by Justin Sloan
“Hardly,” he growled, then swept her leg with his massive arm and rolled over to pounce.
“Tell me, what’s your name? I want to be able to tell Palnik who I killed to get to him. I have a feeling he’ll thank me as he pisses on your grave.”
“Korak,” the Skulla replied, baring his teeth. “And I don’t know what a grave is. Might want to get your translator fixed, or just shut your trap and take this beating I’m about to dole out.”
She’d had enough, and was about to show this guy what she was made of when his eyes went large and his jaw dropped. He stared beyond her.
“You jackass-faced wolo chompter,” he screamed, and charged right past her.
One of the other Skulla had used the opportunity to steal Korak’s bow and arrows.
A glance at Robin showed that she was pursing her lips with a raised eyebrow, likely having the same thought as Valerie. Opportunity had struck!
“Let’s get him,” Valerie shouted, taking off after the thief.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Planet Tol: Capital Spaceport
Kalan and Bob waited on the dusty platform as Duol had instructed them to do.
The old male had been surprised when Kalan had showed up again so soon after leaving, but he’d agreed to help them. Thankfully with the large crowds on Tol for the Damu Michezo there was a high demand for lower-level fights, which meant the transport pilots from SEDE were dropping off newly-released convicts on an almost daily basis.
Duol had quickly made arrangements, and they’d only had to wait a few hours before leaving to meet with the transport pilot on this anonymous platform in the shadier section of the spaceport.
They’d been standing there about twenty minutes when a scowling Pallicon arrived and grabbed them both by the arms.
“What in the dust-tongued hell are you fools doing out in the open?” he growled.
“We were told to wait here,” Bob indignantly answered.
Kalan didn’t bother speaking. He knew this pilot’s type. He was looking for something to bark at them about as a way to establish his dominance. If it hadn’t been about their location it would have been about how they were dressed, or how they wore their hair, or some other made-up grievance.
The pilot whirled on Bob. “I don’t give a yanecat’s ass what you were told! We’re on my platform, which means we’re practically on my ship. Which means my orders are the only ones that matter here.”
Kalan grimaced, trying not to think about the fact that this male was a slaver and a smuggler. Duol was a smuggler too, but at least he smuggled contraband onto SEDE. That improved the inmates’ lives, at least theoretically. Well, if you didn’t take into consideration the prison gangs that controlled the contraband. That was a gray area Kalan didn’t want to think about now.
But this Pallicon was something different. He sold living beings. He may have sold people Kalan knew. He may have sold Julla.
He pushed the thought away. This guy was his only way aboard SEDE. If he thought too much about the pilot’s crimes he’d end up bashing his head in, and then where would he be? Stranded on this dusty fighting-pit of a planet, that’s where.
If he wanted to rescue Sslake he needed this ride, so he kept his mouth shut and silently promised himself he’d someday pay this Pallicon a visit and set things right.
The pilot didn’t offer his name or any other form of pleasantry, just led them aboard the small but modern transport.
“You’ll ride back there,” he said, gesturing to the cargo hold, where a handful of small jump seats were bolted to the wall. A grated door with a heavy-duty lock stood between the cockpit and the cargo hold. “I’ll leave this door open for now, but if you cause any trouble—”
“We won’t,” Kalan interjected.
“Good. See that you don’t. There are some prison jumpsuits back there left by the prisoners I dropped off on Tol. They aren’t clean, but you’ll need them if you want to sneak aboard.” With that he marched to the cockpit, leaving them alone with the crates in the cargo hold.
Kalan and Bob spent the next few minutes digging through the smelly pile of old uniforms in the corner of the cargo hold. Bob found one right away, but it took Kalan longer to locate one he could squeeze into while still being able to breath.
Once he was dressed, Kalan stared at the seat that was much too small for his bulky form, sighed, and then did his best to sit in it.
Bob took a seat across from him. “Man, that pilot guy’s a real asshole, huh?”
“I can hear you.” The pilot’s tinny voice came through the small speaker mounted on the wall next to Bob’s head.
Bob started and let out a high-pitched squeak.
Kalan shook his head sadly at the stupidity of his new partner.
“Ah, good,” Bob said, obviously trying to regain a bit of his composure. “That was a joke. You were meant to hear it.”
The pilot’s howl of laughter blasted through the tinny speaker. “Sure, and my wife loves that I only send her half my wages.”
Kalan was starting to get annoyed with the pilot. He turned toward the speaker. “So where’s SEDE flying right now?”
There was a pause, then the pilot said, “Sorry, how’s that any of your business?”
Kalan drew a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. “I only asked because I was wondering how long our flight would be.” Depending on the prison’s location in the system their journey could be anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks, even if this little transport was as powerful as it looked.
The pilot cackled again. “The cargo doesn’t get to know the flight plan. We’ll get there when we get there.”
“I rest my case about him being an asshole,” Bob muttered under his breath.
“Heard that, too!” the pilot quickly shot back. “I’ve got that cargo hold so miked-up you won’t be able to fart without me knowing about it.”
Neither Kalan nor Bob bothered responding to that.
