Starblazer- Through the Black Gate

by Reiter

  “Elbon!” he said softly.

  “Hello again, my kommis,” he said and Dungias opened his eyes to see the constellations painted all around him. The blackness of the Void had been displaced by a soft, almost subdued, blue glow. Though the level of illumination was not great, Dungias could see more of the Stars and how they all smiled at him.

  “This light,” Dungias spoke, looking down at himself. “… it comes from me, and it has ever since I touched the Stars and declared myself one.”

  “A true Star Chaser is meant to catch many Stars, kommis,” Elbon said as he flew behind Dungias’ head. “But the first they must chase and catch is their own. That you have done!

  “What you did not expect was the universe to continue in the way it had long before your ascension; the way it will long after a thousand ascensions and passings.”

  “You are right, Elbon,” Dungias said before throwing his arms out in disgust. “Argh! What am I doing here? Is it not just another form of hiding?! Calling you Elbon and your saytrah Cihpares. Should I not just call you Laejem and Saru?! That is who you are!”

  “That is who we were, Star Chaser,” Cihpares corrected. “It was our hope that the change of names would help you recognize that. Yes, I recall what it was to live, what it was to love as an unenlightened mortal… without clarity and without meaning.”

  “My Saru had meaning!” Dungias shouted with such force that the Stars were blown out and the Traveler found himself in the shuttle bay. A soft breeze blew by his face and he could feel another kiss find his cheek.

  “And apparently she still does, Star Chaser,” Cihpares whispered as the doors to the bay opened. “… as does your Laejem. Be not so easily baited, Traveler. When you have found out the reason why they still have meaning, we will be waiting for you. Much to do, Star Chaser… so many Stars you must gather… so many waiting for and needing your light to become Stars themselves.”

  “My Saru and my Laejem did not need me to be Stars,” Dungias thought.

  “Interesting how you thought my,” Elbon pointed out. “Dare yourself to think what those two would have become without you in their lives!

  “And I have come to bring you notice: the light of the Stars works both for and against you! Those of your kind here in the Rims will not be as you found them in the system of your birth.”

  “Those of my kind?” Dungias asked.

  “Ones who commune with the Stars, my kommis,” Elbon replied. “They seek you out… they are confused by you. Your arrival was veiled, and suddenly you are here and changing before their eyes. It alerts them of the things they do not know.”

  “And with humans, that increases their fear,” Dungias added.

  “Are you still new to things, Star Chaser?” Elbon asked as he began to fade.

  “Of course. There is still so much for me to learn!”

  “Interesting then, wouldn’t you say, how much a child knows, eh, Dungi!” Dungias closed his eyes to embrace the memory of the time when he had been called fecal matter and liked it.

  “Catching z’s, Z?” Jocasta broke into his reverie before stumbling into laughter. She slapped Dungias’ shoulder and cackled. “Wow, I didn’t even mean that one. It just bubbled up and, bleck, out it came! Oh, that was classic.” Jocasta continued to laugh, but was not able to keep her mirth as she looked up at her engineer. His gold eyes had opened, and he gazed down on her in a way she had never seen before. While the gaze was stirring to look upon, something about it warmed her. That was a feeling Jocasta Endigun was not quite ready to process. “Everything okay, Z?”

  “Everything is fine, Captain,” Dungias answered. “The lander-shuttle is ready.

  “I also took the liberty of cleaning your pistol,” Dungias said, offering her the special shoulder holster he had made for her.

  “Machinery in the shoulder holster, Z?” she questioned. “Do you know the meaning of the phrase ‘tasteful limitations’?”

  “I did not come from the factory with that data, Captain,” Dungias answered, taking the conversation to more familiar territory. He stepped up the gangplank into the lander.

  “A-ha!” Jocasta shouted. “I knew it! You are a freaking droid.” The door closed behind Jocasta as the engines started. “You’re some infiltration unit. You gain our confidence, get us to trust you, get all lovey-dovey, and then, BLAM, you take us out!”

