods of dealing with all people who weren't Venrey. Suspicion and distrust ran deep from decades past when the Venrey’s territory had come under siege. These memories kept them wary of everyone, even those they knew and supposedly trusted. He would have hoped that after years of dealing one on one that Thanach's tactics would have changed, but the Venrey never change. Soulless beasts, he thought to himself and smiled, remembering how Trina had called them that repeatedly over the years.
Quade was broken from his wandering thoughts as something caught the attention of his peripheral vision. He looked up and across the rows of the public seating area where he was waiting, to see a little boy, perhaps eight years old, crouched low to the floor, prowling around some supply barrels. The boy seemed to be in plain view for all his sneaking efforts, but then Quade realized that he was looking at a reflection, the mirrored panels of a wall that was giving him the secret backside view of this child's moves. He continued to watch with interest as the boy looked around suspiciously, apparently unaware that his progress could be easily seen by anyone who happened to be glancing at the reflective wall. After a minute or two of analyzing the boy's movements, Quade simultaneously saw and smelled what it was that he was aiming for; a provisions cart with freshly baked turnovers had wheeled in and now stood directly in the child's path. The rich warm scent of butter and both sweet and savory spices quickly filled the air, prompting Quade himself to inhale a little more deeply. He knew right away that the boy meant to pilfer a couple of the flaky pastries, probably more for hunger than for sport, he concluded by the child's appearance and grimy clothing. Quade judged that there would be a minute or so before the boy would gain close enough access to grab his coveted bounty, so he stood abruptly, reaching deep into his front pocket and counting by touch how much paper money he had as he walked toward the food cart.
He arrived at the cart well before the boy, and ignored the flash of the child's red hair as he ducked behind a storage crate when Quade walked up. He handed over five bills, enough to buy two of the richly seasoned turnovers. Quade turned away, the paper wrapped turnovers held securely between his arm and side, and slinked between the row of barrels and supply crates, circling around the boy that hid on the other side of them. He spotted the child, who was squatted down and staring fixedly at his wanted prize, inching slowly closer. Quade suppressed a smile as he slinked behind the young boy, crouched down, his body bent to conceal his actions, his knees stooped, arms balancing him as he silently moved closer. The child stopped suddenly, and flattened against a barrel. Quade had anticipated his move and had already come to a halt behind him. The moment of discovery was now.
The boy gasped and barely held in a startled scream when he turned to see Quade crouching so close behind him. With nowhere to go, he froze, paralyzed with shock at the realization that he'd been caught in an attempt to steal. His young eyes were wide saucers, his matted red blaze of hair adding to the horror of his expression as his breath squeaked out in terrified gasps, not knowing what to expect from this stranger that had evidently been following him in his unlawful pursuit. Quade looked at him for a long moment, his eyes steady, so the boy would feel the seriousness of his situation. When he spoke, his voice was stern, but thoughtful.
"You know there are laws about stealing," he said, not moving. The child still looked at him in fear, not able to judge yet what Quade was about to do. He leaned his head forward, this time expecting an answer to his question. "You do know that, right?" At that, the boy nodded his head, a jerking, twitchy motion from the obvious panic that he still felt.
"All right then," Quade continued, and pulled the crinkling package from between his arm and side, holding it out to the boy. "You shouldn't go hungry, but next time you'd better think of a more suitable way to fill your stomach than thievery, right?" The child looked from the package to Quade's face, then back to the package again, his thin little chest heaving with nervousness and temptation. Should he take the offering? Quade reached out and put it in the boy's small, dirty hand, and wrapped his fist around it, then sat back for a moment. The kid was obviously perplexed, but ravenous, and he bit his lip as he looked at the food as the buttery aroma rose all around them.
"This will feed you for today but I won’t be here tomorrow so perhaps you should conjure up a better plan to fill your belly. Now go on, get out of here," Quade said with a gesture of his head, leaning back on the barrel that was behind him. "Don't make yourself seen, otherwise they'll be on the look for you." The child blinked his w
ide eyes and still said nothing, nor did he move.
"Go on," Quade prompted, "before the station enforcements see me back here too and start wondering what's going on. Go…feast well!"