If Kalan had to guess, he’d say SEDE was relatively close to Tol. From what the old smuggler had said, the Damu Michezo was an especially profitable time to transport ex-cons to Tol, and Kalan would be shocked if SEDE’s navigator wasn’t in on the scheme, taking a cut of this asshole pilot’s profits.
Still, the question was how close. The Vurugu system was a damn big place.
A few minutes later the pilot spoke again. “By the way, my bosses on SEDE know I run some contraband, but they aren’t aware I’m bringing living cargo this time. If they found out it would be my job, so when they catch you, come up with some other story about how you got aboard.”
Kalan had no idea what other plausible explanation they could possibly offer. Besides, if they were caught they’d have much bigger concerns than protecting this jerkoff pilot. “Of course. We’d never rat on you.”
“Good.” There was a long silence before he continued, “I’ve heard of people wanting to break out of prison, but never someone wanting to break in. What’s so important on SEDE?”
“Sorry, but our driver doesn’t get to know our plans.” The words were out of Kalan’s mouth before he could stop them. He knew it was in his best interests to stay on this pilot’s good side, but sometimes he couldn’t help himself.
“Fine,” the pilot barked. “That’s what I get for being friendly. You both sit back there and think about the hell you’re about to walk into. I saw your tats, big guy, so I know you’re a saby. But I’ll bet your strange-looking friend there doesn’t have a clue what SEDE’s like.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Bob said with forced bravado. “I’ll be fine.”
The pilot chuckled. “Sure you will. Hey, big guy, did you tell him about the Shimmers?”
Bob raised a curious eyebrow.
Kalan sighed, but figured he was going to have to prep Bob at some point. Now was as good a time as any. “The Shimmers are the guards.”
“Yeah?” Bob asked, his voice strained with concern. “What do they look like? Are they big?”
The pilot bellowed with laughter, and Bob scowled at the speaker.
Kalan considered how best to explain the Shimmers. They’d always been part of his life. He’d always known they were there, so they’d seemed normal, but he could see how they might seem bizarre to someone who hadn’t grown up in his situation.
“Here’s the thing... Shimmers aren’t exactly like you and me. They’re not made of…” He gestured to Bob’s arm.
“Awesome muscle?” Bob asked.
“Um, no. They’re not made of flesh. You can’t see them. You can’t hear them.”
Bob went pale, and when he spoke again it was in a hushed tone. “They’re ghosts?”
The pilot cackled again.
“No!” Kalan tried to think how to better explain it. “Whatever they’re made of is not visible to us, but they can see and hear us fine. If they really concentrate they can make themselves vaguely visible, but all that shows up is a bit of wavering light. Hence their name.”
“The Shimmers,” Bob repeated weakly.
“As you might imagine, they make pretty great prison guards. You never know where they are, or if they’re watching. Usually the first sign you have that they’re standing there is a smack upside the head. Then maybe you get a note later officially informing you what you did wrong.”
“So let me get this straight,” Bob said. “We’re breaking into a prison staffed by invisible guards?”
“Invisible, silent, and strong as hell,” Kalan confirmed.
“Thanks a lot, Valerie,” Bob muttered.
Kalan felt a little sorry for the guy. He’d been in the Vurugu system what, a couple days? And now he was headed straight for the worst place in the system.
He leaned forward. “I’m glad she assigned you and not one of those other guys. Garcia? Flynn? Robin? No thanks. I’d take you any day over those amateurs.”
Bob’s eyes brightened a little at that. “Really?”
“Of course.”
In reality, Bob would have been his last pick by a wide margin. If he’d had the option of selecting a squealing infant or Bob for this task he would have had to think long and hard before making the decision, but Bob needed a confidence boost right now.
“Thanks.” Bob leaned back, resting his head on the bulkhead behind him. “That means a lot. Maybe when we get back, we can tell Valerie we’d like to be paired up more often. Maybe we could even become official partners.”
Kalan forced a smile onto his face. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For now, what do you say we try to get some rest? We’ll need to be at our best on SEDE.”
“Yeah, you will,” the pilot said through the speaker. “By the way, if by some miracle you survive and accomplish whatever shady operation you have going, you’ll have to find your own ride home. I was only contracted to take you to SEDE. This was a one-way ticket.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Planet Tol: The Slums
This Skulla thief must’ve had enhanced legs, because he was running like the wind. Valerie pushed herself faster, not quite going full vampire speed but fast enough to close the gap. She passed Korak as they rounded a series of small huts made of what looked like abalone, though that didn’t make sense. The thief dove between a metal craft and an overturned cart of local produce, then leaped to a window sill and jumped from it to a nearby roof.
“I get it back, you take me to Palnik,” Valerie demanded, running at Korak’s side. His mismatched upper body was slowing him down, and he looked like he was about to vomit.
“Stop that bastard!”
“Say it!”
He grunted, came to a stop, and nodded between wheezing breaths. “Yes, yes, of course.”
“Deal,” she replied, then turned to Robin. “Don’t let him out of your sight.”
Robin nodded and Valerie took off after the thief, leaping from the cart to pursue him on the rooftops. Nobody could see her up here, which meant she didn’t have to worry about using vampire speed.
