by Greg Dragon
Now they were dead and he was out of the war, stuck in limbo with the spies, and even now he still wasn’t fighting lizards. Val felt that his place was on the frontlines, bringing the fight to the Geralos. He relished the thought of his stargun tearing into the vehicles and buildings of their cities. They would have felt his fire through aggressive, kinetic rounds, and their race would feel the pain that every human across Anstractor had felt for over one hundred years.
He paused when he saw a framed las-sword on the wall. It had dried blood on the hilt and on the plaque it read: The sword that set us right. Wielded by Rafian VCA, First Supreme Leader. He couldn’t help but smile at his friend being heralded in such a light. In his head, Rafian was still the playboy he’d known on Helysian. Women and dogfighting was how he knew his friend, not this sword-wielding spy leader that he had become.
He missed Rafian, he had to admit it. The long nights they had spent in the sniper’s nest together, or simply catching their breath between battles, had made them close to the point where they were brothers. Through Rafian he had become so much more than a marine, and through Rafian he had met the love of his life.
“Vallen,” a familiar voice called to him, and he looked away from the las-sword to see Yuth Varience walking towards him, armed for combat.
“Yuth, what’s good, my friend? You look ready to go to war instead of recovering from whatever the hell that was that happened in the sky.”
“A crystal got nicked in a thermal explosion,” Yuth said. “Commander Tayden wore one in her necklace. She tried to jump with it and, well, that happened.” He smiled warmly, which made him even more handsome, and his powder blue skin deepened. “I am glad that I caught you. It isn’t very often that I get to speak with a warrior of your caliber.”
“Buttering me up, huh? What’s the bad news, Louine? You have a weapon, and you have that Yuth Varience stride going. I know when you mean business, brother.”
Yuth laughed and motioned him over to one of the many glass tables that occupied the agency’s lounge. They sat together and Yuth grabbed a bottle of whiskey. He poured some for Vallen even though he hadn’t asked. “We’re in a lot of trouble,” he began. “Laern, who is indoctrinated, has put our cloners out of commission and none of our technicians know how to fix it. I think that some of its properties are alien.”
“Alien? From which planet? We could just grab a genius from wherever it’s from and have them flown in to handle the repairs,” Val said.
“If only it was that easy, Vallen, but when I say ‘alien,’ I mean beyond Anstractor. The circuitry may as well be the ingredients of a Geralos’s black heart as far as I’m concerned. Nothing inside of those machines make sense, and with Rafian missing, we are all worried.”
“I bet you are. You can all die just like the rest of us now,” Val joked. “Look, I know it’s not funny, but what can we do? If Tayden can’t figure it out then maybe Rafian knows, but that would take us finding the boy, wouldn’t it? And it’s a great big galaxy.”
“This is why I came to talk to you, Vallen—”
“It’s Val. We bled together enough for you to drop that formal schtill with me.”
“Old habits, sorry, but we must find a way to reach him, Val. We need those cloners functional before the Geralos strike again.”
Vallen leaned back on the soft, floating chair and drifted a ways back from the table. “I have an idea,” he said and Yuth regarded him curiously. “Rafian’s face is known by just about everyone in the Alliance fleet. He’s a war hero, damn near worshipped by the cadets everywhere. I say we contact every one of those captains and tell them that Rafian is coming back from a mission. Tell them that he will appear on a ship but we don’t know which one. Have them look out for him and call us here if he shows up.”
“That seems like a long, roundabout way to putting out a distress signal,” Yuth said.
“It has to be roundabout. If it’s straightforward, the Alliance will know that we don’t know where he is. Rumors will spread, the stupid kind of rumors that we don’t need during a war. If we do it my way they will think that it’s some sort of ‘kiss Rafian’s butt’ lottery. They will tell their people to look for the Phaser and it will be under the pretext of ‘Phaser business.’”
“That is a good plan, Vallen,” Yuth said, showing as much emotion as he was capable of as a Louine.