The little boy darted away then, between the row of barrels and crates, disappearing in an instant. Quade shook his head and sighed. Trina would love this story. She would think that her influence was rubbing off on him. He stood and walked back toward where he'd been waiting for Thanach, still thinking on his storytelling when he heard a familiar voice call to him from the other side of the public quad.
"You have shown a weakness, Quade," the voice said. He looked up to see Thanach sitting in the exact position and spot that Quade himself had been sitting in as he observed the boy by the reflection of the mirror. "Taking charity on a would-be thief. Sympathy spent on villainy is sympathy wasted." Of course, Quade thought, the mirror had shown him as plain to the Venrey as the boy had been to himself as he'd watched. Oh, well. An oversight, though not a significant one. It didn't really matter what the Venrey thought of him.
"He was a hungry little kid," Quade replied, "I'd hardly call buying him some food a weakness."
"Yes, I suppose you might even consider it a strength," said Thanach.
"It might prove true, that my strengths lie in places you’d never imagine." Quade didn't miss a beat as he neared his delinquent host, and he said in a matter of fact tone, "I wonder, Thanach, when is your associate going to come out of the shadows?"
At that, another Venrey walked up from behind, his hidden and stalking position foiled by someone far younger than he, and for that, the second Venrey was annoyed.
Quade paid him no mind as he now stood before Thanach, who still maintained his mocking pose, imitating the style in which Quade had been sitting while waiting for his appointment and watching the boy creep around the barrels. His eyes fell to Thanach's forearm, as he was now close enough to proceed in their exchange of information. From his glance he saw a grand opportunity for one-upmanship, and took it seamlessly.
"I see you're missing that scar you had from the last time we met," he said, with a bit of derision. He shook his head and clicked his tongue taking full advantage of what he knew would be a sore spot with the Venrey. As he reached into his pack to withdraw the credit chip for the exchange, he shivered a bit for dramatic effect. "Or is it that you’ve been recently reborn? And without first transferring all your memories to your new body! How careless of you!" Thanach stood abruptly, his hands fisted into tight balls. Quade looked at the seething Venrey, and decided to gloat a little further as he handed over the payment. "Big scar. Nasty. Deep, really deep."
"So I've been told!" Thanach snapped, snatching the chip from Quade's hand, incensed at beaten at his own game. He handed over the information discs that were contained in a little metal box, which Quade stowed in his pack.
"Now let's not talk anymore of weakness then, shall we?" he said. The Venrey ignored the comment, which meant that he conceded.
A dark chuckle sounded from behind. Quade watched the second Venrey walk around from behind him, where he'd been witnessing the exchange. He was much older, and obviously outranked Thanach in lives, was probably on his final life himself, Quade figured. His human appearance was almost lost from the deep riddling of scars upon his face, of which he was surely proud, though he had the typical Venrey guarded aloofness. No doubt he was bitter that he'd been forced to leave the hunt, and was now merely the superior of other Venrey's scouting efforts.
"So where did your travels take you this quarter, Venrey?" Quade asked, a bit more friendly, but not much. Venrey weren't really worth many pleasantries. Thanach relaxed, glad to have the topic changed and the focus taken away from his shortcomings.
"The Keystone will be pleased with what we've brought him," he said. "A discovery of some new leylines at the edge of the Nivas system. Obscure, almost hidden. But we found them, and mapped a good portion of what we found."
"The Nivas system," Quade repeated, laughing a little and running his hand across the back of his neck under his hair. "That’s some dangerous territory. Excellent to have it explored, but I don't envy your recklessness. When I was a mapper I wouldn't have gone near that system."
"Which is why we are superior mappers," Thanach boasted. Quade couldn't deny him that. The Venrey were excellent mappers, partly due to their excessive recklessness, along with their insatiable hunger for thrill. Contracts were usually only given to non-Venrey by those who loathed them so much that they would rather do anything than have to deal with them. Quade had taken advantage of that for a few years in his late teens, but he hated how the contracts kept him away from home so much and the suicidal danger of mapping uncharged territory wore him down quickly. When Bethel’s Keystone offered him the position of courier and liaison with the Venrey, Quade gave up mapping without a thought
"Unfortunately, our exploration was cut somewhat short," the second Venrey, whose name Quade didn't know, continued.
"Really," Quade said, looking at his wrist chron and thinking that he had just been getting ready to leave. He would listen to this one last thing, and then he would go. "Why's that?"