  “Exactly, Captain,” Dungias confirmed, “and I cannot have you running about with this information. We are not prepared to strike at all of humanity just yet. But if we kill most of the women, we will greatly retard your ability to procreate.”

  “Good idea! I know where we can find a whole bunch of those wenches!” Jocasta joked. “You just strap in, make contact with the Master Controller, and do what you gotta do to get me a stay of execution and I’ll take you right to them.” Dungias was glad the setup of the cockpit had them facing two different directions. She could not see his smile, and the engines firing up kept her from hearing his chuckle. Jocasta put her focus to flying the lander and maneuvered out of the bay. After the ship was on its way and the automated systems took over all systems save piloting, Jocasta finally put on the shoulder holster and complained about the weight until she activated the device.

  “Do you do anything without gravity?!” she snapped.

  “I tried once, but it took weeks to clean it up,” Dungias replied, knowing Jocasta’s mind was going to imagine the worst possible scenario that would fit his wording.

  “Ewwww!” she yelled as the ship started to turn to the right. “A zero-gravity crap-stack catcher?! Why, Z? Why?!” Jocasta quickly corrected the ship and then jumped as she felt something touch the back of her right arm. “What the hell is that? Z, what the hell is that?!”

  “That would be the feed-tether,” Dungias answered. “When you give the command, that tether will extend down the back of your arm and link with the bottom of your gun.”

  “Why is it going to crawl on me, Z?!” Jocasta yelled. It was then that he could tell the idea did not sit well with her.

  “To either change your ammunition format or reload your weapon,” he explained. “The gravity projection units also form a specialized force field around your ribs and back, slightly altering what will be perceived as your body whenever you’re patted down.”

  “Okay, I understood ‘patted down’,” Jocasta returned.

  “Give me the piloting controls and put on your goggles,” Dungias directed.

  “Oh, man, not the bug eyes again!” Jocasta whined as she transferred control. The moment Dungias had the controls, he activated the automated pilot. It was an act deemed unnatural to Jocasta.

  “Have you lost your mind?!” Jocasta shouted.

  “No, not the bug eyes again!” he snapped. “I was referring to the new goggles which you would have discovered if you had just reached into your inside jacket pocket!” Dungias said as he went into the pocket in question and produced a slender black box.

  “Wow, there was a pocket in there?!” Jocasta exclaimed, smiling at the discovery.

  “And as for no more holding back,” he continued. “… now hear this. I refuse to assemble so much as a sandwich for you while I receive but this sort of response to my work. You can program that gun to fire five different kinds of shells, including armour-piercing and rapid fire! The material inside your shoulder holster is in a specialized molecular matrix. In short, it has not decided what it is going to be yet. Depending on your choices of projectiles, you are looking at anywhere from fifty to two hundred rounds of ammunition!”

  “WHAT?!”

  Dungias then opened the box he had retrieved from her inside jacket pocket. “And if you bothered to reach into the aforementioned pocket, you would have found this case containing these two small octagonal patches. They are to be placed against your skin, under your hair, on either temple. They will assume the properties of your skin and match your DNA signature. This makes them hard to detect and easier for you to command with your mind!<
br />
  “Upon activation, you will have virtual goggles that are anti-flare and adjustable to normal light, infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray! The goggles are linked to your brace-com, so you can now access Satithe without having to say a word!

  “Now the simple truth is this: you will not find anything like this anywhere among your pirate community,” Dungias declared. “I doubt the models owned and operated by the IA or even the Empire come as close to absolute technological perfection as what I have made for you in less than ten hours’ time!” Dungias breathed heavily and rapidly into Jocasta’s face as he glared deeply into her eyes. “Is there anything else you would like to add… Captain?!” Jocasta only blinked once as she stared back at Dungias. There was no defiance in her eyes. She was still too happy with the pistol. She closed her eyes as she jumped up and threw her arms around Dungias’ neck. The Traveler breathed in deeply but sighed as he hugged her back. “Most interesting feedback, Captain.”

  “So, what kind of sandwich?” It was all Dungias could do to keep from moaning in disgust.