Val stared at him curiously, and then sipped his whiskey before tilting his head and pointing the glass at him. “If I’m not mistaken, I think that was an expression of surprise from you.”
“It was …”
“Well, I’ll be damned, Yuth Varience is capable of emotion.”
“I assure you that we Louines are capable of a lot more emotional cues than you Vestalian humans, Vallen. We don’t crease our skin the way you do but you can observe our color, the size of our pupils, and the slight wiggle of the ears.”
“If you say so, my Louine friend,” Val said and looked off into the distance.
“Seriously, if you pay attention to us you will see it. Spend enough time around Louines and you will realize that we are very expressive people. I know of several family units that have human members—”
“See, Yuth, I can’t even begin to understand the family unit thing, much less your expressions. You guys all have several husbands and wives who all have wives and husbands of their own … how does that even work?”
“Simple. It is for the children, for the young Louines to grow up in a household that offers the best chance at preparing for the outside world. Think about it, Vallen. If you and Marika marry and you have a baby, then the only knowledge that baby gets is from your experience and her mysterious background. The baby will know Casanian words due to her mother, and some of the culture along with yours. If you were to follow our custom, you and Marika would marry Marian, possibly myself, and”—he sat still while his eyes flittered rapidly—“and a Meluvian Phaser. Any of them.”
“No Rafian? How do you marry me to Marian without her man?”
“That isn’t the point, Vallen. The point is the baby! Louines do not concern themselves with love and the selfish idea of one partner. It’s looked down on, like a perverted act! With your new family unit, baby Vallen would get your fighting skills, his mother’s Casanian artistry, Marian’s Tyheran culture, and the Meluvian’s beauty. A household of so many cultures would breed a brilliant baby that is way ahead of a human born to a couple of Phasers.”
Vallen’s head was swimming from the drink and he sat back and considered Yuth’s words carefully. “So the household becomes like a college of study for the baby, teaching him different things that each one of the members is good at,” he said.
“Exactly. Now in this case I used the different species that we have here in Zallus to illustrate my point. But on my planet, where families are primarily full-blooded Louine, we use a person’s competency and skill to measure compatibility. I am a skilled pilot and a warrior, so the woman or man who courts me will be looking for those skills to complement their own. Do you understand?”
“Oh, I get it,” Val said, “but that doesn’t explain the numerous times that you’ve been in bed with Tayden. Come on now, Yuth, you’re a proud Louine, but the ladies like you and I know you take advantage of it.”
“Pah! That’s different,” Yuth scoffed and emptied a glass before pouring himself another.
Vallen said, “You see that? You flashed a hint of purple when I said that. If that isn’t a tell then I don’t know what is.”
“If embarrassing me was your goal then you have succeeded. Yes, the commander and I had a sexual relationship when I was first brought on to become a Phaser. But once I pledged I put an end to it out of respect for the chain of command.”
“Really?” Vallen laughed. “Do you know who your Supreme Leader is?”
Again Yuth turned a shade of purple and he began to blink rapidly and stammer as he tried to object to Vallen’s accusations. “The dalliance of the Supreme Leader is n
one of our business, Vallen. Let us behave like gentlemen and leave him out of this.”
“Oh, Yuth, we’re just two soldiers talking. Relax. If Rafian was here he’d knock back one of these, laugh loudly the way he does, and say, ‘you got me there, but keep that to yourself, Val.’ That’s what he would do.”
Yuth did not say anything more, and he stared into his empty glass as if trying to decipher the makeup of the liquor. “I am not all business, Vallen. Forgive my mood, but I’ve seen how Rafian’s ways affect Marian. He has every right to do whatever it is that makes him happy but when it comes at the expense of that sweet woman’s heart, I would prefer not to encourage it.”
“That’s a good policy, brother. Maybe I ought to adopt it. Let’s walk this thing off and make a few comm calls. See if we can get our friend discovered.”
