by Helix Parker
He raised his eyebrows as if impressed and unlocked a cabinet. He took out a bright red drink and poured it in a glass and slid the glass out to me. I shot the liquid down my throat. It burned all the way down and left the vapor which poured out of every orifice of my body. The vapor of Simian brandy was meant to be an added effect: it would sharpen your senses and give you energy, though it made me jittery if I drank more than one glass.
“So what’s a pretty lady like you doin’ in this capin’ place?” he said.
“Just trying to get some help.”
“Well you’re in the wrong place for that, doll.”
“Who runs this outpost?”
“Not really an outpost. We’re more like an independent colony. The People’s Republic don’t do nothin’ for us.”
“You sound bitter.”
“Well, what do you do when the cops are worse than the criminals?”
“So it’s not an outpost. But there has to be someone in charge.”
“Not really, but if there were it would have to be Silex. You’ll meet him soon enough. He’s in that back office there where your friend went.” He glanced around and leaned in closer. “I like you, doll. So I’m gonna tell you somethin’: run. Get outta this place and run. This ain’t no place for nobody and Silex is dangerous. He kills people over nothin’ and certainly wouldn’t have no qualms ’bout killin’ an offworlder.”
“Thanks for the advice, but if he has information I’m going to get it.”
“And what information is that?”
I pulled up images of the two I was looking for. “These two were here not one SGD ago. They sold some medical supplies. I need to find out where they went.”
He smirked. “Yeah, I know him. Larso … somethin’. I tell you though, them supplies ain’t gonna do no good cause they ain’t goin’ to the people that really need it. Silex is gonna hang on to ’em and sell to the highest bidder.”
“I don’t care. I just want to know where these two went.”
“Silex has got a star gazer in there, might be able to tell you which quadrant they shot off to. Don’t see no other way to do it though.”
The man came back out. I looked to him and he motioned for me to follow him. I stood up and the bartender grabbed my arm.
“Last chance, doll. Go up them stairs and don’t look back.”
I removed his hand and followed the man to the back office.
3
We went down the corridor and I saw that the door leading to the office was closed. He pressed a button on the side and it slid open. I saw Silex sitting at the desk, a blaster placed on the table in front of him. I felt tingling on my neck and glanced back. Three men were there, staring at me. I walked into the office: another four men. Nine men total with Silex. I analyzed the space and the most efficient trajectory to take out as many as I could with a single movement.
“Please sit,” Silex said.
“I prefer to stand.”
He shrugged. “So what brings you to our little slice of hell?”
I brought up the images. “Larso and this clone. I want them.”
“Clone, huh? She didn’t look like one to me. If I’d a known maybe I woulda tried a little harder to keep ’em here.”
“Where are they?”
“Don’t know.”
“You have a star gazer. Use it and tell me where their hyperspace trail led them to.”
“No.”
“Even if I say please?”
He smirked. “You know it’s always the same with you PR types. You come in here when you need something but when you don’t we’re just beneath your gaze aren’t we? Untouchable. The Republic only cares about their people and to hell with everyone else.”
“Your lives are valueless to me. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll leave without harming any of you.”
The men chuckled.
“Harming us, huh? Now that takes balls, don’t it?” he said. “Why don’t we see if you have balls, huh? Strip her naked and tie her down to my desk and let’s just see what’s under there.”
Two men rushed me, one from either side.
I flipped back against the wall, and then forward as my blade ignited. I landed on his desk and swung in an arc as I flipped off the desk to the side, taking the heads off two of the men. Blaster fire from behind me—one hit me in the chest and I flew against the wall from the impact. I looked down to see that the sonic blast had dissipated without piercing my suit.
Crouching low, I sprinted for a bald one and jumped onto his shoulders before flipping off and swinging downward with the blade, cutting the man who’d shot me into two halves. The other one rushed me and grabbed the blade so I couldn’t swing it. I headbutted him, kneed him in the genitals, and then bit into his eyeball. He screamed and his grip loosened on the blade. I pushed the tip into his throat and then slammed his head down with my palm, forcing it onto the blade and up through the top of his head.
I spun and pointed the sword a few centimeters from Silex’s eye.
“Drop the blaster.” He did as he was told. I glanced to the bald one. “Do you know how to work the star gazer, fat man?”
“Yes.”
“Then I only need one of you alive. Who has the most to offer me?”
Silex glanced behind me. I drew the energy into my blade and fell backward, slicing through the air as bolts of energy flung from the blade and into the three men trying to sneak into the room. The crowd outside panicked as the plasma energy tore through the bar and into the walls. I flipped back up to my feet and pressed the blade lightly into Silex’s throat.
“Where did they go?”
Silex slowly turned to a cabinet behind him. He pulled out a small machine and verbally inputted a code. Coordinates spewed out in an electronic signature and I memorized them. The star gazer could only give me the quadrant of where the ship was headed based on its ion trail. It couldn’t tell me what planet or even what solar system. But it was a start.
