Rivers of Orion

by Dana Kelly

  “I can’t believe you two ever broke up,” said Orin.

  “You just cain’t help yourself, can you?” asked Ky. “You just gotta pick at thangs. It’s all right, though. I can make you stop.” He approached a recessed refrigerator and retrieved a vial of clear liquid. “Know what this is?” After verifying its label, he inserted it into a jet injector. “Course you don’t, so I’ll tell you. It’s a very special blend of acetylcholine, one I like to call ‘Yorick.’”

  “Hm, I don’t get it,” said Orin.

  “It’s called ‘Yorick’ because whoever we give it to, you could say their friends knew them well—emphasis on the past tense,” said Rinshi.

  “He was bein’…!” Ky spun around on the mphuno. “He was bein’ sarcastic-like. See?”

  Rinshi cleared his throat. “Sorry, boss.”

  “It won’t work on me,” said Orin. “You might as well save that dose for someone else. My mind’s a black box.”

  “Cassie mentioned somethin’ to that effect.” Ky rolled up Orin’s sleeve and pressed the jet injector against his shoulder. “Still, I reckon it’s worth findin’ out for sure, don’t you?”

  “Why do you guys call her that?” asked Orin.

  “What, Cassie?” asked Ky.

  Orin nodded.

  “When we was married, that’s what she went by,” said Ky. “But she turned strange ‘bout seven years back. Real strange. I was startin’ to think she got took by a skin-thief, but her genetics checked out. And then she checked out of bein’ us.” He looked away for a moment. “No matter the why of it, I reckon. What’s done is done.”

  “Did you guys try to get some help? When I was a kid, my parents started seeing a counsellor. After my dad got his first deep space—”

  Ky squeezed the injector’s trigger.

  “—gig, he… I mean, uh,” stammered Orin, and a wave of euphoria swept through his body as he struggled for the memories that had informed his anecdote. Blinking drowsily, he clenched and unclenched his fists. “No, wait,” he said. Moment by moment, his past vanished before his mind’s eye.

  Within a snowy haze, he clung to the last moment he had shared with April. She promised me something—something I can’t forget. If I can just hold onto it, I’ll be fine. He grimaced. What was it? “Please, no,” he whispered, and the fog swallowed his memory of her too.

  Orin’s eyes darted around the lab. He found Ky staring back at him, smiling. “Excuse me, sir?” said Orin. “Where am I?” He struggled against his restraints. “What’s going on?”

  Ky chuckled. “Ain’t that somethin’…”

  ◆◆◆

  Casey piloted the shuttle away from the asteroid, and April stifled a yawn as she stared at the stars. “How much did we get for him?” asked April. She bit down on a hangnail.

  “Thirty thousand. Not bad, considering.”

  “Three hundred thousand would’ve been better. That’s what we would’ve gotten if we’d delivered him to the lab, ourselves.”

  Casey sought April’s eyes, but her cousin looked away. “Not if it cost us our lives. What’s gotten into you?”

  “Nothing,” April sighed.

  Over the commlink, Krané said, “Excuse me, Captain. Ky Rego transmitted the coordinates to his starship.”

  “Is he close?” asked Casey.

  “Less than a two-hour flight from our current position,” said Krané. “Shall I transmit the coordinates to you so we can all meet there?”

  “Sure, thank you.” Casey studied April. “Actually, belay that. Maintain your current position.”

  “Aye, Captain,” said Krané. “Awaiting orders.”

  Casey ended the call and pivoted to face April directly. “Seriously, are you okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this gloomy after a job before.”

  April smiled slightly, and she shrugged. “I will be.” Her heart pounded a bit harder. “I can’t be your first mate anymore.”

  Casey paused. “You’re joking, right?”

  “You can drop me off somewhere on Rhyon. I’ll find my way.”

  “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” said Casey.

  April looked at her with a mix of fury and tears in her eyes. “What do you think?”

  “Oh.” Casey swallowed hard. “Why?”

  “You’ve been knocked too far off course,” said April. “Doing the right thing used to matter to you, but after what you just did, it’s clear to me you’re only capable of drawing upon your courage when you no longer require it. Though it saddens me to bid farewell, I will never serve under a captain without principles.”

  Casey nodded. “I see.”

