The Seryys Chronicles: Death Wish

by Joseph Nicholson

That was when she heard the tell tale click of pistol being cocked.

  “Turn around, nice and slow,” Dah growled.

  “Impressive, Captain Dah,” she said with a genuine smile as she turned. “Not many can get the drop on me… or even detect me following them.”

  “I’ve been at it awhile,” he said, emotionless. “Now, let’s start with a few questions.”

  “Whatever you wish, Captain Dah,” her velvet voice betrayed no fear because she felt none.

  “Why were you at the SCBI Building that day?”

  “I would have thought that was obvious. To keep people like you out of Doctor Rashad’s office.”

  “Who’s your superior?”

  “Now, now, Captain,” she sung, swinging her athletic hips as she took a few steps toward Dah. “You know I can’t tell you that.”

  “Fine. What do you want from me?”

  “More than you can give, my dear. But, if you want to survive this encounter, I suggest you answer a question for me.”

  “I’m not answering shit for you,” Dah spat. “You’re just a mindless assassin who takes orders like a domesticated lupine.”

  “Now, Captain,” she smiled, stepping another few feet closer and coming into the light. Dah got a good look at her. And he faltered for only a second. She was just a kid! She must have put on a lot of makeup or something at the SCBI Building, because she looked older there. Without so much as a simple effort, Kay swiped her sword across Dah’s gun and cut it in half. The barrel fell to the ground with clank. “You shouldn’t hurt a girl’s feelings. It’s rude and quite un-chivalrous.”

  Dah took a step a back raising his hands. “What do you want to know?”

  “Colonel Khai’Xander Khail’s location.”

  Dah actually laughed. “I’ll give you Colonel Khai’s location! He’s in the forests of the Truhar Oasis about two hundred miles northeast of Seryys City, just outside the city of Klomehaven.”

  Kay pulled out her computer and keyed in that location and she frowned. “You think you’re funny.” She was not amused. According to her computer, several thousands of acres of forest were set ablaze when OS 12’s remains crashed there. Firefighters were doing what they could to keep the fire from spreading to Klomehaven, using the water from a two-thousand-square-mile lake on the shore of which Klomehaven stood.

  “I do,” Dah said simply. “And now I know who you’re working for. You tell Trall that, even if Khai was alive, I would rather die than tell him, or you, where he was. And you can also tell him that I know Puar is alive and I will find him.”

  “Not likely, but I’ll relay the message.”

  Without so much as another word or a second glance, Kay spun on her heels and ran off. She grabbed the rope to her grappling hook that still hung from the roof and climbed up like a spider. Before long, she was out of view. Dah turned and ran home as fast as he could.

  Kay had to smile. As good as Dah was, she was better. She was already on her way to her ship. She knew he knew where Colonel Khail was. And now he was going to lead her right to him.

  Dah was running home as fast as he could. Not only was he in danger if he had drawn the attention of an Agent, but Bria was in danger, too. He ran, looking back over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being followed. With his attention behind him, he nearly ran over a teenage boy.

  “Hey, gramps! Watch it!” he snapped, after regaining his balance.

  “Sorry!” he said as he kept running.

  He made it back to his apartment and sure enough, Bria was still there and had followed his orders to the letter. If circumstances weren’t so dire, he would have taken her right there on the floor of the living room, but they needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

  “Hey, big boy,” she said seductively. “What’s the hurry?” Dah said nothing, just ran for the bedroom. “Oh! I see.” She followed with a smile on her face.

  That smile disappeared quickly when she saw her lover packing a bag with enough weapons take down a police station.

  “Get dressed! We need to leave like ten minutes ago!”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “We’ve attracted the wrong kind of attention and we’re in danger!”

  “Who’s after you?”

  “Please, no questions right now. I just need you to trust me and get moving.”

  “Okay,” she replied.

  They were packed and dressed in five minutes. Dah was carrying all the bags and still running faster than she could. It was the military training on Gorn Planet; it made him stronger than the average man and she found that out last night.

