The SciFi Triple Pack

by Adam Drake

  Ash stumbled into the hall after him. He raised his pistol at Stacks's back. “Stop or I'll...”

  But Stacks slapped the airlock's inner hatch open and raced inside.

  “What's going on?” Femke's voice came over the ship's open channel.

  “Nothing I can't handle, honey!” Ash said as he ran up to the hatch which swished closed and hit the keypad. It didn't open. “Shoot!” he said, looking up at the airlock screen above him.

  Stacks had already opened the outer hatch and was climbing down the emergency ladder.

  “No! No! No!” Ash said trying to work the keypad. Stacks had used some kind of emergency lock out code. Ash would need time to hack it again.

  Femke looked on in surprise as Stacks suddenly appeared on one of the outer screens, running down the length of the transport. “What the heck?”

  Ash ran into the cockpit looking sullen. “I wasn't careful.”

  Mortified, Femke looked to the screen. Knowing he was safe now, Stacks jogged toward Klayd, looking triumphant.

  “This is not good,” Femke said. “We just lost our only leverage.”

  As Stacks approached, Klayd nudged the man beside him. The man quickly raised his rifle and fired.

  The shot struck Stacks, who didn't have time to react. Instantly, his entire body brightly glowed, then vanished. A bubbling puddle of goo formed on the ground where he'd been.

  “They slagged him,” Femke said, incredulous.

  “Huh,” Ash said, surprised. “Guess they didn't want Stacks after all.”

  Femke stared at the screen in confusion. “If they didn't want Stacks then what do they want?”

  “Should we ask?”

  Klayd spoke over the comms. “What was that about?”

  “Yeah,” Ash said. “What was that about?”

  “We can't show confusion or weakness now,” Femke said. Into the comms, she said, “A gift.”

  Klayd shrugged. “I figured you killed him already while you were stealing my stuff.”

  “He has stuff in here?” Ash said, looking around as if whatever it was might reveal itself. “I didn't see anything when I did a sweep earlier.”

  Femke's brow furrowed. “What about Gish? Could it be what he's talking about?”

  “Is Gish stuff?” Ash said.

  “That doesn't make sense,” Femke tapped her finger against the console in thought. “We need to buy some time and look around. Knowing what it is might save our butts.”

  Ash raised an eyebrow at his wife. “How are you going to buy us time? They're looking pretty eager to get inside here.”

  Into the comms, Femke said, “I need to confer with my higher-ups before I can sign off on any handover. If they give it a green light, then we're good.”

  Klayd said, “No, you don't.”

  “What?” Femke said.

  “No, you don't have to confer with anyone. If any conferring needed to be done you would've done so already.” Klayd scratched his chin in thought. “Besides, we're jamming any outgoing frequencies, so try and confer all you like.”

  Ash glanced at a side screen. “Yup, he's jamming us. But that doesn't matter because we have no one to send a message too, anyway.”

  Femke held up a hand, trying to concentrate. To Klayd, she said, “Captain Klayd do you see any approaching ships on your radar?”

  Klayd glanced at a hand scanner. “Nope. Nothing.”

  “That's right,” Femke said, ratcheting up the sternness in her voice. “No one is coming to your aid. But my people know exactly where we're at.”

  Klayd scoffed. “Yeah? Then where are they?”

  “Waiting to see what happens. Be certain, Captain, if you do anything stupid right now they will turn you to hot slag.”

  Klayd appeared frustrated. “I still think you're full of it.”

  “If I don't check in, you and all your people are done. There will be no deal, no handover, nothing. And you know the worst part of this for you is?”

  “Getting slagged?” Klayd said, bemused.

  “You lose out on a future business partner. We may be ruthless, but not stupid enough to eliminate a potential ally on this crappy little moon.”

  This gave Klayd pause. He said, “What do you mean?”

  “Yeah, honey,” Ash said with wide-eyed expectation. “What do you mean?”

