The Forbidden Spacemage

by Dan Oakley

  “Step one complete,” I said to Kira.

  The music followed the snarling lizard all along the corridor and through a variety of rooms until it was finally in the lobby.

  “Here we go,” I said, sliding open the main doors and hoping no more lizards were outside waiting to come in. “Go on, you scaly dirt wipe. Get out of our building! “

  The lizard stalked backward and forward, shaking its head as though disturbed by the noise but still wouldn’t go outside.

  “What’s the matter with it?” I stared at the display screen.

  “Maybe it’s too comfortable in here,” Kira said. “I know lizards are meant to like the heat, but it’s hard for them to control their body temperature, so maybe it is enjoying the cooler air in here.”

  “Do you think we should turn the cooling system back off?”

  “I think that’s a good idea… At least until we get the lizards out,” Kira agreed.

  She worked on the system, shutting down the cooling system everywhere but on our section.

  She smiled at me. “Done.”

  Then we played the waiting game. With the door open, the heat was slowly seeping in. The lizard kept approaching the large windows, and I held my breath, expecting it to go finally outside, but then it kept circling back to its original position.

  “Just go out,” I said through gritted teeth, and then as though the lizard had heard me, it did.

  I quickly shut the door and then high-fived Kira.

  It turned out there were a total of five lizards loitering in the building, and it took us most of the morning to locate them and escort them outside to the sounds of Kira’s favorite band.

  When we were finally done, it felt good. We’d achieved something.

  “Great work,” I said. “The external doors are secure, so we shouldn’t have any more unwanted intruders.”

  Kira smiled.

  “I can’t believe it. Do you think they’ll try to get back in?”

  I shrugged. “I’m sure they will, but the security system should keep them out of the building at least. When we go outside… Well, that’s a different matter.”

  “What about the perimeter fence?” Kira asked, eager to get on with the next task after our success.

  We had charged up the fuel cells last night, but we needed to find some tools… Soldering equipment and wire cutters at the very least. “I’m not familiar with the material used for the fence. Maybe it’s an alloy. It’s very fine and incredibly strong. The beasts managed to destroy it once, though. I am guessing they took their chance when the power went down.”

  Kira nodded “I think it’s made from cross-linked silk, interspersed with metal ions for conduction.”

  “We could repair the gaps in the fence if we can find a stash of the original fencing material. If we can’t find any, then another way around the problem would be to make the perimeter smaller so we wouldn’t need so much fencing.”

  Kira nodded. “That makes sense. There’s a maintenance shed on the grounds. It’s quite near the perimeter fence. The last time I went there was probably a couple of years ago, but there are tools in there, and if there is any leftover fencing I think that’s where it will be.”

  I stood up. “Let’s check it out this afternoon.”

  Although we were both buoyant and pleased we’d managed to expel all the lizards from the central mining complex building, we knew the lizards we’d ejected from the building were lingering outside.

  After lunch, we checked the external cameras. Now, the route looked as though it was clear, but that didn’t mean it would stay that way. Unfortunately, the damn lizards had a habit of moving around. And they could move fast.

  But we couldn’t let that put us off. Yes, we had the building back, but we also needed to reclaim some land. We couldn’t just stay inside until we managed to hail a passing ship or the Seven Kingdoms sent another expedition to Tor.

  We armed ourselves as usual with the plasma weapons, and Kira also took a small hand fire gun, which she told me might come in useful if we needed to solder anything.

  When she picked that up, I noticed a destruction blade in her stash of weapons, just like the one Zarak had used to stab me. I picked up the thin narrow blade and turned it over in my hands. It looked like a regular knife, but when it was charged up, it glowed blue and tiny vibrations caused extensive tissue damage, far worse than a standard clean cut.

  “Are you okay?” Kira asked, watching me as she stood by the door ready to go.

  I holstered the blade and tucked it into my pocket. “Yes. Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go.”

  We secured the door behind us and walked quickly down the corridor. Despite the fact I knew there were no lizards in the building, I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder and staying alert as we passed each open doorway. It still felt like danger was lurking around every corner.

  We paused by the large transparent doors in the lobby and peered outside. The area immediately outside was clear. There were no animals visible except a couple of large bugs circling in the air. The day was overcast and even more humid than usual.

  I turned to Kira. “Ready?” I asked, holding my hand over the button to release the door.

  She grabbed her weapon, held it in front of her and nodded, looking fierce.

  We walked outside slowly, both of us on our guard, scanning the area for the predators.

  Then we skirted the perimeter of the building. We had the codes to access every exterior door, so we could get inside to safety if needed. Most of the entries were also programmed to recognize our hand or fingerprints. We stayed alert as we covered the distance to the end of the building.

  Kira pointed to the edge of the jungle.

  “The maintenance shed is that way. The jungle is very overgrown, but it’s not too far to walk.”

  I suppressed a shudder at the idea of going back into the dark, tangled thicket. “Right, lead the way and keep your eyes peeled.”

  I trained my weapon on the edge of the jungle but also kept turning around to make sure nothing was following us.

