“You don’t look like you’re here for just the drink…” A female Laronian took the stool beside Roland, eyeing the untouched glass in front of him.
A quick glance told the bounty hunter everything he needed to know. The alien was a prostitute, hunting for her own payday. To her, he would appear as one of her own but, in truth, Roland wasn’t even sure if he could have sex with the alien. He had slept with a few of the crew, during his short time aboard the Gommarian, but that had been months ago before Esabelle had created the Rackham for him. A very primal part of him wanted to at least try and see what they could achieve together, if for nothing more than a little intimacy. The only interaction with other beings was primarily with Ch’len, a fact that was deeply upsetting for the bounty hunter.
The train of thought only led him to think about Esabelle and Li’ara. Esabelle’s death rattled him, but uncovering the truth about Li’ara sharpened his mind.
“Not interested.” Roland turned his back to her, only to see Lan-vid walking out the door.
The Shay looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Roland in a level of understanding. Lan-vid knew he had been watching him and planned this escape from the beginning. The Shay’s only mistake had been to assume that it was indeed a Laronian stalking him. The prostitute didn’t quite hold the same appeal to Roland, a human.
“Son of a…”
Before Roland could dash from his stool, the Laronian prostitute grabbed his arm and the back of his neck, catching the holo-bracer. The bounty hunter’s momentum detached him from the illusion and revealed his true identity. Even to a bar filled with twelve different races, Roland looked more alien than any of them, a fact that was mirrored in everyone’s expression. The prostitute backed away, unsure of what she had gotten herself into.
Hands of all varieties slowly reached for weapons, while the patrons decided whether they needed to fight or run away from the human. As a species, they were still widely considered dangerous and unpredictable - having brought nothing but destruction and death to the Conclave in the short time they had been there. No one truly knew what they were capable of, having all seen what Kalian and Esabelle could do on the news feeds.
Looking around, with eyes that had been trained to assess every environment for threats and opportunities, Roland clocked the seven individuals who he knew wouldn’t go down easy, as well as a rather mean-looking Raalak in the corner booth, who looked as if he didn’t need a weapon to kill Roland.
The bounty hunter slowly lifted his hand and tapped the ear-piece. “Is the Rackham connected to the grid in this tower?” His words were hushed under his breath.
“Oh, now you want to talk to me!”
“Len…” Roland didn’t have time to argue.
“Of course it is. How do you think I’m monitoring everything? Speaking of; Lan-vid is escaping.”
Roland blinked slowly in frustration. “Is he?” he replied, sarcastically.
A pink-skinned Atari to his left had completely removed the handgun from its holster on her waist. Time was running out.
“You want me to hit the lights?” Ch’len asked, casually.
The Rackham was the most sophisticated ship in the galaxy now that the Gommarian had been destroyed. The nanocelium that made up the bounty hunter’s vessel was more than capable of hacking into every Conclave system and network. After the ship landed on the outdoor pad, slithers of the nanocelium had wormed their way down the struts and into the panel built into the pad. Thanks to Ch’len’s agoraphobia and technical genius, he was more than happy to stay onboard and manage these little incursions.
Roland smiled with wicked glee, thankful for the little alien for once. “Let’s skip to the good bit...”
The bar dropped into darkness, generating panic and chaos. Alien voices broke out in alarm when dozens of people ran for cover and tried to find the door. Intrinium rounds filled the bar with the smell of ozone and flashes of blue and red, creating a disjointed moving image of the scattering patrons. Glasses smashed in every corner of the room and the wall of bottles behind the bar exploded under the barrage of pot-shots.
Roland got off two shots before he ducked and dropped into a roll, avoiding the super-heated intrinium that streaked over his head. A lightning flash revealed a tall Novaarian taking a round to the chest and fall at Roland’s feet, dead. Having memorised the layout of the bar and the distance between him and the exit, Roland weaved between the scurrying aliens, pushing most aside, and dashed for the door, firing as he did.