  Femke said to Klayd, “We've heard of you and are not impressed. Still, there could be something worth salvaging between us which might lead to bigger opportunities later.”

  Klayd was quiet.

  Femke said, “But none of that matters if I can't confer with those who can make those decisions.”

  The captain did not respond, his image unmoving on the screen. Both Femke and Ash watched him expectantly.

  Then Klayd said, “Okay, fine. I'll clear the comms. You got five minutes.”

  “Not five minutes,” Femke said, almost shouting in anger. “This will take longer than that.”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Think about it.”

  Klayd did.

  To Ash, Femke said, “Now he'll think I need to make a longer range call which would infer he's dealing with someone really big.”

  “How so?” Ash said. He didn't care about the reason, he was just happy to be married to this woman.

  “A long distance call. As in off planet. Interstellar.”

  When Ash still looked confused, she said, “Which will make him think he's dealing with a really big organization. Not some local hustlers, but someone who has a reach which spans over star systems.”

  “A conclave?” Ash said. Conclaves were the largest criminal organizations. So large and powerful, they controlled entire system groups. They were even larger than most stellar governments.

  Femke pointed a thumb at Klayd on the screen. “Right now he's thinking 'what if?' - what if we're part of a conclave? Does he want to take that kind of chance?”

  Klayd finally said, “Okay. But don't take too long.” He and the other man walked back to their scout.

  Ash let out a little cheer. “It worked!”

  Femke looked at the comms panel. “Channels are clear.” She pressed at some buttons.

  “Who are you calling?” Ash said. “We don't know anyone, either on this moon or even in this system.”

  “He doesn't know that, but we need to look like we are.”

  “So who are you calling?”

  “I'm just going to tether a channel to one of the comms satellites. Have it tell us about all the sports scores going on across the galaxy. It will look like data is being transmitted.”

  Ash watched as Klayd and the man climbed up the ladder and into the scout. “You've bought us some time, honey.”

  Finished, Femke stood. “Okay, I don't know how long we have but we need to tear through this transport quickly.”

  They started their search with the crew quarters in the upper decks, running hand scanners over every inch of paneling and hull casing. The benefit to the ship being so barren was that there were few places anything could be hidden.

  They entered the last crew quarters to find Gish floating in the middle of the room, eyeballs looking in the direction of the door expectantly.

  “Greetings!” Gish said with enthusiasm. “Much has occurred beyond that door, I wish to learn more about.”

  “Not now, Gish,” Ash said, as he and Femke scanned over the room. They kept a wary eye on the alien. “We got problems.”

  “Problems?” Gish said. “Problems are broken fractions in need of being made whole again.”

  Ash rolled his eyes. “This kind of problem is too big to fix with fractions or any other math.”

  “Most certainly it can!” Gish said. “What is the equation?”

  Femke finished her scan and shook her head. “Nothing here. That clears these upper decks, lets check the hold.”

  “It's pretty empty,” Ash said.

  “Need to check it anyway,” Femke said, then she stopped and stared at Gish.


  Gish, with his dozens of floating eyeballs, stared back.

  “Gish,” Femke said, after some thought. “How did you get on this transport?”

  “I was inside the inside!” Gish said.

  “That doesn't make any sense,” Femke said.

  “Are you surprised?” Ash said.

  Gish split his eyes between the two of them which was creepy to see. “Inside the inside! But when I craved the beautiful wave, I moved outside the inside in order to go feed.”

  “Were you brought here as a prisoner? A holding ceremony?”

  “Incorrect!” Gish said. “I hid at the inside, but the inside was taken and brought here.”

  “So no one is aware that you are on this transport?” Femke said.

  “Correct!”

  “A stowaway,” Ash said. “Where did you hide at?”

  “Shall I present the inside to you?” Gish said.

  “Sure,” Ash said.

  “Wonderful!” Gish said, floating to the door. “It brings me joy to help increase your minimal intelligence!”