  “Good.” April dabbed her eyes with her sleeve. “I’m glad.” She tabbed through a list of Rhyondan starports.

  In her periphery, Casey noticed an orange light blinking with increasing urgency. “Can you do one more thing for me?”

  “Maybe. It depends on what it is,” said April.

  “The proximity alarm’s just been triggered, but the sirens aren’t working. Can you ask Cajun to look into that?”

  April sat forward. “Proximity alarm? I thought this place was abandoned.” Her fingers danced across the console.

  “I thought so, too,” said Casey.

  Scanners displayed a warthog-shaped starship on approach. “It’s a short-range shuttle,” said April. “Heavily armored.” Portions of the systems schematics flashed red. “I’m detecting active weapons and magazines.” She looked aghast at her cousin. “Pirates! It must be. What are pirates doing out here?”

  “Rocksaugh’s been abandoned for a long time,” said Casey. “Maybe it’s their hideout.”

  April shook her head, poring over the data. “Don’t be absurd. See if you can find the shuttle’s point of origin.”

  Casey regarded her questioningly. “Hey, I’m still the captain, here. You don’t give the give the orders. I do.”

  April glanced at her sidelong. “You’re not my captain. Not anymore.”

  Wincing slightly, Casey nodded. “Right. Point of origin,” she muttered, and she worked her half of the console. After a moment, a trajectory map appeared in place of the shuttle diagram. It led directly to a massive vessel outlined in red. “The starship Excrucio,” said Casey, and she studied the vessel’s transponder information. “Gobthar Veskgron is the owner and captain, and… Excrucio is a Colima-class battlecruiser.” Casey looked nervous. “I’m getting a lot of accompanying pings on the scanner—starfighters, mostly. There’s also a dreadnought, two missile cruisers, and four frigates. It looks like she’s part of a flotilla.”

  “Definitely pirates,” said April. After a quick search, she found hundreds of Rhyondan newscasts related to the warship’s captain. She selected the most recent one for playback.

  From aboard the smoking remains of a gutted starship, a spacesuit-clad journalist reported. “With a seemingly insatiable appetite for violence, Gobthar Veskgron claims personal responsibility for this latest senseless massacre. More commonly known as Blacktusk, he is perhaps the most dreaded space pirate ever to plague the stars of Rhyon. His fleet is responsible for countless acts of terror—like this one—directed against Monarch Cruises’ own starliner, the SS Champion.”

  The camera operator panned along scorched passageways, pausing to showcase several rows of blurred heads skewered on pikes. “Despite his brazen attacks on vital shipping lanes, federal authorities are slow to act. While local authorities claim they lack the resources to mount a meaningful response, it’s well known they are far too terrified of his notoriously brutal acts of reprisal to challenge him.” The operator returned the camera’s focus to the journalist.

  “Recently, Blacktusk has made several attempts to recruit powerful binaries to his cause. Should he succeed, his reign of terror would be unequaled, and scenes like this one could become commonplace.”

  April paused the playback and cast her cousin a seething glare. “I wonder why he’s here!”

  “No, because Ky promis
ed. He wouldn’t dare!”

  “At least you got your thirty thousand,” said April.

  Casey opened the navigation console and recalled Rocksaugh’s coordinates. She gripped the controls and turned her vessel about.

  “What are you doing?” asked April.

  Casey offered a determined smile in response. “I’m changing course.”

  ◆◆◆

  Ky led Orin down the boarding ramp. From all around, warning lights spun, and broken alarms cried out in warped tones. “Rinshi, gonna need you to wait right here,” said Ky. “I’m fixin’ to inject the imprintin’ agent, and I don’t wanna confuse the poor boy any more ‘an he already is.”

  “You got it, boss,” said Rinshi, and he stopped halfway down the ramp.

  Ky shoved Orin forward, prodding him with his blaster pistol. Moments later, the warthog-shaped shuttle taxied into the space where Casey’s shuttle had been, and she docked. Heavy armor plates covered her fuselage, and a lengthy pair of curved spikes protruded from her nose. Scarred from battle, she wore a mottled coat of red, and a pair of cannons extended from between her landing skids. Pillars of black smoke rolled up from her aft thrusters.