"Strange, unexplainable things have been occurring, Quade. Missing ships, found large distances away from their charted course. Upon investigating one of these wayward vessels, we found it to be abandoned. No people on board at all."
Abandoned ships, Quade thought. Unusual, but not unheard of. He figured there must be more to the story than the Venrey was telling him.
"And I suppose that all the cargo the ship was carrying and any valuables it may have had were all missing," he said casually. "Doesn't sound so threatening, Venrey. I'm sure there's plenty of pirates and thieves out here on the circ that could explain what you found. Why the heavy words?"
"There's more, Quade that's why," Thanach said. "I tell you these things because you and I have had dealings now for several years and thought it in your interest of safe travel to know."
Quade sobered for a minute, still somewhat perplexed. What could have happened to get such a reaction out of a Venrey?
"Alright," he said, giving his full attention for the moment, "what then?"
"You're wrong about the cargo missing. The ship was found perfectly intact. Nothing out of place whatsoever."
"And still there's more," the second Venrey said, and Quade looked at him skeptically.
"A nexus point was found destroyed near the Rougana system."
"What?" Quade asked. “Destroyed? Impossible!”
Suddenly, a voice chimed inside Quade's mind. A familiar voice, one that he'd been trying to pretend didn't exist for months now.
"Listen well Quade, for what you hear next will be of vital importance."
A second voice followed, different, but of similar variety.
"Listen well and gather any information that you can, however small."
"Stop it!" Quade turned his head and muttered under his breath, as if the voices inside his head could somehow hear him.
"Stop?" said Thanach indignantly. "Do you not wish for me to tell you of what I know? The danger you encounter is yours alone, Quade. If you have no want for my warnings…"
"No, no," he said with a wave of his hand, "go on. Thoughts wandered for a second there. Now, what did you say? A nexus point was destroyed? How?" Thanach looked at Quade with some level of suspicion, but continued his story.
"A ship that was last known to be traveling toward the Rougana system had been missing for some days. One of our scout ships was in the area as well, and found the missing ship quite some distance from its last known heading. After investigating the abandoned vessel, our ship went to jump in the leylines, but found the nexus point to have been destroyed."
"Destroyed," Quade repeated. "By what means?" The Venrey both shrugged.
"No one knows."
"How do you know it was destroyed?" Quade shook his head, unable to accept that a nexus point could simply be obliterated. "Do they have a natural life
span, and collapse upon themselves once very old? Could that be what you found?"
"No, Quade." Thanach stopped him before he offered any other explanations. "Do you know why the Venrey are such efficient mappers? Have you ever paused to wonder what it is that we possess that is a quality unique to the Venrey?"
"No," Quade had to admit, beyond his own assumptions he didn’t know to what Thanach was referring.
"The Venrey exist without the presence of magic," Thanach’s associate said. "Because of this, we are keenly sensitive to its presence. Magic is all around you, even if you cannot wield it. It is part of your soul, part of your very existence, so much that you are not even aware of its being there. Because the Venrey are what we are, we have no magic to blur our senses and thus, when magic is most concentrated, we can detect it, even follow it when in the vastness of space."
Thanach picked up where his associate paused.
"We had charted areas of concentrated magic in the Rougana system, the beacons for nexus points under normal circumstances. When we reached one of those spots, we found the presence of a leyline, but the nexus point connected to it had been destroyed, the heart ripped from its arteries. Such an intense void of magic was like a wound in the structure of space. A void so deep it was painful to be near it."
"Painful even for a Venrey?"
"Especially for a Venrey, as our recognition of magic from the leylines is so very much in tune."
A buzzer sounded, echoing throughout the public space, causing Quade to startle at its blaring noise. An automated voice announced that there was only twenty minutes before the space station would go on lockdown. Quade shook himself from his daze, tightening the strap on his pack.
"I have to go," he said. "Thanks for the warning, Thanach."
"And that’s it? You’ve nothing more to say."
"Yes Thanach that’s it. I want to go home. I’ve been out here on the Circ for almost two weeks now, and I just want to get back to Bethel. The Rougana system is close to here. I’m sure you alerted this situation of the nexus point and the missing ship to Livius, right? He knows these star systems and all their galactic history like nobody else. I’ll bet he has an explanation for what it is you saw."