  Looking down on Zhok-Tarr, Dungias felt the wind of what his people called the Void kissing his face and he smiled at the cooling feeling it gave him. He quickly put up an atmospheric shield when he heard Jocasta approaching.

  “Holy crapstacks! It’s cold back here!”

  “My apologies, Captain,” Dungias said calmly. “My people have an affinity for this environment.”

  “Your people are as nutsy koo-koo as you are, Z! There’s a reason why it’s called outer space. Because there is no environment! I’m wearing a space suit and I still think I’m going to freeze.

  “But that’s not why I came back here,” she admitted. “You got a second?”

  “Wait, you are not piloting!” Dungias realized. Jocasta hated the term Automatic Pilot and had once threatened to shoot Dungias if he ever installed such a unit on her ship. Fortunately, the Xara-Mansura – and most of the vehicles aboard her – had been made well before their meeting, and she was able to overlook it.

  “Satithe is driving,” she responded and Dungias was impressed with the speedy resolution. “Which brings me to what I have to say. I’ve taken a look at this gear. Let’s get everything out and in the open. One, you didn’t make this in under ten hours, you made it to where I can use it. That’s a big freakin’ difference.” Dungias started to speak, but received a harsh slap across the face. “Z’Gunok Tel Dungias, damn you to the tenth meter of a nine-meter walk over the pit of hell!” she barked. “You will sit there, shut up, and listen to what I have to say! Unless I got it wonky in my head, you made me a promise. I didn’t promise you a damn thing! So you better get it straight in that Malgovi head of yours, cuz otherwise you can take my ass right back to that floating marble, let me collect my things, and we can trek different paths.

  “Anti-detection fields?!” she remarked. “I can get patted down, called for being unarmed, and then flat blast every punk in the room?! And you’re just now getting around to telling me about this stuff?! If you can put this crap on a shoulder holster…” Jocasta stammered, shaking her head as she failed to find the right words. She screamed, kicking the wall. “Did you think that it would all just blow over?! That I would say, ‘hey you know what, this tech could have helped three fights ago, but I understand that you’re shy’! Was that supposed to be my takeaway? The last thing I expected from a so-called intellect is a soft lie. Do it again, and we will both have to see what we both have been holding back.”

  “I will not fight you,” Dungias declared.

  “Then you’re dead if I even get a whiff of a similar crapstack coming from you!” Jocasta hissed. “Because you can bet your blue ass I have absolutely no compunctions about drilling you!”

  “You are lying,” Dungias thought. “But I suppose this is only the harvest of the seeds sewn.”

  “I wonder if he knows I’m lying,” Jocasta pondered. “Not that it matters. After all, I’ve already slapped him… might as well make it meaningful!

  “I know we’ve had a few moons pass over us,” Jocasta said as her anger subsided. “… but I need a start over, and trust me, nobody ever gets two.”

  “Then perhaps you should assign them letters,” Dungias replied. Jocasta was too surprised to speak as she looked up into his eyes; they would not waver from hers. “I will not promise anything more than what I already have, Captain. I will also not promise any less.

  “Do you want me to say there will be no more mistakes?” he asked as he stepped closer to her. “Then kill me now, because I will not live with that sort of restraint. I am in and of error, Jocasta. Imperfection is what makes us beautiful. Still, if my shortcomings are too great for you to sustain, albeit a hypocritical stance for you to make, then I will take you back to the ship and allow you to gather your things. We will trek different courses, if that is your wish.”

  Jocasta looked at him and realized how tightly she was clenching her fist. When her hand opened, she sighed and shook her head. “You’re daring me, aren’t you?”

  “If I am?”

  “You dare a great deal!”

  “Someone once told me that is what makes us pirates!” Dungias replied. Their eyes met, but not for long. She smiled as she nodded.

  “Are you a pirate, Z?”

  “I am.”

  “Do you want to be a pirate?” she pressed.

  “No,” he said plainly. “I want to be your friend.”

  “I don’t have many friends,” she returned.

  “Then you should have plenty of room for one more. I also want to be named your First Mate sometime in the near future.” Dungias added.

  “Why?” Jocasta asked as her eyes squinted at him.