* * *
Since the thwarted attack on Zallus by the Geralos, the people of the tiny city had not fully gone back to work. The mayor-elect jumped on a cruiser to return to Louine, and everyone else seemed to be in a state of waiting. This made for crowds at all of the places that provided entertainment, and this was where Marian found herself looking for one Camille YAN.
She had taken a bike from the Phaser agency to the gates of Zallus and was quite surprised to see that the only security was a pair of androids. They called Zallus a city, but it was more like a village since the roads were paved dirt and the houses were metallic boxes sticking out of the ground. Time hadn’t allowed the city planners to develop magnetic pathways, taller buildings, and actual homes.
Marian left the 3B suit and Phaser cloak at home and instead dressed down in tight, black, leather pants, a matching jacket, and heeled knee-high boots. She pulled her hair back into a bun held in place by one of her knives, and slung her las-sword in such a way that it hung near her lower back. She had thought to leave it but caution forced her not to. She had received word that all the Geralos were dead, but the cloner was down and she did not want to take any chances with them.
Camille had come in with a cruiser from Helysian, but Marian was asleep and had to hear about it from Aurora. She had checked Camille’s house and found it empty, so she knew that she would be at her favorite place which was an outside bar. Marian knew the place but didn’t understand its appeal, since Camille, for the most part, hated people.
Marian parked her bike and secured it to an adjacent building, then walked across the red clay earth towards the crowded bar. There was a large tree that hung over the place, and one of the owners had used a lower branch to hang the sign with the name, ‘Diamond in the Rough.’ It was meant to be a clever play on the Phaser crystal concept, but Marian didn’t find it cute.
Rafian had been gone a month and she was beginning to question whether or not she would see him again. Camille was always a good person to talk to when she was down, and she hoped that the Phaser would have some good news from Helysian.
When she grew near the crowd they started on her instantly. Men and women came up to her flirting, some of them going as far as touching her hair or trying to grab her hand. Everything that Marian disliked about society was present in this bar and she looked around frantically trying to find Camille.
One especially slick character slipped behind her to touch her below her buttocks. What he grabbed instead was the bottom of her scabbard, and when he recognized it as a Phaser weapon he shrank back quickly, hoping she hadn’t noticed. Marian did notice but she pushed on through the crowd, seeing the near-white hair of her Phaser sister who sat at the bar emptying a glass of something orange.
“Camille,” she called, and the woman glanced at her with a look of casual annoyance.
“My comm is on, Marian. Did Tayden send you out here to get me?”
“No, I was worried,” Marian said and slipped in to stand between her barstool and another. The man seated next to her made to object but smiled when he saw who it was.
“This place is trouble, Rhee, it's why I don’t come armed. These people were praying to their gods not too long ago. Now with the threat gone they are getting schtill-faced on vako beer. They will disrespect you and I see the las-sword. You’re just going to end up killing someone.”
“I can hold my temper. I’m not killing anyone. Why do you like it here? This place is all kinds of wrong.”
Camille shrugged at Marian and hopped off the stool, then took her hand and led her out of the square. They walked for some time before coming upon the statue that had been erected for Rafian. There was some graffiti on the base and Marian ran forward and began rubbing it off with a rag. “Little thypers, do they know who this is?” she mumbled as she worked at removing the graffiti.
Camille sat in the grass and stared at the statue with a look of sadness in her eyes. “Don't worry about it. There are machines that do that every night. It’s a popular statue so kids are going to write on it. Why are you here anyway, Rhee? You never come into town.”
“I came because I needed to talk to you. Tayden’s a mess, and Marika has Val, so I had to come and find you.”
“You don’t like Val, do you?” Camille said with a big smile on her face.
“He’s sweet,” Marian said and ceased her rubbing to walk over and sit next to Camille in the grass. “I really feel like we should be doing something. All of this waiting to see if Rafian will make contact is driving me crazy. Everyone came back, but he’s still missing. What if he is hurt badly with no comm or anything? He could be near here, like near the beach, and no one is trying to look for him.”