“Now you’ll let me live?” Silex said.
“Pick up your blaster.”
“What?”
“Pick it up.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Pick it up.”
“No.”
I smiled. “You were tough a second ago. You were going to strap me down naked to the desk and rape me. Right?”
“Hey that was just fun and games. I was only kidding.”
“Really?” I turned to the bald one. “Strap him naked to the table, fat man.”
“Excuse me?”
I elbowed him in the face and he yelped, blood cascading out of his nose. “Do it.”
The fat one walked over to Silex. He didn’t know where to begin so I gave him some help. I cut through Silex’s armor, revealing his skin underneath, a thin burn across his chest from the heat of the blade.
The fat one helped him stand. He started taking off his pants when Silex lifted the other blaster he’d concealed in his waistband and fired. I ducked, the sonic blast ricocheting against the walls of the office. I flew over the desk, the heel of my boot crashing into his jaw. He soared against the wall and swung with his fist and I slipped underneath it and jabbed my fingers into his eyes. He screamed and I slammed my elbow into his heart. I did it twice before he had a chance to react and then hit him with a spearhand thrust and a palm to his solar plexus.
He didn’t recognize it at first, but he couldn’t breathe. His heart had stopped. Silex tried sucking in breath and panic grabbed him as he realized he couldn’t. I turned away from him, toward the fat man.
“No, please. Don’t. I’m just here working for Silex. I keep track of the proceeds from the bar, that’s … that’s it. That’s all I do. Please, I’m not with them. I’m not one of them.”
I swept his legs out from under him and he fell with a thud to the floor. I walked past him heading out to the bar, and slid the tip of my blade across his throat. He was gasping and gurgling as I walked down the corridor to the bar. It was empty exc
ept for the bartender. I walked to him.
“Who are you?” he said, his lips trembling.
“The last person you will ever see.”
I snapped his neck and slammed his head into the bar and flung his body back into the bottles and mirror, which came crashing onto the floor. I headed up the stairs and opened the door and saw Karma lying there in the sand, staring up at the sky.
“Everything go okay?” she said.
“Perfect.”
4
We walked back through the tents to our ship. We got a few glances but nothing more. A few of the men were armed and clearly part of whatever group Silex was in. They seemed confused as to what to make of us walking out of there so I made sure to resolve their confusion.
“Silex is dead. If any of you want to join him, make your move.”
The men exchanged glances but didn’t do anything. One of them lifted a rifle and placed it on a holster that was strapped to his back. He walked away from us. The others followed after him.
I disabled the ship’s armor and punched in the coordinates on the navicomputer. A three dimensional hologram appeared with several solar systems displayed.
“Aries Belt,” Karma said. “I’ve been there. Is that where we’re going?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure where. It says there’s over seventy planets in Aries. We can’t search them all.”
Karma stared at the map. “Right here,” she said, pointing to a small solar system with six planets. “That blue planet is Lais. It’s a tourist spot, for vacations, and they have an information broker. If we got the units I bet he’s got some intel about who’s landing where.”
I looked to the little planet. I switched off the navicomputer and prepared for takeoff. “Get in. We’re taking a vacation.”
NEPHI
The med bay on the station was excellent and after a few hours of surgery I was cleaned and wrapped in healing bandages. They permeated my skin with a mixture of pain medication, healing salve, and nutrients, giving me a pleasant lightheadedness.
The recovery rooms were bare. Just steel and windows. I stared out at the stars and the ships coming and leaving the station.
My door softy hummed, indicating someone was outside, and I said, “Yes?”
The door slid open and Kooney walked in. He was in a black military uniform with gold trim and he looked much more authoritative than he had the last time I saw him. He was in his element now, surrounded by bureaucrats and red tape.
“How are we feeling?”
“Like I got blown up.”
“You’re lucky to be alive, Marshal. Keynes was a dangerous man.”
“Is that really who I was sent after?”
“No, I did in fact want this clone. The death of Captain Keynes was just an … added bonus, I guess you could say. But you did the right thing. He would have hunted you to the ends of the galaxy for the rest of your life if you had let him live. He wasn’t one to let things go easily.”
“Yeah, I got that impression.”
He exhaled. “So, Monica informs me that you would like the three remaining series Eights I have in my custody.”
“Yes.”
“Hm, interesting proposal indeed. The problem is, Marshal, I use them myself. One is outside this door as we speak. When I visited you in Egypt, one was stationed on my ship waiting there for my return. I do not go anywhere without one. How about some Elites? Certainly a squadron of Elites can handle—”
“No, it’s got to be the Eight’s. I’ve never seen anything fight like them.”
“Remarkable, aren’t they? Only this government would be thoughtless enough to discontinue their use. But I digress. We were speaking about your request. I’m afraid the Eights are my personal guard and the fact that you managed to get one destroyed does not help your credibility.”
“If I’d known exactly what I was getting into maybe I could’ve been better prepared.”
