Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1)

by David Roman

  “There,” Spaide pointed at a large flight of stairs leading underground.

  “What is it, a subway?” Vincent took a wild guess.

  “More than a subway,” Spaide replied as they began descending, “it’s the Grand Bazaar.”

  The hollow galleria they entered disappeared into the distance with store after store built within its walls and a high arched ceiling that held enormous lights illuminating the thousands of creatures that made their way through the area. The floor was made out of a reddish stone set in an argyle pattern, its glossy design resembling marble. Kids roamed by on airborne bicycles, the homeless perched themselves on every corner, and vendors positioned their booths amidst the traffic in hopes of making a quick buck (or whatever they made here) from the travelers.

  “Wait here,” Spaide cautioned, stopping by a green-skinned merchant. After exchanging a few words, he returned with two bottles filled with a blue substance, passing one to Vincent. “Here, drink this; it’ll quench your thirst. We must hurry before we’re spotted.”

  “What is this stuff?” Vincent opened the bottle and started to smell the weird drink.

  “Nutarian Soda,” Spaide answered. “One of the finest in the galaxy.”

  Vincent was dehydrated from all the running, so he didn’t mind drinking the odd, yet appetizing, soda. He gulped down the drink almost immediately. “Amazing,” he said, trying to compare it to anything else he’d ever tried.

  “Come on!” Spaide reached over and yanked Vincent again.

  Vincent groaned and followed.

  “I have a terrible headache,” he said after a few minutes of walking and constantly dodging merchants that tried to entice them into buying their products.

  “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you,” Spaide replied.

  “No… I mean, I’ve had it ever since I woke up. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember much?”

  Spaide didn’t respond.

  “Where are we supposed meet these… these twins?” Vincent persisted with the questions.

  “There’s a bar around the corner,” Spaide said. “The Space Pirate’s Hideout.”

  “So indirect,” Vincent murmured.

  Finally, after taking consecutive turns into other tunnels, they reached a set of stairs that led up to a rusty door of a three-story brick building.

  “Here we are,” Spaide said and kicked the door twice. “Don’t look around and don’t talk to anyone,” he warned.

  The slit in the door opened, and a pair of yellow eyes stared out at the duo. “Who is it?” roared a guttural voice.

  “It’s me, stink breath, open up!” Spaide pulled on the handle.

  The eyes set their gaze on Vincent. “Who’s your friend?”

  “He’s with me.”

  The creature hesitated, staring at Vincent suspiciously.

  “It doesn’t matter who he is!” Spaide raised his tone. “He’s with me!”

  “Last time you brought Imperials with you, Spaide, and now some weird-looking… thing. What is he? A mutie of some kind?”

  “Open the damn door, Zadora! He’s a friend of ours.”

  The eyes glared for a mere second, and the window slammed shut. There was a screeching noise, and the door opened. As Vincent walked in, he couldn’t help but stare at the creature behind the door—a short, corpulent red alien standing on top of a stool.

  “Don’t look at me like that, buddy,” the creature growled with the menacing voice, noticing Vincent’s surprised reaction. “I'm a very dangerous man.”

  Vincent nodded, stifling a laugh.

  The foyer led to a round area packed with hundreds of aliens. Screens flanked the walls over the bars, displaying a plethora of odd programs, while the speakers were poised on the poles and hung from the ceiling, playing electronic dance music. In one corner, two holographic images were fighting each other atop a table, surrounded by creatures that drank and placed bets.

  First thing Vincent noticed is that most of the aliens had some sort of a weapon dangling from their belts, ranging from guns to daggers.

  “There.” Spaide bobbed his head in the direction of a table in the far obscure corner where sat three people concealed in coats. He then wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and turned to Vincent. “Look, you must tell them the truth, step by step,” he added. “I must warn you, though: they’re not as trustworthy as me.”

  “I’ll tell them what I know,” Vincent said. “But I want some answers myself.”