  Kira hesitated at the edge of the thick vegetation, and then after a nod from me, she dived inside. I cursed myself for not having brought a large laser knife to cut through the vines. I cut through the thicker stems using the destruction blade, but our progress was slow. After a few steps we could see the maintenance shed, but it still took us another ten minutes to reach it because the vegetation was so thick. I hoped that meant there hadn’t been any predators wandering this way recently.

  The maintenance shed wasn’t linked up to the primary security system and had an old lock with an entry code.

  “Leave this to me,” Kira said. “I couldn’t override these codes, but they are all the same. 2194 for every door like this.”

  “Are there many?”

  She shook her head. “There’s this one and the one on the rear entrance of the mining complex. And then there are a couple more at the administration building.”

  She opened the door, and we peered into the dark, dusty interior. There was no lighting in the shed.

  I stepped inside. The floor was made of wood, and there was a damp, rotting smell. I wrinkled my nose.

  We walked around the small shed, and I located some useful tools. We had fuel cells back in the building that could fit the devices. But they’d need charging up before we could use them.

  Kira loaded the tools into a sack, and I searched the corners of the shed for the extra fencing material. I was sure I’d recognize it again when I saw it. It was very distinctive, thin and shimmering, almost lace-like.

  I moved what looked like two pieces of sheetrock, and then grinned as I saw the iridescent material behind it.

  “Found some,” I said. “Looks like three big rolls. So that should be plenty.”

  I grappled with one of the rolls, pulling it out into the center of the shed and then went back for the two others. Despite the fact the fencing was intricate and very thin, it was actua
lly quite heavy.

  “Pretty good, huh?”

  But Kira didn’t answer. She blinked at me and opened and closed her mouth a couple of times.

  “What is it?”

  Again she didn’t answer. Her lower lip quivered as she took a step back.

  I turned around but didn’t see anything.

  “Kira,” I said louder this time. “Tell me what the problem is.”

  Her face white, she pointed and said, “S… Sp… Spider.”

  Chapter 32

  I had no great love for spiders either, but it looked like Kira was deathly afraid of them.

  “It’s fine,” I said, trying to reassure her. “Spiders don’t want to hurt you. We’ve just disturbed his home. Come and help me with the fencing, and we’ll get out of here and leave the spiders and other critters in peace.”

  She recoiled in absolute horror at that idea. Her eyes were still wide as she gazed over my shoulder.

  I turned again, looking for the spider. It had to be tiny. I couldn’t even see it.

  Then I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. A long, black, spindly leg reached out and lightly tapped my shoulder.

  I swallowed hard not daring to move at first. When I plucked up the courage, I turned my head slowly. Two more legs were bunched up just below my shoulder.

  The damn thing was on my back.

  I tried to brush it off and propelled myself to the other side of the room with a curse.

  The dislodged spider didn’t crawl off to safety. It wasn’t interested in retreating to the dark, shadowy corners of the shed. Instead, the arachnid stood its ground, ready to fight.

  It raised its two front legs.

  “Look at the size of that thing!” I said, with a shudder.

  Its body was easily the size of my fist, and a long red stripe ran down its back. The rest of its body was pitch black, and its legs were thin and hairy.

  I hoped it wasn’t poisonous. Brushing myself down, I tried to compose myself. I didn’t usually freak out over spiders. But this was a very large spider.

  I moved to grab the fencing and get out of there but stumbled. Something had caught my leg. I looked down to see the spider’s web had been coiled around the fencing material. Somehow it had wrapped around my leg.

  I leaned down to try and brush it away, but the cobweb stuck fast. This was no ordinary web. To my horror, my hands also stuck to the sticky web.

  The spider scuttled forward two steps.

  “Kira! I need my knife. It’s in my back pocket.”

  But Kira didn’t move. She was transfixed by the eight-legged creepy crawly approaching me.

  It raised its front legs again, waving them in the air like some weird victory dance.

  “Kira! I need my knife now!”

  Finally, she came to her senses and grabbed the knife. She didn’t help me cut the web but thrust it at me before dashing back to the far side of the shed.

  So much for solidarity.

  I began hacking at this sticky silk. The blade glowed when I pressed the destruction setting, but despite the extra vibrational energy, my knife couldn’t cut through the strong silk.

  The spider let out a strange chirping noise.

  “What was that?” I said, shooting a glance at Kira. “Spiders don’t make noises like that, do they?”

  “I guess this one does,” Kira said, finding her voice.

  “It must be a mutant,” I said. “I’ve never heard a spider make a sound like that before.”

  Kira shook her head. “No, this is a Tor spider. They’ve always been this big. I can’t stand them.”

  This planet was overrun with bugs, so the spiders on Tor obviously got plenty to eat. No wonder they were so big.

  I continued hacking fruitlessly at the robust, sticky silk.

  When the spider scurried forward, I yelled and kicked hard with my boot, sending it slamming into the wall of the shed.

  “A little help here, please, Kira.” My voice was strained, and a drop of sweat dripped from my forehead onto the dusty floor.

  “What do you expect me to do? I can’t touch the web. Everybody knows it’s impossible to get that stuff off your hands.”