“Maybe, maybe not. It’s senseless playing with conjecture. But I’m not an unreasonable man. I will give you one more series Eight and three Elite soldiers. But, as they say, I expect something in return.”
“What?”
“This clone, and any others like her.”
“How many others?”
“We’re not certain. Though there is a … delicate matter that must stay between you and I.”
“Sure.”
He stepped closer to me. “A man named Prator. He is a clone, Marshal.”
“A male clone? I thought you said they were—”
“They are. They were all destroyed, except one. Prator managed to escape from the termination facility. We believe this clone, Ava, has been in touch with him.” He put his hands on the bed and leaned in close. “You must destroy her, Marshal, at all costs.”
“Why is she so important?”
“She represents a dangerous potential.”
“And what potential is that?”
“She can breed, Marshal. Both with other clones and with humans. Can you imagine entire bloodlines tainted with clone blood? She can have a half-human half-clone child. She can show the populace that clones are in fact … well … us. The point is: I would like you terminate them both.”
“Our deal was for one.”
“Our deal was to terminate a threat. If either one of them lives the threat still exists. It must be both … for your family.”
I was quiet a long moment. “I need a new ship.”
“Right away.”
He turned and left the room. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I then asked that the lights be turned off and I watched the glow from the healing wraps in the dark. I wasn’t sure when I drifted off to sleep but I remember waking when I heard a voice say, “Your healing is going well.”
I opened my eyes and saw the blue radiance of Monica standing in the darkened room. She had one hand on her hip and the other at her side.
“I’ve always been a quick healer.”
“So we’re going after the clone again I understand.”
“You understand correctly,” I said, shifting my back and groaning in pain. “Any idea where we should start looking?”
“I took the liberty of uploading several of Captain Keynes personal files before you extinguished him.”
“That’s one way to put it I guess. What files are these?”
“They were hidden on the planetary server used by Keynes and his personnel. Technically, it was against galactic law to hack planetary files without administrator approval. If you wish to report me to the authorities, I can send a message to—”
“Monica, stop. What files?”
“He had files on various people of interest. Exactly two thousand one hundred and seventy three of them. One of them was the clone you have been searching for.”
“Who are the others?”
“Various criminals and dissidents.”
“Is there one on a Prator?”
“Yes. Prator Haquim Othanis. Date of birth: unknown. Planet of origin: unknown. Race: unknown. Religion: unknown. Aliases: unk—”
“I get it. Where is he?”
“Last known whereabouts were King’s Grace Planetary Conglomerate.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
“King’s Grace is a neutral corporate subsidiary of Laban P.C., first established as a resort and center for corporate retreats.”
“That’s right, a neutral planet. Interesting.”
“Technically, Nephi, we have no jurisdiction there. According to the Treaty of Lucian, King’s Grace is an independent monarchy outside of Republic control. Your status as a marshal is meaningless there.”
“My status didn’t do much good with Keynes. Kooney’s getting a new ship ready for us, Monica. Make sure all the systems are debugged. We’re heading for King’s Grace.”
“Nephi, I must again stress that your authority does not extend to King’s Grace. Any act of violence is punishable by the authorities there as a crime, and if the act is sanctioned by
the People’s Republic it may be seen as an act of war.”
“It’s a corporate retreat. What kind of army can they have?”
“They have, as the saying goes, friends in high places.”
“We’ll be nice and quiet. I promise. Please see to the ship and make sure everything’s where it needs to be.”
She looked at me in a way that my wife used to look at me and then began going through the wall. She turned and said, “I’m pleased you are doing well.”
“Me too.”
AVA
King’s Grace is one of the most beautiful planets to see, even from above the atmosphere. The oceans are a dark green and the skies a deep crystal blue. Only one land mass exists, which essentially makes the planet an island. Few visitors are allowed to stay longer than one standard galactic month.
It was originally a resort for the wealthy executives of the only corporation still allowed to function under the People’s Republic: Labon Corp. I had studied as much about Labon as I could get my hands on, and its history was one of blood and corruption. It began in the twenty-second century as a small arms manufacturer and moved quickly into pharmaceuticals and then data management for interplanetary systems before moving into clone farming and illicit narcotics.
Commerce was the only thing that mattered on King’s Grace. Somewhere, far in the past, a deal had been struck between the Republic and Labon, allowing King’s Grace to still exist as an independent planet and squeeze every drop of blood from any planet it got its hands on. Yet I had to admit, the planet itself was a paradise.
We were cleared for landing in the spaceport, and as we entered the atmosphere I could see Larso was awestruck by the emerald oceans. They had that effect on people the first time they experienced them.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
“Wait till you see the surface.”
We landed and I waited until the ship’s engines turned off before I unbuckled. I was looking out the viewports, scanning the flight deck. I stood up and went to the onramp and Larso followed. The air was cool and crisp and had the scent of berryapple trees, as the spaceport had been cut out of the middle of a lush jungle.