  They followed the alien down into the cargo hold. The being crossed over to a section of the outer hull lined with a thick bulkhead.

  “This is the spot?” Femke said.

  “Correct!” Gish said. “But an obstruction has been placed over the inside of the inside!”

  Femke stepped closer and ran a scanner over the paneling. “Not picking anything up.”

  Ash ran a hand over the paneling's edge. “Seems pretty secure.” He looked at Gish. “Are you sure this is it?”

  “Correct!” Gish said.

  Ash tried pulling at the paneling, but it didn't budge.

  “Here,” Femke said waving her hand at him. “Stand back.”

  Ash did as he was told, smiling at what he knew would happen next.

  Femke chose a spot on the paneling then reared back a fist and punched it. The hard metal dented. She struck it several more times until the dent formed a crack.

  “I could shoot it,” Ash said, holding up his scatter-pistol.

  “Nah, I got this,” Femke said. Another hit punctured through the metal. She then gripped the ragged hole and tugged at it.

  The metal squawked in protest as she bent and yanked it off.

  In moments she had removed the paneling. She stepped back and stared with amazement.

  Ash was equally intrigued. “Oh, wow.”

  “Inside the inside!” Gish said.

  Secured against the inner hull were a series of narrow cabinets. Each one had a logo designation of a Med-Tech company.

  Femke carefully swung open one of the cabinet doors revealing a lab console deck within. Its screens and indicators were dark.

  Ash whistled. “Wow. Synth-tech lab equipment.”

  Femke nodded. “I'm not certain, but this is about as high grade as you can get.”

  “You can make Dust with it?” Ash asked.

  “Dust, Space, Impact, you name it,” she said, then looked to Gish. “You were hiding inside one of these cabinets when it was brought here?”

  “Correct!”

  “Then you got hungry and snuck away to the core?”

  “Correct!” Gish said. “Most happy your intellect is growing with each communication!”

  Ash said, “Whoever brought it here must not have noticed him and sealed the paneling up after he went to feed.”

  Femke said, “So this is what Klayd's after. And he was going to double cross Stacks to get it.”

  “So does this give us the leverage we need to get out of here?” Ash said.

  “I think so,” Femke said. “This tech is insanely expensive. Forget a shuttle to the port, our demands are about to get much more ambitious.”

  “Like in lots of credits?”

  “As in tons of credits!” Femke said with a laugh.

  Ash's scanner pinged an alarm. “Uh-oh,” he said.

  “What?”

  “We got two ships inbound and they're coming fast.”

  “Let's get topside,” Femke said.

  They got back to the cockpit just as the two ships arrived.

  Ash gaped at them on the screen. “Oh, crap.”

  One was a fully equipped gunship, dark, sleek and deadly. It circled around the transport with slow purpose.

  The other was a small troop transport which landed next to the scout. Armed men quickly disembarked and fanned out across the desert.

  “Bipedal shades of an offensive nature!” Gish declared.

  “By the stars,” Femke said. “The damned Jarduss military.”

  Klayd exited his scout and spoke to one of the troops. Then he turned to look toward the transport and spoke into his wrist comm.

  “Times up, idiot. Now we'll see if your higher ups will do anything to save you.”

  The troops moved closer to the transport. All were armed with the latest weaponry and carried hull breaching equipment.

  “This is not good,” Ash said with obvious dread. “I think the game is up.”

  Femke stared at the assembled troops and blinked out of her trance. “Not yet,” she said dropping into a chair. “Maybe we can get the engines fired up enough to get us out of here.”

  “Honey,” Ash said. “We're not getting away from this. The transport is too damaged.”

  “But we have to try!” Femke said, fear finally showing in her eyes.

  “We need to get from inside to outside?” Gish said.

  “Yeah, sure,” Ash said as he slumped into a chair. “We need to get as outside as we can.”

  “Like, the fringe of the galaxy, far from here,” Femke said, with frustration. Still, she tapped at the navigation panel and the engines sputtered to life, what little there was left in them.