As the bounty hunter reached the door, a Brenine levelled his handgun at Roland’s chest. The pale skinned Brenine had uncanny night vision, being a species that avoided the sun. The blast couldn’t be avoided at such close range, forcing Roland to jump into the shooter, taking them both through the door as the intrinium round connected with his chest. They both landed in a heap on the indoor street, the Brenine’s weapon now lost. Roland slowly rolled off the alien and took a deep breath to steady his breathing. The black and gold plated armour, made from myopallic ore, had stopped the intrinium from tearing through his torso, but the impact had still hurt.
The Brenine was the first to recover and retrieve his weapon. Still on his back and feigning severe injury, Roland used the cover of his long coat to hide the fact that one of his Tri-rollers was now in his hand. With a shift of his knee to the right, Roland fired one shot into the Brenine’s face, dissolving any organic tissue in an explosive flash of light.
This particular neighborhood was relatively abandoned at this time of night, but those few who witnessed the slaying ran for their lives, fleeing the nightmarish human. The bar was still a cacophony of intrinium fire and brawling; none the wiser to Roland’s escape.
“He’s still getting away…” Ch’len’s voice rang irritatingly in his ear.
“You’re lucky those stubby little fingers know their way around a computer.” Roland got to his feet and holstered his Tri-roller.
“Hey, without me you wouldn’t even be able to eat,” Ch’len countered.
Annoyingly he was right. Roland was more than aware that without Ch’len, he couldn’t collect bounties. The smelly little Ch’kara was the only one of the two who could be an active member of the Bounty Clave since Roland was an illegal immigrant wherever he went.
“I barely get to eat with you, you fat shit…” Roland ran down the street, looking for the nearest dark alley to hide his human face. “Where’s Lan-vid now?”
“Hold on.” Ch’len paused. “Alright, I’ve found the quickest route but… you’re gonna get cold.”
Roland looked up at the glass ceiling that ran the length of the street. The snow was getting heavier, but the view didn’t show the strength of the gales blowing outside. Cold was an understatement.
After being navigated through the outer corridors of the tower complex and destroying several locks, Roland finally found himself on the surface of Sebula. How any life form had evolved on such a barren planet baffled the bounty hunter, let alone evolve to the point of inventing faster-than-light travel. A peach-coloured sky tried to pierce the thick clouds that rained snow across the land and the mountains in the distance were almost completely without shape. From the balcony, Roland could see the other towers that made up the massive city. It lacked the aesthetics that most Conclave cities enjoyed, more akin to a collection of fingers, rising from the snowy ground, circled by hundreds of buzzing vehicles.
“You need to hurry if you’re going to get in front of him,” Ch’len warned.
Roland could only growl in response as he fought against the bitter wind. After ascending two sets of ladders, the bounty hunter was standing on top of the bridge that connected one tower to the next. The bridge itself was filled with shopping centres and apartments and nearly fifty levels deep. Roland broke into a sprint along the edge of the glass covering that ran the length of the strip. The heat from inside helped to melt the ice and snow, allowing for a clear view of the streets below. The two sides of the interior brid
ge were connected by multiple walkways at varying angles. It looked like a maze inside.
“WHERE IS HE?” Roland shouted over the wind.
“He’s…” Ch’len paused. “Ooo! He’s coming up on the top tier, right beneath you!”
Roland looked down and saw Lan-vid on the other side of the bridge, walking quickly along the upper tier. The Shay kept peering over his shoulder, making certain he wasn't being followed by the bounty hunter. With another growl, Roland changed direction and sprinted across the glass, diagonally. Lan-vid must have heard his footsteps on the glass, because the Shay ran for it, knocking the occasional late night wanderer out of the way.
“There’s an access hatch coming up on your right!” Ch’len advised.
“NO TIME!” Roland pulled his left Tri-roller from its holster.
The moment he felt his foot pass the threshold of the tier below, Roland fired a single shot into the glass panel under his feet. The glass panel shattered as the intrinium bolt continued on, into the floor, only feet in front of Lan-vid. Roland fell through the glass mid-run and dropped on top of the fleeing Shay in a shower of pointed shards. His weight brought the alien down, as well as cushioning his fall. The whole takedown was quite spectacular in Roland’s eyes.
