I grabbed my pack and picked the room farthest from the living space, and laughed at how universal our needs were. I threw the bag on the soft bed and spotted a shower capsule, as well as some sort of universal toilet. It appeared it would cater to any sanitary needs an alien might have. I hoped there was a manual on the thing, because it was already calling my name. I spent a couple minutes struggling with it before relieving myself.
The day had been long, and I was happy to have a home base on this elaborate world. I decided to change clothing for the evening and shut the door.
I jumped back at the small blue form hiding behind it.
Twenty-One
“What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?” I asked the short girl. It translated into her native Molariun.
“Dean, I need your help,” Rivo said as her four clear-white eyes blinked at the same time.
I stepped back and took a seat on the pillowy bed. It was so soft, I sank backward into it. “How did you know I was here?”
She tapped the side of her hairless head, and though there was no visible ear, I assumed that was what she was pointing at. She meant she was listening.
“Okay, so you found out I was here. Why sneak into my room?”
“Something bad is happening. I have no one I can trust. You… when I heard you arrived, I knew I had to bring it to you. Everyone’s always wanted something from me. Being the eldest daughter of Garo Alnod brings a lot of attention, and not always in a good way.”
She still wasn’t making sense, and she was testing my already frazzled patience. “Tell me what you need.”
She looked shocked at my tone. “I hear rumors my father is going to be attacked at the Eklack.”
“What’s the Eklack?” I said the word and recognized it as the same place Sarlun had mentioned outside.
“Bazarn Five is home to the largest gathered secrets in the universe. That’s the Eklack. Do you live under a rock?” she asked, her thin mouth twitching into a grin.
I couldn’t have the library getting shot up just before I found what I needed from it. Once again, I felt like my timing was more than a fluke. I resolved to hear her out and get to this Eklack as soon as possible to start searching it.
“How do you know he’s going to be attacked? Actually” – I went to the door and opened it, walking into the hall beyond – “come with me. Let’s include everyone.”
She looked admonished that I wanted to share her plight with anyone. “If you trust me, you can trust each and every one of them,” I assured her.
“Who’re you talking to?” Natalia asked. She was already back in the living room, sitting on the rock sofa, where she held a clear tablet.
“Guys, this is Rivo.” I looked behind me, and she wasn’t there. “Come on out.”
The short blue girl hesitantly stepped into the hall. I recalled hearing her aboard the pirate ship before I saw her. Her song had been so lovely, so poignant and sad. I also remembered that her significant other had been killed by the pirates sent to find her father’s riches. In that instant, the confidant woman she was becoming was hidden beneath a frail outer shell. She was really scared.
“Hi, Rivo. I’m Magnus, and just so you know, I had a hand in ending a couple of those pirates when they boarded us. Thanks for shooting us free of their grasp.” He hulked over the girl and stuck his hand out. It was clearly an unfamiliar gesture. She grabbed his thumb and shook it.
“That’s good to hear, and you’re welcome. I would have done anything for my hero. I was going to die on that terrible ship.” Rivo entered the living room and nervously looked around.
“What is it that has you so on edge?” I asked her.
Sarlun entered, and I introduced her to the Gatekeeper. “I’ve met your parents before,” he said. “Curious. How did you find Dean Parker?”
“One of the guards is on my payroll. I like to know who comes and goes. Someone mentioned my name and said he was looking for me. When he described you, I knew there could be no other human searching for me.” She fidgeted with a purple gemstone around her neck. I felt for my own pendant under my shirt. It was still there.
“What can we do to help you?” Slate asked from the edge of the couch. Leonard was beside him, sketching on a notepad.
“And who wants to do your father harm?” Sarlun added.
“Who doesn’t? He’s always being threatened. But after we were attacked, and Nico… killed, the rivalry is only getting stronger.” Tears formed in her four glistening eyes.
“Who’s the rival?” Sarlun was standing, his posture telling me he would know the enemy of her father.