  “Agreed, then. Let’s go.”

  Spaide was the first to approach the table. The young man nearest to them was huge. Even though a trench coat covered him from the neck down, his muscularity was easily visible. His straight, raven-black hair, encircled by a headband, extended down to his jaw line, outlining his stern face with a straight nose and a strong chin. He looked human except for a few differences: there were gleaming crystals in the middle of his pupils, and his ears were slightly pointy.

  Vincent was taken aback when the alien gazed directly at him; he looked just like… the dying alien from the ship! Vincent raised a hand to his forehead. He was beginning to remember. Yes… the alien! How could I forget?

  Beside the big guy was a young man of average height and physique. He had his hood up, covering most of his features, but through his illuminating eyes, Vincent figured him to be a member of the same alien race. The third cloaked figure was sitting in the shadows, and from what he could tell, it was a female.

  Vincent nodded in respect and sat at the far corner.

  Everyone cast questionable stares at him.

  Spaide sat next to the hooded man and started to whisper in his ear. The man’s eyes widened from the information, and his face filled with anger. “What?” he shouted, slammed his fist on the table and got up, glaring at Vincent.

  The big man quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and sat him down with ease. “Not here,” he said with a deep voice.

  “But—”

  “Come on,” Spaide said. “Let’s discuss this.”

  The three of them engaged in a talk that seemed to last forever.

  Vincent looked around the bar. His memory of going down into the ship came back to him and with it came more questions. So I did go into the ship after all… What happened there? Was the alien this Oryon guy?

  “Saturn, come here.” Spaide beckoned for Vincent to sit down across the hooded man who looked like he wanted to rip his head off.

  Vincent shifted over.

  “This is Damocles,” Spaide began, introducing the big guy and then gesturing toward the other, “and Exander Krynne.”

  Vincent rose up and stretched out his hand in the most adequate manner. The big man firmly returned the handshake, but the other only continued to coldly stare at him.

  “Sit down, creature,” the hooded man said through his teeth, his piercing stare burning a hole in Vincent.

  “And that’s Princess Gaia Ferra,” Spaide pointed at the figure in the shadows.

  “Senator Gaia,” the man named Exander corrected, apparently trying to cloak the woman’s noble status.

  Vincent looked over and at that time caught a small glimpse of the woman’s face under her hood. She was an alien woman of the same race as the twins, with breathtakingly beautiful features and violet-colored eyes.

  “Vincent Saturn,” Spaide introduced him.

  “And how do we know he’s not a spy?” Exander asked.

  “Just look at him,” Spaide said. “He didn’t even have a translator when I first found him and passed out at the glimpse of the city. He has no idea of the Republic and till today believed his kind were the only ones in the galaxy.”

  “Then what is he doing here?”

  “I… I don’t know.” Spaide looked at Vincent.

  Vincent remained quiet, watching these people discuss him as if he weren’t even there.

  “An android?” Exander asked.

  “Of such immaculate design?” Spaide said. “Even Zeth’s
Dragoons are not made with such perfection!”

  “Well, why would Oryon send this creature in his place with no warning?”

  “He professes to be from a world I’ve never even heard of.”

  “An unknown system?” the big man asked calmly.

  “Some system called ‘Earth.’”

  “Earth? I’ve never heard of it either.”

  “It’s there,” Vincent said. “I—”

  “Maybe it’s one of the secret systems only Oryon knew about?” Spaide suggested.

  “Spaide!” Exander exclaimed. “Let him speak for himself.” He then turned to Vincent and said, “From what I see, you might be from a strange planet. That, I will grant you. But what were you doing on Oryon's ship, and where are Oryon and Duell? That’s what I want to know.”

  Vincent sighed again. He had no idea of the names constantly mentioned to him. He tried very hard to remember, but his memories were hazy; and with every passing second of this interrogation, he couldn’t help feeling that his hopes of making it back were evaporating.