Picking himself up, so that his knees were either side of Lan-vid’s back, Roland assessed the surroundings since the whole event had been exceptionally loud. The streets were illuminated by a rainbow of holograms that advertised a variety of alien goods and hangouts. A pair of teenage Tularons gawped at them from the other side of the street before running in terror. A Raalak in the distance looked to be using a small hand device to contact someone, the local authorities most likely.
A rough tug and a threatening Tri-roller to the head stopped Lan-vid from squirming, while the bounty hunter lifted him from the floor. Roland held him in place and waited a moment, allowing Lan-vid the time to get over the fact that he was face-to-face with a human.
Ch’len laughed in his ear. “Money money money! Alright Roland, put one in his head and scan the body. I’ve already found us a new bounty on Palios Six; if we leave now we can be there by tomorrow morning.”
Roland had other ideas. With the Tri-roller planted in the Shay’s back, the bounty hunter walked him to the nearest outdoor landing platform, using the access corridors for cover. The Shay pleaded for his life the whole way, offering Roland every treasure imaginable. At times like this, Roland had found that silence on his end was more menacing than verbal threats.
Using the intricate webbing, integrated into his cerebrum, Roland activated the Rackham’s thrusters and mentally commanded it to meet him at the new landing platform. Ch’len questioned his every move until Roland finally tapped the earpiece, shutting him up. The bounty hunter only opened the door after his link informed him that the Rackham had landed.
“What are you doing?” Lan-vid tried to push away from the opening doors. “Do you know how cold it is out there? I’m from Shandar! I don’t have a single hair on my body! I wasn’t built for this…”
Roland shoved him through the opening doors with a satisfied smirk on his face. It was indeed cold on the other side, but at least he was wearing his hide coat; Lan-vid’s suit was paper-thin.
The Rackham’s bay door tilted downwards until it became a ramp that led into the belly of the ship. Roland continued to jostle the Shay, but kept him in the freezing bay, waiting for the ramp to close up behind them. A quick slap with the butt of his Tri-roller put Lan-vid on the floor, giving Roland time to make the adjustments he had in mind. With the comm panel on the wall, the bounty hunter typed in a new set of commands for the nanocelium, which made up every molecule of the ship. When he was finished, the ceiling changed shape, allowing for extra nanocelium to mold into a set of manacles. The temperature was also set to rise to levels that most sentient beings would find very uncomfortable.
“What are you doing?” Ch’len’s irritated voice came ahead of his waddling body.
The Ch’kara appeared as he always did; with several layers of food around his mouth, a combination of snacks and tools hanging from his belts and a chest piece that wrapped around his neck, generating the constant cloud of methane around his head. The apparatus on his back functioned as a shield generator, though it was only strong enough to keep the toxic gases in, unlike his arse, which was more than happy to let everything out, much to Roland’s displeasure.
Roland ignored the Ch’kara and continued to pick Lan-vid up. The manacles fit perfectly around his slender wrists - one organic and one mechanical - but the nanocelium could alter its size at any given time, should the sneaky alien attempt escape.
Lan-vid spit oily, alien blood on the floor and wriggled in his manacles, testing their durability. Roland didn’t give him much attention, however, confident in the strength of the nanocelium. Instead, the bounty hunter tapped a holographic panel set against the wall and activated the draws inside, hiding numerous tools. For the most part, they were used to tinker with his gear or the ship, but today, Roland had other ideas in mind for them.
“Why isn’t he dead?” Ch’len waved at the prisoner. “Bounty says dead. He’s useless to us alive!” The Ch’kara eyed the Shay suspiciously, his little eyes darting between Lan-vid and Roland. “Has this got something to do with that female? I went along with some of your craziness after the mayhem at Protocorps, you know, get it out of your system or whatever. But we made no money for over a month and you said you were done hunting what’s-his-name…”
“Kel-var Tionis.” Roland watched Lan-vid’s face drop at the sound of the name.