  Using his codepad, he started the Star Splitter before they even got there. The engines were humming and hot when they arrived and the hatch was open for them. He threw all the bags in and helped Bria up into the ship. Once he was in, he slapped the button that closed the hatch and ran for the cockpit.

  “Joon,” Dah yelled. “Engine status!”

  “Engines are primed and ready, sir. Though I don’t particularly like the urgency in your voice.”

  “We’re in trouble. Run pre-flight checklist while I get Bria strapped in.”

  “As you wish, captain.” Bria was strapped in with her crash harness and so was Dah and it only took about thirty seconds when Joon’s voice broke the silence. “Checklist complete, sir. All systems nominal.”

  “Good. Let’s get the hell out of here!”

  He kicked the throttle hard, left the garage attached to his apartment, and soared for one of the higher, less-traveled sky lanes heading southwest.

  “Where are we going?” Bria asked, stress and fear filling her voice.

  “Tanbarder. It’s a small mining town along Kal’Hoom Canyon. I have family there. We should be safe there for a while, at least until I can figure out what to do. Joon?”

  “Yes, captain?”

  “Patch me through to my brother’s com unit. I want to let him know we’re coming.”

  “As you wish, sir.” A few seconds later, Joon’s voice came back. “I have him, sir. Patching him through to the cockpit com station now.”

  A mirror image of Dack’Tandy Dah stood in view of the camera. Dack’Tander was Dack’Tandy’s identical twin brother. They even had the same build, though Tandy was stronger only because he was in the military. Tander was a miner, and hard labor was his trade. “Tandy!” he laughed with a big smile. “It’s good to see you!”

  “You, too, bro.”

  “So, to what do I owe the honor?”

  “I need a favor,” Dah answered honestly.

  “Anything. What do you need?”

  “I need to hide out for a few days. I’ve pissed off the wrong people and I have an Agent after me.”

  The smile swept from Tander’s face. “I’ll have a spot ready for you.” He was dead serious now. “You watch your back, okay?”

  “Will do.” Tandy nodded with a slight smile. “And Tander?” He was about to cut the channel and looked up at his brother’s image. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime. You know that. See you soon.” Tander smiled warmly and cut the channel.

  Khai woke from a dreamless sleep and packed up. Moon was standing there beside him, ready to go.

  “Let’s get a move on,” Moon said. “We could be there by nightfall tomorrow if we hurry.”

  “I’m not disagreeing,” Khai remarked.

  They walked in silence. The sun was high overhead and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A large predatory bird made lazy circles in the sky above them.

  “That’s never a good sign,” Khai said.

  “What?” Moon asked.

  Khai pointed at the bird above them, stalking them, waiting for them to die so it could pick at their remains.

  “I wouldn’t worry that,” Moon said plainly.

  “Yeah? Why not?”

  “Give me your gun.”

  Khai followed orders and Moon shot the bird out of the sky. It landed about a hundred yards ahead of them. When they got there, t
hey realized the bird was pretty big; at least eight pounds. Khai used his knife to clean it and cut it into more manageable portions. The temperature was climbing. Khai figured it was about a hundred and twelve degrees.

  “Man! It’s a hot one today, isn’t it?”

  “Sure is, sir.”

  “Remember that time we went out into the wilderness on Gorn Planet?”

  “How could I forget?” Khai laughed. “Our thermometer said it was a hundred and twenty degrees outside, and we were lost without water reserves.”

  “We weren’t lost,” Moon said defensively. “I just momentarily lost my bearings.”

  “Momentarily?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We were out there for three days, one of which we had no water or food.”

  “I was able to find food; we just had to cook it on a rock. You were so picky back then.”

  “Well, I’ve had far worse now.”

  “I would imagine,” Moon agreed. “Oh look! I see a perfect rock to cook on!” Moon wiped the rock off with his hand and quickly jerked it away. “Yikes! That’s hot!”

  “Well, I guess that means it’s primed for cooking,” Khai said ruefully as he slapped the lean bird meat on the rock and listened to it sizzle.