“Lom of Pleva.” The second it took the translation to pass to Sarlun’s Shimmali language was enough to change Sarlun’s face. His snout twitched in surprise and his black eyes widened.
“Lom of Pleva is dead!” he shouted, his voice sterner than I’d ever heard it.
“No, he’s not. He’s back. Father doesn’t believe the rumors, though.”
“Okay, okay. Who or what is a Lom of Pleva?” Magnus asked.
Sarlun stalked across the room and tapped a screen on the wall. Part of the partition slid open, revealing over twenty bottles of all shapes, sizes, and colors. He took a blue crystal glass and splashed in some orange liquor. He downed it in one fell swoop and poured another.
“Who is Lom, Sarlun?” I asked more forcefully than Magnus’ playful tone.
Sarlun’s back was still to us. “He’s a ghost. If there’s anyone wealthier than young Rivo’s father, Lom is it.”
“So does every rich guy out here have to be an evil genius or something?” Slate asked from the couch.
Sarlun ignored him. “Lom’s had a hand in many bad things. Things that may even have affected you and your race,” he said.
My pulse raced at his words. “How?” I asked slowly.
“Hybrids. He funded the technology. Call it a pet project.” He shook his head side to side and downed his second drink. “I was one of the few to see the images of his early cross-DNA projects. The horror he created. Those poor creatures. Did you ever think to wonder how the Kraski got human DNA for their plan?”
I shook my head. Truth was, I hadn’t given it much thought. There had always seemed to be something more pressing happening.
“Lom spent years stealing samples from most inhabited worlds.” Sarlun poured another one.
“You’re telling us some of those ramblings about flying saucers stealing drunks out of cornfields could have been true?” Slate asked.
Sarlun nodded now, confirming Slate’s question.
“You’re serious? He took unsuspecting victims from Earth?” I thought of the models they’d cloned. Janine had been made after the image of a woman this Lom had stolen from Earth. Who had she been?
“And many more worlds. Many.” Sarlun finally turned to us, and I saw something I hadn’t seen in Sarlun’s dark eyes before.
Fear.
“You say he’s dead?” I asked, pressing the subject.
“Supposedly,” Rivo cut in. “The story goes, he was visiting a lorgonium mine, and there was an accident while he was there. Lorgonium isn’t the most stable metal and can react unpredictably when around oxygen. Somehow a leak occurred, and the rest is history.”
“And no one has seen him since?” Magnus asked.
Sarlun answered. “Unless Rivo knows something I don’t, no.”
“His fingerprints are all over this. That pirate ship was full of his old junk. I saw his logo plastered on half of the garbage lying around the place. The robots come from his manufacturing plant. It’s him.” Rivo went to the bar and poured herself a drink.
“Are you sure you should be doing that?” I asked.
“I’ve been of age for some time, junior,” she said, and the room chuckled at her jab.
“Then I’ll take one too.” She passed me a green drink, and I sniffed it before throwing it down the hatch. It started off smooth, but soon a fire was growing in my stomach.
“Why target your father?” Natalia prompted.
“They’ve always been rivals, ever since they were children. Father outbid him on a tech company a long time ago, and the product turned out to have extremely valuable uses.” Rivo sipped her drink.
“Like what?” Leonard chimed in.
“You know the hyperdrives that get everyone around the galaxy?” She paused. “They make up ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the population’s interstellar transportation.”
We all nodded. “There’s a piece in there that kept burning up under the heat and made the drives burn out too fast, or made the engines implode and killed the ship’s inhabitants. It only happened once in a while, but that was enough to make every fleet owner want the improvement.”
I cringed. That wasn’t good. “Your father bought the company that made them?”
“Only Lom didn’t know at the time of bidding, and my father had some inside information. An executive liked the idea of a condo on Bazarn Five more than the agreement they had within the company. When it solved a major issue, my father became the wealthiest individual in the universe.” Rivo didn’t look pleased with him; she looked worried.