“Are you telling me that we’ve gone back to that shit?” Ch’len was becoming irate.
“We never stopped.” Roland chose his first implement. “I just didn’t want you pecking my goddamn head in for a while.”
Ch’len’s face froze in offence. “Is the bounty on him even real?”
“Oh, it’s real alright. He’s made a few enemies in his line of work. Haven’t you Lanny?” Roland kicked the Shay in his feet.
Ch’len’s tone took on a lighter note. “You’re gonna go back to all this for her? She died Roland. We were both there. Li’ara’s not coming-”
“Maybe you should go back to the bridge, Len,” Roland interrupted. “Monitor for activity in the city. Once word gets out that a human has been spotted here, Sebula is going to be crawling with Conclave navy-types.”
Ch’len dropped his head and sighed, before giving Lan-vid a lasting look of pity. “I’ll be on the bridge…”
The bounty hunter could already feel himself slipping beneath layers of conditioning and training. He had to be detached for what came next, for what he had to become. At least that’s what he told himself. Roland didn’t like to think about the part of him that enjoyed what he did.
Standing in front of the terrified Shay, Roland examined a torturous-looking blowtorch. “Lanny, this is gonna feel a little... weird.”
Kel-var Tionis sat in his private office, hidden under the desolate surface of his homeworld, Shandar. The rest of his kind lived in the floating super-structures that formed a net around the planet’s atmosphere, as he once had. Those days were gone now, thanks to the humans...
The Shay appeared as composed and regal as he ever did, but inside Kel-var was starting to unravel. For three months he had been forced to hide from Conclave authorities, who wanted to question him about the alien cube found at Protocorps. For centuries his company had used the cube as the Conclave’s central AI, granting them access to everything.
All for what? he often asked himself. On the Starforge in the Helteron Cluster, Kel-var had seen how they grant ascension. The Terran, known as Malekk, had become something else, something twisted. Was that what awaited them all when the day finally came that his ancestors had been preparing for all this time?
You’re just afraid, Kel-var told himself. He needed more faith, as his father and grandfather had. Ascending into something beyond the fragile organic sack to w
hich he had been born into was all he had ever dreamed of, along with every other Shay. Kel-var looked up at his door, knowing that beyond it lay the control room to the Crucible, another ancient device created centuries ago, under the guidance of the cube.
Activating the Crucible would be the true test of his faith. After it was switched on there would be no going back. The Conclave would go to war, but Kel-var knew they would thank him in the end, after every species had witnessed their magnificence.
“Kel-var? Did you hear what I said?” Gor-van Tanar’s voice carried from the speakers built into his desk.
The Protocorps board member floated above the surface of the table, five times smaller than his real size. As always he was shrouded in his red robes and shadowy hood. The two of them were the only ones still alive or free of the Conclave’s security. Two board members were dead and the other three arrested. They would reveal nothing, however; their faith demanded it. Plans had already been set in motion by Gor-van to have the three of them poisoned in their cells.
“Kalian Gaines has entered the Starforge,” Gor-van repeated. “He will be half a galaxy away by now, in the Terran Empire. With him out of the picture and the daughter of Savrick dead, the humans are without their defenders. We should activate the Crucible now.”
“We only activate the Crucible when they instruct us to.” Kel-var kept his tone even, keeping his insecurities to himself. “Malekk is seeing to the installation of the new cubes. All three Starforges will be operational soon.” Kel-var wanted to change the subject. “Any news of the Gomar prisoners?”
“I am close to discovering the planet where they’re being kept,” Gor-van replied, his expression partially hidden and impossible to read. “High Charge Uthor has hidden them well.”
“We are to inform Malekk as soon we know anything.” Kel-var wasn’t sure what the infected Terran would do with the information, but he knew the Gomar were a threat not to be taken lightly. Kel-var hesitated before asking his next question. “Has there been any progress with the bounty hunter?”
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 97