No longer holding back, she darted across the rooftop and came down hard on the thief as he tossed the bow to a companion in a window of the next building over. The arrows he was carrying fell, one going over and exploding.
Valerie cursed, leaping down to follow the arrow. The wall of the next building had been blown open, and the female Skulla with the bow was standing there with her mouth open at the sight.
“I’ll take that,” Valerie said, strolling up to her and snatching it out of her hands. The Skulla glared at her and then ran. The one on the roof took off after her, leaving the arrows where they had fallen.
Good riddance.
There was a loud screech and then a metal craft pulled up—apparently law-enforcement Skulla, judging by the vehicle and the uniforms they wore. She was usually on the side of the law but Valerie wasn’t sure how it all worked here, so she backed into the shadows.
“Damn feuds,” she heard one of them say. “Somebody’s going to pay for this.”
“Right. Us, if we don’t find out who did it,” the other replied.
Valerie decided being caught here with this bow wouldn’t make the best first impression with local authorities. She pulled the bow over her shoulders and quickly made for the back, then climbed out of the window to come face to face with a large hairy local.
She opened her mouth to explain herself, but its eyes moved to some produce on the ground—a strange looking purple fruit—and it knelt to eat it. The creature was something like a cross between a chimpanzee and a horse, not that she’d seen many of either in her lifetime outside of pictures.
She heard voices from the other side of the house so she took off, grabbing a cloth from the many that had been hung to dry between huts. She wrapped it around her face and head, hoping that would keep her from later being recognized.
Considering that she was by Skulla standards quite tall and easily identified in silhouette, it was a long shot. She would have to ensure nobody saw her. Nobody, that is, but the strange hairy creature. Even so, she took the time to sweep back around and grab the arrows.
Once she reached the rooftop she heard the enforcement officers harassing someone, accusing them of the explosion.
She could either let it go, or do something about it. Of course, there wasn’t really a choice. She quickly nocked one of the arrows, not quite sure how to use one of these things, and took aim. The arrow wobbled as it flew but still managed to make contact with the enforcement vehicle, flipping it before sending it into a brick wall nearby.
Curses came from below, and she took off.
Did she feel great about damaging government property? No, especially since part of her mission here was to get in good with the government and find out what it would take to get them to ally with the Etheric Federation.
But she couldn’t let some kid take the blame for what had clearly not been his fault. At least no one had been hurt or killed, and the vehicle might have flipped. Maybe it would need a couple dents taken out, at worst.
Korak was looking around frantically, and he spotted Valerie walking up with his bow and explosive arrows.
“You actually did it,” he announced, mouth agape. He held out his hand to accept his gear, but she hesitated.
“Impressed?”
He nodded. “Enough so that if you stop stalling I’ll take you to meet my master right now. And enough that if you don’t, I might not hit you again.”
She laughed and handed over the arrows, then unslung the bow and gave that to him as well.
“Two are missing,” he said, eyeing the three remaining arrows.
“Not by my hand,” she said. “Okay, one was, but that was the price. What it took.”
He seemed to be mad, but after a moment he took a deep breath, smiled, and said, “At this time of day I imagine our good warlord will be entertaining a cohort of other warlords at his manor. We can go over there, and when they are done I’ll introduce you. But I’m telling you, if you embarrass me—”
“And
my friend?” she interrupted, glancing around for Robin.
“Up here,” Robin replied, working her way down one of the nearby walls. “Wanted to keep an eye out, be sure you weren’t followed.”
“Smart thinking.”
“This way,” Korak said, gesturing.
As they walked toward the large mansions on the other side of the slums, Korak kept glancing at them until Valerie finally asked him what was on his mind.
“We’ve heard of your type,” he admitted. “Rather, the warlords have. Been discussing it, actually. There’s one main guy, and you folks have got him worried.”
“Us?” Robin asked.
“The Etheric Federation,” he replied. “We have friends in far places, and it’s not like the rest of the universe doesn’t talk. We heard about the reach of the Empire first, which is now the Federation. Well, we Skulla won’t be taken over so easily.”
“The Federation isn’t here to take anyone over,” Valerie replied. “And we don’t exactly represent them, anyway.”
“You’re human, no? And you’re with the Federation?”
“Yes, and…I guess so?” Valerie shared a look with Robin, who shrugged. “I mean, yes, we are, but it’s all fairly new to us. We just want to protect Earth. For us it’s not about the politics, or whatever federations do, it’s about making sure anyone in space with nefarious goals is stopped. Making sure we have friends in space, if you know what I mean.”
Korak considered this, then smiled. “And you think the warlords will be your friends? The Bandian?”
“You don’t think so, clearly.”
Korak tilted his head, then tilted it back the other way as if debating what to say. “Here’s the thing… No.”
“No?”
“Not a chance. Stick around here long enough, you’ll see. You might even start to hear stories from some of the Skulla, rumors of him being on the outs.”
“Only rumors, though?” Robin asked.
Again he tilted his head back and forth. “Most likely they don’t have the power. You want to take down a warlord, especially the warlord, you need guns. You need lives to spare. You need spaceships, even. The most they can do is get themselves killed, maybe piss him off enough to get their family and friends killed too.”