“That’s a big target to have. How long ago was this?” I asked.
“Three hundred cycles of Bazarn,” she said.
I assumed a cycle would account for far less than an Earth year. Otherwise, that would make him a very old man.
“Sarlun, how long is that?” I began.
“In your years? About two hundred and fifty.”
I spat my drink out mid-sip. “You mean that?”
Sarlun smiled. “Yes. They live to be five hundred or so, give or take a few decades or years.”
“Once again, I hate to ask, but what do you expect me to do about this?” I asked, wishing I hadn’t downed the drink. My vision was blurring; my tongue felt too fat for my mouth.
“Meet with him. Tell him what you saw on the pirate ship. He’ll believe you, especially since you’re a Gatekeeper too,” Rivo said.
“I don’t have time for this. The Iskios are back. Do you know who they are?” I stood, my voice rising to a higher volume than I intended.
“Some evil name from bedtime stories, I suppose,” she said.
“No. They’re very real, and they have my wife. The Unwinding is real, and I need to know what that means. I need to find her. I have to find the Theos.” The last was said quietly, and all four of her eyes went wide.
“Help me, and I’ll return the favor. If anyone knows about the ancient gods that roamed our universe, it’s Regnig.” Rivo handed me a small coin.
“Who’s Regnig?” I asked her.
“The Eklack is for the general population, at least those wealthy enough to be admitted. Historians, scholars, or priests. I’ve heard most of the knowledge gathered there is accurate, but there are certain things no one should know about. At least, that’s what Father says. Regnig runs a section of the library no one may see.”
Sarlun perked up. His back went rail-straight, a cautioning hand reached out to Rivo.
“And you can get me access there?” I asked.
She nodded. “Speak with my father, and you will get access.”
What choice did I have? “What’s this?” I held my palm out, the small metal coin in the middle of my hand.
“Access to the gala tomorrow. Tell the transport you’re to join the Alnods. They’ll bring you to the gala. And Dean?” she prompted.
“Yes?”
“Wear the uniform and come alone.” She turned and walked from the room, leaving us in the living space, bewildered at our next step.
Twenty-Two
“I hope this isn’t a big waste of time.” I looked in the mirror, and Natalia brushed a hair off my white uniform’s sleeve.
“She seemed certain this Regnig was the sure bet to help you find what you’re seeking,” Nat said, doing her best to smile at me. “I wish we could help more.”
It all felt contrived. This whole world was putting me on edge. I didn’t want to spend my time dressing up for a gala; I wanted to get off the planet, find the Theos, and bring the battle to the Iskios. But I understood that sometimes we had to take small steps. Bit by bit, a little became a lot.
“I know. I’m just frustrated, but you’re helping by being here. By going to find any clue that will help us. Mary would be glad you’re here, Nat.” I ran a hand over my beard, trying to straighten the hairs with a mind of their own.
“Thanks, Dean.” Nat smiled in the mirror’s reflection, and I gave her a smile back. Truth was, even though they didn’t feel like it, I was eternally grateful for their support.
“We’ll be at the library today. Don’t worry, Dean.” The ever-vigilant Leonard sat there, a tablet in his lap. “Anything about the Theos, the Iskios, the Unwinding…”
I cut him off. “And most importantly?”
“The portal stones. What they are, when they first started appearing, and where the stone originates,” Slate said, finishing the answer. “Dean, we know all this. Don’t worry about it. We’ll get what we need. Your job is to talk to Rivo’s dad, get on his good side, get a one-way ticket to the librarian dude, and learn anything else you can.”
He was right. “Thanks, guys. I’d better get going.”
The gala was starting at midday, and we’d already wasted enough time talking through our plan this morning. Everyone was dressed and ready to go.
“Sarlun, you’re sure you can get them access, right?” Our plan hinged on this.
“Yes. It will be done.” Sarlun reached out, his thick hand on my shoulder. “Be careful, son.”