“Then why don’t we go look for him?” Camille said. “I need an excuse to walk off this drinking, anyway.” She got up and Marian followed her out, and they walked towards a community transport. Marian took the controls and flew them to the rear gate, where they exited the shield wall and floated down the hill and into the forest. “I saw some fighters earlier. Do you know what that was about?” Camille said.
“Rend MEC sent his executive officer to help us with our lizard problem.”
“Really?” Camille laughed. “Talk about poor timing. I guess they can consider this an extended vacation then. Good for them. Hell, I would have loved it if Abe RUS had sent me to Vestalia back when I was on Helysian.”
Marian remained quiet for a time as she scanned the radar for any movement. When she finally spoke, she did so in a flat, humorless tone. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up the way you, Raf, and Tayden did. Children drafted into the military with no planet to call home. You’re all so strong, and it amazes me that you can be somewhat normal after all of that.”
“Do you think that Raf is dead, Cammy?” she asked suddenly, parking the hover car in the middle of a clearing.
“Marian, no! What the hell? If that man dies, one of us would have felt it. Tayden has the seeker blood, and she was able to touch him when he was lost in your world. She hasn’t felt him pass and neither have I, so don’t go there. Just leave it alone, okay? Take it from someone who dealt with it for two years; you don’t want to start thinking like that. If I were you, I would be more worried about him showing up with a prettier girl that he’s married behind your back.”
“You’re saying that I shouldn’t worry about him,” Marian said, not wanting to respond to the jab. But, alas, she couldn’t help herself and turned to confront Camille. “First of all, I don’t consider myself prettier than you. I think that you are a beautiful woman with enviable features. Second, he had no memory or else he would have probably left my world months before meeting me.”
She sighed again and ran her hand through her hair quickly. “Third, I don’t think he would willingly hurt me like that. I didn’t have as traumatic a childhood as you all had, but I gave up everything. If Rafian were to do that to me, I think I would kill him, and then myself.”
Camille waited as if she expected Marian to start laughing but when she didn’t her eyes grew wide. “Marian! I’m surprised to hear you say what you just did. It sounds like some schtill I would’ve said back wh
en I was on the psych ship. You shouldn’t give anyone that sort of power over you. Do you not have something that you can live for?”
Marian started the car again and slowly moved it between the trees. “Tyherans are passionate people, Camille. It’s all or nothing for us. We live full lives with passionate partners, and we put a lot of emphasis on love. You know, when I went back home with Marika, I did it to look for what you’re asking me about. I went to find a reason for living, something that wasn’t Raf. My galaxy was in trouble and I thought that my passion was to help free them from Palus Felitious.”
“So you found your reason,” Camille said reassuringly.
“No, what I found was that I wanted my husband next to me more than anything else in the world. Even my time with Marika, as sweet as it was, did not stop me from wanting him. I need love, Camille. Life has given me a lot of things but when I found love, it made everything else feel cheap.”
‘Maker,” Camille said, “he has you tethered doesn’t he?”
“Rafian is my heart, but it isn’t just him. I thrive on being in love.”
“Okay girl, you’re scaring me, so let’s make sure we find him. I don’t want to see you when you lose this love that you’re so passionate about.”
14 | Chains of Justice
WHILE TIM and Vessica were being looked after by one of the village’s doctors, Rafian went home to collect his things and close out the account on his room. The credits that he had stolen that first night had turned out to be substantial, and though he made a promise to pay it forward for his theft, he still felt little in the way of guilt.
After collecting the few things he had as possessions—a souvenir for Marian and a change of clothes—he picked up the locator, which was the Traxian’s only means of communication. He punched in the number for Jinay’s apartment and it took a very long time for her to answer.
“Is this my favorite friend?” she cooed into the receiver, her voice like honey to his ears.