  Dungias took hold of Jocasta’s hand and put it to his chest. “Because I see so much in you, Jocasta Elise Endigun. I see greatness! I don’t need to be a part of that, but I do need to see you to it. I need to see you to that greatness!”

  “Why?” Jocasta asked.

  “Because I hate it when things are out of place,” he replied. “You are not where you need to be, but you are well on your way. You’ll need a ship to get you there… and a few other items here or there. I would rather not see you rummaging about.”

  “That makes two of us,” she stated.

  “Yes it does!”

  They stared at each other and Jocasta did not think to move her hand. She had seen such oaths given to Captains before, and had at one time thought she could have given one to Rouge, but her proverbial knee would not bend. Eventually, Kendra Talos had had to take her leave of the pirate fleet where she had carved out quite a name for herself… yet another name she had created… and façade… another life.

  “So many fallout jobs after that,” Jocasta thought, still gazing in Z’s eyes; ever present in the moment as she remembered the past. “So many names… not many friends… and then I find this one… or did he find me?”

  “Forgive me, Captain,” Satithe called to Jocasta. “I hate to interrupt.”

  “Talk about timing!” Jocasta whispered as she moved away from Z. “Go ahead, Sati. Whatcha got girl?”

  “At Z’s direction, I have tracked a very unique broadcast an–”

  “Already up to speed on our thief’s link-up procedures, Sati,” Jocasta interrupted, casting a cutting look at Z. “Cut to the chase!”

  “That signal coding just went active thirty-one seconds ago, and it is still transmitting!” Satithe reported.

  “Coordinates!” Jocasta yelled as she ran for the cockpit.

  “Right beneath you!” Satithe answered. “I am transmitting longitude, latitude… and altitude.”

  “What the freak?!” Jocasta shouted.

  “Confirmed,” Satithe reported. “Coordinates suggest that the target is well above the ground, but still inside the atmosphere.”

  “I see it,” Dungias claimed.

  “You can see it?!” Jocasta said as she took her chair.

  “I thought you said you checked out the
gear!” he countered.

  Jocasta looked at Dungias and saw the projection of goggles in front of his eyes. “Right! Freakin’ goggles!” With the slightest concentration, Jocasta saw a curving band of red light form in front of her eyes. “One day I will admit how bad ass this is… but this ain’t the day!” she whispered. With his back to her, Jocasta did not see Dungias’ smile.

  “Go for telescopic,” she commanded as the X, Y and Z coordinate markers appeared in the upper right-hand side of the display bar. A blue cursor was flashing at the given coordinates, and Jocasta magnified her vision. “Uh-huh, I got it! Good news: it’s not a platform. Bad news: it’s not a platform!”

  “I’ve run the registration,” Satithe said. “That is the Mathari Minor Three.”

  “What kind of limp-whacker name is that?!” Jocasta inquired as she started to take the lander into a tight turn.

  “It belongs to a Fidriss Mathari,” Satithe continued. “According to the IA, he is a high-ranking member of the Black Purse organized crime syndicate.”

  “Ugh, another BP that needs to go belly-up!” Jocasta muttered.

  “The Minor Three is the third of his four personal frigates.”

  “Do you read this Fidriss as being aboard?” Dungias inquired as he took his seat.

  “Negative, according to IA records he is under surveillance aboard a pleasure cruiser in the North Quadrant.”

  “That sounds like a suitable alibi,” Dungias remarked.

  “I’m right there with you, Z,” Jocasta added.

  “We are ready for atmospheric entry,” Dungias reported as he keyed in a suggested navigational pathway. “Heat shields are primed and your angle of approach is clear.”

  “That’s a pretty steep angle,” Jocasta said.

  “No time like the present to test the heat shields,” Dungias replied.

  “Just had to go and push him, didncha?” Jocasta thought. “Now I’ve got a super-intellect pirate wannabe on my hands!

  “Uh, Z, you do realize this thing we’ve got going… it only works if one of us is crazy-go-nuts, right?”

  “Are you a pilot, a pirate, or none of the above?”