  A side door slid open, and two short, bone-plated ekkinids hopped out. While their exoskeletons were dull white with the slightest hint of purple, their abundant, strand-like tentacles pulsed with coordinated waves of scintillating phosphorescence. Upon braided appendages, they glided swiftly across the hangar bay, each of them bearing three small boxes. One of the ekkinids paused at the heart of the chamber, squatting low to retrieve a device from within a container. Gracefully, the creature placed it upon the deck.

  Ky stumbled slightly as spokes of gravity surged from the device.

  Lithely, the creature bowed toward him and followed the other ekkinid into the hallways beyond. Pensively, Ky’s gaze darted between Orin and the warthog-shaped shuttle. In time, the ekkinids returned and re-embarked.

  A massive gormgloch stomped into view, his skin made entirely of thick, blue stone. He faced Orin and Ky, glaring pointedly at them. With a grunt, he reached into the shuttle’s darkened confines to retrieve an iron stepping stool. Carefully, he set the stool on the deck, butting it up against the edge of the shuttle’s passenger compartment. Reverentially, the gormgloch bowed toward the shuttle’s interior.

  From within, a towering figure emerged.

  “Blacktusk,” whispered Ky.

  “Ky Rego,” said Blacktusk. He was melephundan, with thick brown fur and two pairs of long, curved tusks that jutted from either side of an agile, elephantine trunk. Three of his tusks were ivory, but the fourth was black as onyx and slightly larger than the others. Blacktusk had decorated it with jeweled bands and intricate gold inlays. Speaking with a distinct accent, his deep voice filled the hangar. “Is this the binary?”

  “That he is,” said Ky. “As soon as I get the other half of what I’m owed, I’ll use the…” He swallowed to moisten his throat, and he fumbled with the jet injector. “I’ll shoot him full of the imprintin’ agent.”

  “Naturally,” said Blacktusk. “It is only fair, after all.” Casting his body in shadow, a heavy cloak hung upon Blacktusk’s head and shoulders. He clicked and whirred as he descended the stool, and each unhurried footfall landed with a resounding thump. Slowly lifting his face into view, he revealed a lattice of ropy scars crisscrossing his trunk. Riveted to the bone, a steel plate protected part of his skull. In place of one eye, a robotic prosthetic regarded Ky and Orin. Paired to the movement of his natural eye, its iris glowed red.

  From the warthog’s cargo hold, two-score motley buccaneers exited the shuttle and gathered on either side of their captain. Most were human, but Ky noticed a calico-coated ocelini female and a sudasau couple. Unlike her male companion, the female sudasau stood tall and graceful. Colorful strips of leather bound her lengthy black dreadlocks. Her eyes were green, and aside from the miniscule tusks protruding from her lower jaw, she looked nearly human.

  “So, ‘bout the rest of that payment,” said Ky. He holstered his blaster pistol and reached into his breast pocket for an unmarked credit fob. Casually, he lobbed it in the air and caught it.

  “Broose, please pay the man,” said Blacktusk, and he nodded toward the gormgloch.

  “It’d be my pleasure, Captain,” said Broose, and he stomped close. Reaching into his cargo pants side pocket, he retrieved a ring of assorted, scuffed, and stained credit fobs. One of them bore the Monarch Cruises logo.

  “Oh,” said Ky, and he quickly pocketed his devices. With a grin and outstretched hands, he received Blacktusk’s payment. Stowing the ring, he took the jet injector back in hand and pressed it against Orin’s shoulder.

  Blacktusk tilted his head. “You aren’t going to count it, first? I have been told it is unwise to trust a pirate.” He chuckled, and his crew chuckled along with him.

  “No, sir,” said Ky. “That’d be impolite. We’ll be in touch if I ain’t happy.”

  “You will be very happy, I think,” said Blacktusk. “No, I guarantee it!” He laughed raucously, prompting his minions to do the same.

  “I have no doubt,” said Ky, and he pointed Orin at Blacktusk. “Since you wanna be the first person he sees after the injection, I reckon you oughtta trade places with your man, Broose, here. See?”

  “Yes, I see,” said Blacktusk. Broose rejoined the others as Blacktusk approached Ky and Orin. “You may proceed.”

  “Right,” said Ky, and he squeezed the injector’s trigger.