  “There was a crash,” he started. “Some vessel crashed into the desert of my country. At first, we assumed it was a meteor, but arriving at the scene, we realized it was a spacecraft. As I started to investigate, my curiosity took over, and I went inside… against the will of my superior.” He rubbed the back of his head, trying to recall those events. His headache doubled under this demand for information.

  “Bastard!” Spaide grunted. “You didn’t tell me that earlier!”

  Vincent shrugged. “Maybe it’s because you nearly knocked me out?”

  “Oh, we’ve a comedian here.”

  “I’m just beginning to remember…” Vincent said, touching his forehead. “It’s slowly coming to me…”

  “Then what happened?” Exander asked impatiently.

  “There, in the corner, I saw a man on the floor…He looked like you, only older—”

  “Oryon!” Exander snapped once again, getting up. “Where is he? What have you done with him?”

  “Calm down,” Damocles said. “Let him continue.”

  Exander raised his fist as if he were about to slam the table once more, but then sat down, struggling to keep his cool and not gain any outside attention.

  “You saw Oryon, and then what?”

  “I cried for help, but then something strange happened…”

  “What? What happened?”

  “He said something…” Vincent said, “…and then… and then, this terrible headache… I must’ve passed out… waking up all alone on this faraway world… and that’s when Spaide found me.”

  Damocles and Exander looked at each other.

  “What about Duell?” Damocles asked. “Where was Duell?”

  “I didn’t see anyone else,” Vincent answered.

  “You expect us to believe this nonsense?” Exander fumed.

  “I’m sorry, but that’s the truth… at least everything I remember. Maybe the rest will come to me later. If there is any more, that is.”

  There was an awkward moment of silence.

  “Spaide, we need to talk.” Exander got up, throwing Vincent a mistrusting look. “Sit there,” he warned as the three of them went into the corner.

  By this point, Vincent was barely able to control his own temper. He needed to get home, and to do so would require earning their trust. But at the same time he could see why they had a hard time trusting him.

  “So what are you?” asked a feminine voice.

  Vincent awoke from his thoughts and turned his gaze to the woman. “What?”

  “I mean, what is your species called?”

  “I’m… a human,” Vincent answered.

  “A human? How interesting...”

  Vincent had no response and kept quiet. But she continued staring at him with those striking eyes.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she replied. “I just find it crazy.”

  “What?”

  “That there’s an advanced race resembling us, and yet…”

  “Yet?”

  “I’ve never even seen or heard of your kind.”

  “You wouldn’t be the only one,” he said. He remained quiet for a few more seconds and then added, “I just want to get back home, you know. I really, truly, honestly don’t recollect how I got here.”

  “If anyone can help you, it would be them,” she said. “Oryon’s their leader, so you must realize why they’re upset.”

  “So… what are you guys?” Vincent asked.

  “We’re members of a hominid race called Xenians… and Spaide is a Dirsalian.”

  “I see…” Vincent nodded as if this info helped him somehow, but then said, “Look, I might not know how I got here, but I’m no idiot. This Oryon guy is a wanted man, isn’t he? Why else would Spaide be evading the authorities?”

  She glanced away for a moment and then briefed, “We’re members of the last remaining resistance against the tyrannical government that rules the known galaxy.”

  “The Republic?”

  “This totalitarian regime called the ‘Imperial Republic’ controls every known star system. Some are controlled directly, others through corrupt vassalages. Those that stand in their way are simply killed.”

  “They don’t control every star system,” Vincent muttered.

  “You must realize Spaide finding you was a good thing,” she said. “If the Republic learns of a planet they haven’t yet conquered, your people would be in trouble.”

  “I see that now…”

  “You destroyed the Shadow?” Exander’s edgy voice thundered through the bar amid the music and the sound of the many creatures’ quarrels.

  “I had no choice!” Spaide said in defense. “But I managed to save the data disk!”

  “We must go,” Damocles said, looking around at the staring variety of eyes.