“I will.”
“And keep your earpiece in. We want to be able to get in touch,” Magnus reiterated.
I left the room but hated to separate from my friends on this strange world. Slate had argued with me for a good hour at breakfast about being foolish for going anywhere without him by my side. He wasn’t wrong, but Rivo had told me to come alone, and I wasn’t going to risk losing the chance at speaking with this Regnig character.
The coin sat in my folded hand, my firm grip making a circular indent on my palm. I walked through the halls, into the lobby, and outside, without so much as seeing anything around me. I was distracted, staring off at nothing until one of the Duupa asked me if I needed something.
“Transportation to Garo Alnod’s gala,” I said, and soon a small ship lowered before me. I finally paid attention to my surroundings. Bazarn’s star was high in the sky, and a light layer of sweat covered my lip, even at this high altitude. I attributed some of it to nerves.
The door on the vessel opened, and I got in. The ship was empty, but the Duupa stuck its head in, letting the robotic pilot know I was joining the Alnods. The ship rose into the sky, zooming away. The windows on the ship were tinted, keeping glare out. A few other transport ships raced around us as we headed for our destination.
Something else caught my eye in the air. It started out as a speck in the distance, but soon I saw the being for what it was. Huge wings flapped effortlessly, pushing the bird-like creature on nearly as quickly as us. It had bright colorful feathers and a smooth pointy orange beak, and was three times the length of the transport I was inside.
When we were past the amazing flying bird, I looked down to see yet another type of landscape below. Thousands of small islands speckled a blue-green body of water. We lowered, but not all the way to the water level. Instead we stayed around half a mile above, heading for a floating island. Soft blue thrusters burned below it, and the ship landed on the left side of the area. From my current vantage point, the island had to be a few square miles in size.
Only a man with Garo Alnod’s prosperity would have the ego or funds to have a floating island on Bazarn Five. I imagined the islands in the water below were filled with rich dignitaries from numerous worlds, but none at the level Garo would accept. He needed to float above them. This told me a lot about the man, and I wasn’t even sure if I could fault him
for it. Would I do any different in his shoes?
“Thank you,” I told the robotic pilot, who didn’t even have a body. Force of habit.
I stepped off and was in a parking lot. Dozens of personal ships were landed in clean lines. One lowered to my right, and a three-headed reptile being came out, allowing a short blue valet inside his ship. He barked an order or two my translator didn’t quite catch and stalked off between the ships toward what could only be called a palace.
At least a dozen golden spires adorned the roof of the structure. Parapets ran along the many balconies on the side of the palace, while people mingled outside, drinks in their hands, claws, or whatever else they had for appendages. I felt alone and out of my element as I followed Three-head down the path. He turned and looked at me with all six eyes before flicking a tongue from the left head and grunting something with the right.
Beings of every color and shape stood by the entrance, some chatting in their own languages. My translator was going into overdrive, trying to identify too many things at once, and I flipped it off, happier to just hear the noises for once. A robed Padlog walked in front of me and entered, handing the hulking guard his coin.
I followed suit, passing the armored guard my token of invitation, and he waved me inside. The ceiling was tall: three stories high, and floating escalators rose to the upper levels on either side of the room. Opaque-skinned creatures with no arms or legs hovered by, with drink trays somehow upright beside them. One stopped by me, and I noticed it had no eyes either. With a slight hesitation, I took something that resembled champagne and said thank you.
It kept moving, stopping at the next approaching guest. I felt hundreds of eyes on me as I stepped deeper into the room. Presumably most of them had never seen or heard of a human before, and I was making quite the spectacle. It was odd to think that I was the outsider in a room full of aliens.
I heard a familiar voice cut through the chatter and saw Rivo wave in greeting. She was wearing a coral orange dress, a striking contrast to her dark blue skin.
I turned my translator on and keyed it to her language only. “Hello, Rivo.”
The Survivors Box Set Page 99