  Orin’s pupils dilated, and he swayed woozily. Ky steadied him, and Orin stood up straight. He smiled at Blacktusk and extended his hand. “Hello, sir! I’m sorry I can’t remember much of anything right now, but I have this feeling like we might be friends. Do I look familiar to you, at all?”

  Blacktusk laughed joyfully. “Wonderful!” He embraced Orin tightly. “You are Orin Webb, and I am Gobthar the Blacktusk! We are fast friends, and you are a powerful binary.” With a gleaming grin, Blacktusk leaned close. “You are the most powerful binary, which makes me the most powerful person in all of Ixion System. Now, show me what you can do.”

  Orin looked surprised and ashamed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember what I can do.”

  Blacktusk squeezed Orin’s shoulder. “It is no trouble at all. Ky Rego, please jog this man’s memory. Show him the video.”

  Ky tugged at his collar. “It’s the same video you got. The one I sent you. The one from the t-net.”

  “No, no, no,” said Blacktusk. “The t-net video is too blurry. It is possible Mr. Webb won’t be able to recognize himself in it. Show him the police video. The one your agencies would consider legal proof of his abilities. You have this, no?”

  “I ain’t got any other videos.”

  “Sure, you do! You wouldn’t honestly expect this much money to change hands without proof of this binary’s abilities,” said Blacktusk, and he smiled at Orin. “Don’t worry, my friend, I have another. It is much better than the one Ky Rego sent me.” He retrieved a datapad from his cloak and loaded a copy of the video taken from the hoagie stand’s security cam. “Here, Orin, look at this. It is very clear. You can see what you can do.”

  “Looks like that’s settled, then,” said Ky. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly. “Been a pleasure doin’ business with you.” He tipped his hat.

  “You stay right there,” said Blacktusk, and a chorus of clicks and prolonged beeps filled the hangar as his buccaneers cocked their weapons, spread out, and pointed their guns at Ky and Rinshi. “I still need proof. If you don’t have it, I will need another way to verify his abilities.”

  Silence hung in the air as Orin finished watching the footage, right up to the point where he was carried away on an ambulance gurney. With an excited smile, he regarded his hands. Blue fire engulfed them, and he scanned the hangar bay. Subtle swells of power rippled through his body. He harnessed their energy to buoy the footstool and set it back down. “This is great!”

&nbs
p; “Amazing,” said Blacktusk. “Now, try something bigger.” He pointed at the shuttle Ergo.

  “Sure,” said Orin, and he faced the vessel in question. With focused intent, fire roared from his hands, and waves of power coursed through him. Bringing their force to bear, he lifted the shuttle completely off the deck, ripping her docking clamps apart in the process. Impressed with himself, Orin let Ergo drop, and Rinshi tumbled down the boarding ramp.

  With a look of terror, the mphuno scrambled to his feet.

  “Simply amazing,” said Blacktusk, and he whistled. His trunk coiled affectionately around Orin’s shoulders. “Ky Rego intends to kill us. In secret, he plans to murder me and take control of my fleet. You must not allow this.”

  “Damn it,” said Ky. “Rinshi, warm up the shuttle!”

  “Yes, boss,” grunted the mphuno. Still somewhat dizzy, he lumbered up the ramp.

  “I did not say you could leave,” said Blacktusk. He pulled an enormous pistol from a holster hidden under his cloak. Two shots rang out, and Rinshi toppled forward onto the ramp.

  In a flash, Ky drew his plasma pistol on Blacktusk. He squeezed the trigger and held it. “This ain’t my first rodeo. This here plasma cell’s on a dead man’s trigger. If you shoot me, I release it, and we all go up. See?”

  “Yes, I see,” said Blacktusk. “Mr. Webb will keep us safe though, won’t you?”

  “Of course, I will,” said Orin, and he stared at Ky. “Mr. Rego, you should really consider turning that thing off. Right now.”

  “Not gonna happen,” said Ky, and he walked backward toward his shuttle.

  Blacktusk glared impatiently at his crew. “Someone, please shoot him already!”

  A barrage of plasma and pistol fire converged on Ky, and a deafening explosion filled the air.

  Ky howled as he stared at the cauterized stump that had been his trigger hand. A sphere of shimmering force contained the detonated firearm. Every bullet and plasma bolt hung in the air, a hair’s breadth from impact. All at once, the bolts fizzled out, and the bullets dropped to the deck.