  “So tell me,” Moon said, taking a seat on the rocks. “Why are so you bent on getting yourself killed?”

  “I would rather die in battle, for a good cause, than in a bed—old and decrepit.”

  “You don’t have anything to live for?”

  “Not that I can think of,” Khai was being honest. “I just want to make a difference.”

  “Well,” Moon responded with a sincere smile. “I’d say you made a difference on that space station.”

  “Felt good,” Khai admitted. “If I just could have gotten that son-of-a-bitch, Trall… I know Puar has to be alive somewhere.”

  “So you don’t think that you have anything to live for? You don’t think you’re making a difference right now?”

  “No,” Khai grumbled. “I’m eating bird, walking through a canyon with more injuries than I can count and talking to someone who’s been dead for decades.”

  “So what’s your next step, then, Captain I-have-nothing-to-live-for?”

  “Go after Trall. It’s obvious he survived, or there wouldn’t be a huge price on my head.”

  “Okay, and then what?”

  “Go find Puar-”

  “If he’s alive.”

  “He’s alive,” Khai said, popping a piece of bird in his mouth.

  “You’re so sure,” Moon said, standing up and looking down the long the canyon. “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” Khai grumbled. “Call it a hunch.”

  “A hunch?” Moon actually laughed. “A hunch? That’s ridiculous!”

  “It’s not. Trall’s got intel with Puar. As long as Puar is useful, Trall will keep him alive.”

  Prime Minister Pual’Kin Puar sat in the heavily-fortified bunker within Kal’Hoom Karr Canyon, a SPEAR sitting at the exit to the room where he had sat for weeks. He had no idea what was going on in the world around him. All he knew was that if he made any sudden movements, that SPEAR would reduce him to bloody goo.

  Suddenly the SPEAR moved, prompting to Puar jump into action, triggering his training and fight-or-flight reaction. When the SPEAR didn’t attack, Puar looked out from his cover position. He found Trall’s scrawny form standing in the doorway, a satisfied grin on his face.

  “What’s the matter, Pual?” Trall chuckled. “A little jumpy?”

  “You try getting shot at for nearly your whole career and let’s see how well you do. I suggest we start right now.”

  “Thank you, Pual,” Trall said as another, more sinister grin stretched across his sunken features. “But I think I’ll pass.”

  “You don’t look well, Trall,” Puar growled. “Being the Prime Minister taking its toll?”

  Trall ignored the dig. “What do you know about Colonel Khail? I can tell you that I’ve learned a great deal about him in the last week or so. Like that he still has an active status in the military, or that he has access to sophisticated weaponry from somewhere.”

  “Giving you a little trouble is he?” Puar mused, not bothering to hide his pleased tone.

  “More than you could ever imagine,” Trall grumbled.

  Puar laughed. “He must’ve destroyed the Hammer Cannon!”

  Trall slammed his hand on a desk. Puar thought he heard a bone break in his frail hand. “This is not funny! I need to know everything you know about Khai’Xander Khail and I need it now!”

  “He’s the most resourceful, well-trained, determined soldier the SCGF has ever had. He’s killed more Vyysarri by himself than some entire platoons. You can’t stop him. Nobody can.”

  “Does he have any family? Any loved ones?”

  “No,” Puar didn’t have to lie about that. “His father was killed when he was a boy, and his drill sergeant was killed by the Vyysarri. He has no one.”

  “What about this Dack’Tandy Dah?”

  “Who?” Puar feigned. He knew Dah because he worked with his little brother.

  “Oh, Pual. I know your brother worked with him. I have an Agent following him now. If you don’t help me, I’ll have to recruit his help.”

  “You leave my brother alone, you-” As Puar leapt to his feat to strike Trall, the SPEAR tazed him again.

  When the tazing was done, Trall knelt down beside Puar. “Now, are you willing to help?”

  “All I know is that he was trained as a soldier, but he dropped out to help the Seryys people planet-side rather than on a distant battlefield. And he works with my brother for SCATT.”