  Everybody knows? Apart from me obviously. It might have been nice to get a heads up from Kira before I’d touched the web.

  I shot her a look but didn’t say anything. I was too busy considering whether I should hack off my leg to get away from the spider. It had revived itself and was coming back for round two.

  “Kira, shoot it!”

  “I don’t know which one to use…I’ve got a fire gun or the plasma weapon.”

  “Either would work right now… On second thoughts, kill it with fire!” I shouted as the spider came racing towards me.

  Kira fired at the arachnid. A blast of fire burst from the gun causing the spider to sizzle and crackle. Then the weapon delivered a shot of powder to put out the fire. It was a safety mechanism that came with all fire shooters. Fire weapons could leave you with more trouble than you started with if you set fire to something. So having the built-in fire extinguisher was pretty handy.

  The charred remains of the spider, coated with a thin layer of white extinguisher powder sat on the floor. It wasn’t moving, and I was pretty sure it was dead.

  “I don’t think your knife’s going to work,” Kira said, stating the obvious. “Why don’t I use a small stream of fire to burn through the material?”

  “Will that work?”

  “I don’t know,” Kira said honestly, “but we could try.”

  “Go for it,” I said, moving my hands away, so I didn’t get burnt.

  Kira used a different setting this time to produce a narrow flame. Using the weapon like a blowtorch, she carefully cut through the silk.

  “Heat does something to the bonds,” Kira said. “I remember that from my chemistry lessons. Manipulation makes the bonds between the atoms even stronger, but fire produces enough kinetic energy to break the bonds… At least, I think that’s how it works.” She screwed up her nose. “It’s been a while since I took Chem class.”

  “Thanks.” Relieved to be free of the sticky substance finally, I straightened up.

  There were still a few tendrils of spider’s web sticking to my uniform, but at least I could move freely now. I grabbed two of the rolls of fencing after putting the knife back in my holster. Although it had been unable to cut through the spider’s web, none of the sticky silk had stuck to the blade.

  Kira struggled under the weight of the other roll of fencing, but I didn’t have any hands free to help her.

  “We can leave that roll and come back for it later.”

  Stubbornly, Kira shook her head. “I can manage.”

  Slowly, we made our way through the dense vegetation. On the way to the shed, hacking through the thicket had taken us ten minutes, but the journey back, carrying three roles of fencing, took us half an hour.

  When we made it to the edge of the jungle, we scanned the area for predators.

  “I think it’s all clear,” Kira said, anxiously looking around. “We need to move quickly and get back inside. It’s getting late, and dusk is when the lizards start to get really aggressive.”

  It wasn’t easy to move fast with the fencing weighing us down, but we did our best. When we reached the wall of the main building, we were both panting for breath and streaming with sweat.

  There was no sign of any lizards. The shadows were lengthening, giving the area around the building a spooky air.

  Once we’d gotten our breath back, we started to move again, heading for the main entrance into the lobby. The muscles in my shoulders and arms were crying out in pain by the time we were halfway around the building. I knew Kira must be feeling the same.

  “Are you okay?” I panted and then turned sharply as I sensed something behind us.

  Was it merely a shadow from a tree branch or vine?

  Breathing hard, I kept my eyes focused on the area behind us.

  Then
we heard the distinctive hiss of a lizard.

  “Drop the fencing and get inside now!” I said under my breath.

  We both dumped the rolls and sprinted to the nearest door. Kira accessed the locking system using her fingerprint, and as soon as the door opened, we flung ourselves inside.

  After locking the door behind us, we shifted to the long window running along the corridor. We kept our eyes peeled, and just seconds later, a giant lizard cantered around the corner of the building.

  The eight-foot lizard lowered its head and sniffed the roll Kira had dragged over the courtyard.

  “Just go away,” Kira said through gritted teeth as we watched the lizard from behind the thickened compound window.

  As though it heard Kira’s voice, the lizard raised its head and bared its teeth as it looked directly at us.

  Kira took two steps backward.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “He can’t get at us here. We’re safe.”

  But the lizard let out a screech and ran toward us. With a crash, it smacked its head against the window, baring its teeth and running its tongue over the window.

  The windows in the complex were tough. Nearly all remained intact ten years after the building had been abandoned so there was no reason to think the window would shatter now.

  But knowing the window theoretically shouldn’t break, didn’t quell my instinct to get the hell out of there.

  “Let’s go back to the lobby,” Kira said, her voice trembling.

  We’d entered the South wing of the building, so we still had half the length of the complex to walk through to reach the lobby.

  We could return and get the fencing later after the lizard had gone.

  “Good idea. We can go over the security logs and make sure everything is okay.”

  “Do you think one of them has penetrated the security system?” Kira asked.

  “No, but checking the logs frequently is a good idea. We can keep on top of things and do maintenance as and when it’s needed. This is a big complex. There must have been a lot of full-time staff looking after it when the colony was operational.”

  Kira nodded. “Yes, I suppose so. I didn’t pay much attention. I was a bit selfish really. Only interested in what affected me.”