  On the screens, the troops slowed their approach as the engines turned on. But they could tell the damage to the ship was too great. The transport wasn't going anywhere.

  Gish floated over to a power conduit along the wall. “If outside the outside is needed for the safety of all, then that is what must be assembled!” Suddenly, slim metallic tentacles emerged from the drone's base.

  “What the heck?” Ash said, alarmed.

  Several tentacles extended outward and attached themselves to the power conduit. One touched the navigation panel.

  “What are you doing?” Femke said, backing away and raising her rifle. “Stop that!”

  “Momentum of a forward nature can not be halted at this time!” Gish said. Electricity burst from the conduit and encompassed Gish in a flash.

  Femke and Ash fell back to the other side of the cockpit, eyes wide.

  “Gish!” Ash shouted over the crackling sound of electricity.

  “Time for outside!” Gish declared. Built up energy shot out from his body and arced over to the navigation panel. In seconds the whole cockpit was electrified.

  The troops outside halted, staring in confusion as large arcs of electricity traveled over the length of the transport. Some of the smarter ones moved back.

  The transport lifted, something the damaged engines could not do. Sand and debris slid of the ship.

  Ash and Femke looked to the view screen in amazement. They could see the military gunship hovering a short distance away, its main pulse guns growing brighter as it prepared to fire.

  Then it was gone.

  The screen was clear of the gunship, troops and desert. In fact, Jarduss Three was no longer showing. Instead, a vast star field splayed across the blackness of space.

  The electricity suddenly stopped, and Gish dropped to the floor. His eyeballs drifted to land in a heap at the bottom of his tank.

  Stunned, Ash moved to the navigation panel and tapped at it.

  “Honey,” Femke said, stupefied. “What the heck just happened?”

  Ash's eyes widened. “He did it.”

  “Did what?”

  Ash looked to his wife, his face ashen. “He just teleported us to the far edge of the galaxy! We're deep inside the Fringe!”

 
; Continued in the next instalment of The Galactic Fringe:

  Lost in the Fringe

  Blackout

  The nightmare begins

  In one fell swoop, civilization is changed forever.

  No one is unaffected, few are prepared.

  Some become survivors, others - easy prey.

  Only the strong, and crazy, will survive.

  Through the blood and chaos, civilization will be permanently transformed.

  And it all begins with one terrifying moment, when the lights go out and never come back on.

  Blackout.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Nate

  Pistol in hand, Nate Davenport eased through the bushes, then paused.

  His eyes scanned over the backyard, an ocean of tall grass and weeds occasionally marred by an island of garbage. A child's swing set sat along one side by the fence, rusted from years of disuse.

  Nate looked at the house. The windows of the two story derelict were boarded over, its back porch covered in leaves and dirt.

  For several long moments, he waited. He'd learned from past mistakes not to rush headlong into a place he was unfamiliar. You can get into all sorts of trouble that way, especially when on a job.

  Use your head, or I'll shoot it off!

  He heard Unger's voice in the back of his mind. The boss loved to berate the men in his crew, even if they did a good job. A warped way of keeping people on their toes.

  And it worked.

  Nate checked his temper before it grew too hot. Focus, he thought. Get in, get it done, get out.

  Satisfied no one was around, he slipped a nylon mask over his head and stepped out of the bushes at the back of the property line, then crossed the yard.

  The high grass swished against his pant-legs as he navigated around piles of crap. The pistol was kept low at his hip.

  Reaching the bottom step of the ruined porch he paused. Not having the chance to scout the place ahead of time, he didn't know how creaky the old planks were.

  Cautiously, he placed a foot on the first step.

  A sudden noise made him freeze. He looked about in alarm.

  A high pitched whirring sound echoed off the neighboring buildings. Apprehensive, he slipped his finger through the pistol's trigger guard.

  The noise continued; whirring, grinding, clanking.

  He recognized it. A garbage truck making its morning rounds down the street on the opposite side of the house.