  Exander walked up to the table. “Don’t talk to him, your highness!” he said to Gaia as he stared down at Vincent, his hand inside his coat.

  Vincent got up and stood face to face with the enraged Xenian. He didn’t know what the crazy youth was going to do, but it was the only way to show that he wasn’t a coward, and—above all else—a liar.

  “I told you he’s all right!” Spaide rushed to pull the young man away.

  “Stay back!” Exander waved his hand in Spaide’s direction, and an unseen force shoved the Dirsalian, forcing him to lurch back.

  “How dare you!”

  Vincent couldn’t believe what he saw, but nevertheless stared back into those crystallized eyes—eyes full of rage on the edge of an outburst—while his mind was pondering just what these aliens were going to do with him.

  “You’re a brave man,” Exander started. “But if I find out you’re a spy…” He paused, stretching out his hand and gripping Vincent’s. “I’ll kill you,” he added, leaning closer and squeezing hard.

  “Sounds fair,” Vincent answered, refusing to show any sign of the excruciating pain caused by the young man’s strong grip.

  Exander then turned to the rest of the crew and said, “Come on. Let’s go to the room. We must confer in private and get to the bottom of this.”

  Damocles, Gaia, and Spaide, who was still fussing about being pushed, were already halfway to the door when ten creatures surrounded Exander and Vincent. They were about five feet tall with greenish-grey skin, long pointy noses, small round ears, and eyes of a dirty olive color.

  “Why you botherin’ this creature?” one of them gargled, pointing at Vincent.

  “Creature?” Vincent exclaimed.

  “Get out of my way if you want to live,” Exander stated boldly, staring the goblin dead in the eye.

  “Whatcha gonna do, Xenian scum?” roared another, stepping forward with a large saber.

  Exander took a step back, reached into his coat, and grabbed the handle of what seemed to be a sword. The bright metal of the blade shone through the room as he pulled it out halfway. The music stopped
, and everyone turned to them. Suddenly, a large hand landed on Exander’s shoulder, halting him from completely withdrawing the weapon.

  “Is there a problem?” Damocles’ deafening voice rumbled. He took off his duster coat and threw it on the ground, towering above the miniature goblins with his six-foot-plus frame. He was the biggest man that Vincent had ever seen: massive trapezius muscles connected his thick neck to his wide shoulders; his arms—perhaps over twenty-five inches in girth—were full of ripping veins; and his enormous chest, on top of the rock-hard abdominals that protruded through his black spandex shirt, was at the eye level of the horrified creatures. Loose black pants, girdled by a belt with a blaster and throwing knives, were tucked into his boots. Around his neck he wore a chain with a shimmering pendant, and attached to his back was a scabbard with a huge sword.

  “Do we have a problem?” the big man repeated, looking down.

  “No,” the goblin forced out just before he took a step back and ran out of the door, followed by his cowardly companions.

  The music resumed and everyone went back to their business in an instant.

  “You see, Ex? Violence isn’t always necessary,” the big man said, retaining his coat.

  “Yeah, just another excuse to show off his muscles,” Spaide said.

  “Always, ” Exander agreed. He looked around the bar at all the faces that turned away as soon as he met their gaze. “Let’s get out of here before someone else gets any smart ideas.” He then strode towards the door.

  Vincent turned to the Dirsalian. “So, they’re twins, huh?”

  “Yes.” Spaide frowned. “Why? Can’t you see the resemblance?”

  CHAPTER III

  Sebalon 2

  The companions left through the back door that opened into a gloomy passage between two windowless buildings. Exander led, followed by his brother, then Spaide and Gaia abreast, with Vincent reluctantly dragging behind the group, reprimanding himself for his actions that got him into this mess in the first place. It always happens to me, he thought. I guess this is one of those times when I should’ve listened to Alex. The wonders of the new world were slowly ceasing to amaze him, and now there was only one thing on his mind—the same question that affected these aliens as well: just what was he doing there?