  “Yes, yes. All that I can get from the main computer. What I want, are the names of family, friends, allies. What is his relationship with Khail?”

  “I don’t know.” He was being honest again. “Khail only worked for SCATT for a couple months.”

  “No matter. Agent Thirteen will get the information I require,” Trall said casually. “Now, what do you know about Operation: Bright Star?”

  “Tandy! It’s good to see you!” Tander looked over at Bria. “Oh! Who is this?”

  “This is Bria’Nah Briar. She’s my…” he looked at her and she nodded with a warm smile, “girlfriend.”

  “Well,” Tander said, putting his most charming smile on and kissing the top of his hand. “It’s always a pleasure to meet Tandy’s friends.”

  “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet his twin brother. How will I tell you apart?”

  “Oh, that’s for me to know, and you to find out!” Tander said, playfully.

  “Great,” Tandy said. “I’m watching you closely.” Tandy gave his brother a serious look, then they both laughed heartily and embraced.

  “It’s been too long, little brother!”

  “Wait, little brother?” Bria asked Tandy.

  “Tander came out first. He’s ‘older brother’ by about three minutes. He’s been rubbing it in for decades. Anyway, how’s business?”

  “Not so great. Now that the Seryys City is protected by the energy shield, everyone else has been the target. The last attack knocked out one of my biggest mines in the canyon. And others have reported the same. The Seryys Miner’s Guild said that civilian losses have doubled in the last week. Meaning that the Vyysarri are attacking anything else they can find. Three other cities have activated their own shields, but the smaller cities are struggling to get theirs online.

  “Even our town with all its resources is still lagging to get ours up. We received the schematics package, but labor is hard to find at the moment and it’s slow-moving. I have personally sunk millions of credits into this project and have brought people from the outside to finish it. It’s stimulating the economy, but crushing my bank account and the accounts of those who are helping. We may be the richest city on Seryys, but there are even limits to what we can do.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Tandy said. “I wish there was somethi
ng I could do to help.”

  “Well, if there is, you’ll be the first to know. Now, how about we go back to my place and we catch up on the last year over a warm dinner.”

  “Sounds great.”

  They followed Tander to a stretch shuttle that wisped them off over the city to the private estate where Tander lived. It was a huge mansion, on several acres of land surrounded by a large stone wall that traversed the entire perimeter of the estate. They flew overhead to a personal landing pad attached to the side of the house on the third floor.

  “Hmmm…” Bria murmured, looking out the window.

  “What?”

  “I think I made a huge mistake,” she admitted.

  “What are you talking about?” Tandy asked, leaning closer to her.

  “I think I may have fallen for the wrong Dah…” she said, turning to her man and smiling playfully.

  “Oh!” Tandy laughed. “Very, very funny!”

  “Hmph!” Tander laughed. “If you like this, just wait ‘til you see the inside.”

  “How did you afford all of this?” Bria asked.

  “Well-”

  “Sir,” the pilot interrupted. “We’re about to land.”

  “All right, we’ll have to save that story ‘til we get inside.”

  They were escorted inside and the doors were locked behind them.

  “What’s with all the security?” Tandy asked.

  “Being a big contributor to the military makes me and my business a target. They’re providing me with protection in the event that the Vyysarri, or perhaps a competitor, gets any funny ideas.”

  “Wait,” Tandy said. “You mean these guys are military? What part of ‘I have an Agent after me’ don’t you understand?”

  “Take it easy, brother. I would never rat out my own brother. You know that.”

  “Do I?” Tandy was obviously hurt.

  “You should,” Tander shot back, obviously just as hurt. “I would die for you.”

  “You should’ve told me they were here.”

  “Think about it, Tandy. If you’re on the run from the government, this is the perfect place to hide.”

  “In plain sight,” Tandy realized.

  “In plain sight,” Tander repeated.

  “Okay,” Tandy agreed reluctantly. “But it’s only for a few days until I can figure out what to do.”