Space Bound: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology

by J. E. Feldman

  “Why has nobody returned to salvage these ships?” asked Daria as they passed an enormous battlecruiser that looked almost intact.

  An ear-piercing clarion call sounded from the cockpit; red lights flashed an emergency warning to the two of them. “That’s why?” said Maygist pointing to a pair of silver objects streaking from behind a nearby derelict cruiser. “Type 128 photon torpedoes. Heat-seeking. They seem to be on automatic detection.”

  Racing into the pilot’s seat, Maygist tapped several icons. “Stealth activated. Countermeasures deployed.” A sharp crunching noise rang out from below, followed by the whoosh of a rocket engine. They watched as the missiles changed course and headed for the small countermeasure missile, exploding on impact, and sending a concussion wave of gas and shrapnel that bucked the ship in its wake.

  “Damage report,” Maygist yelled at the ship, even though the report was already scrolling across his ocular view screen. Everything was intact and clear. Maygist tapped several more icons on the control console before dropping his head. “Damn, that was too close.”

  “Are we safe now?”

  “I’ve put us into stealth mode. Stupid of me to leave it off after coming out of light speed.”

  “Those were heat-seekers though, weren’t they?”

  “Yeah. Automatic counter measures are on. We’ve still got enough on board for another twenty missiles. I just hope those were some of the last ones active.” Daria’s wide-eyed expression told Maygist she wasn’t overly-confident. Changing the subject, Maygist reset the view screen and pointed to a flashing red dot. “According to the intel I downloaded, that planet is the location of the largest facilities.”

  “And do we know which one Brand is interested in?”

  “Ah, no. I’ve simply assumed I need to crack as many of their computer centers as I can and download the contents.”

  “That could take weeks.”

  “Best get on with it then. Of course, avoiding more missiles if we can.”

  “That would be nice.”

  The files accessed by Maygist painted Arrantic Prime as one of the most vibrant planets in the old Federation. A centerpiece of scientific endeavor, mostly related to military advancement, it was home to the brightest minds of the age and produced much of the advanced technology that the Empire had been built on.

  As the ship orbited the planet, all Maygist could see was a desolate carcass of a world. They flew carefully, avoiding the hulking wrecks of destroyed starships and cruisers, a final rim defense that had perished under the Imperial force’s assault.

  Dropping into the atmosphere failed to present a brighter picture of the planet. Where once had been bright cities of plascrete and steel, now sat darkened shells bereft of the teeming life that once existed there.

  “Any idea where to start?”

  Shaking his head, Maygist stared at the darkened landscape. “Nope. Nothing. Only idea is to head for the original administrative center.” He pointed to a highlighted location on the view screen. “It’s about a hundred clicks that way.” Turning the ship, his hand grabbed at his temple as a bolt of pain lanced out from Brand’s implant.

  “You okay?”

  “Headache. Keep happening ever since that big bastard stuck this thing in my head.”

  “What’s that?” asked Daria, pointing to a flashing spot on the holo-display.

  Looking at the map, Maygist became confused. “I have no idea. I didn’t tell it to do that.”

  “You don’t think it was the implant?”

  A hint of fear crossed Maygist’s mind. “I don’t like this. I think this thing is a two-way system, not just an uplink.”

  “You think that came from Brand?”

  He nodded, a grim expression on his face, as he turned the ship towards the building with the flashing indicator.

  As the ship approached, a detailed blueprint appeared on Maygist’s implants; the name Trivium Corporation Headquarters flashed up below the map. Pulling the ship into hover above the building, he could make out the name sitting along its upper floor. There were some letters missing or threatening to fall off, but the name Trivium Corporation could easily be made out of what remained. As they closed in on the roof, the map on the view screen changed, highlighting entry points and the fastest pathway through to their goal. On landing, Maygist shared the building map to the ship’s view screen.

  “It seems Brand already knew where he wanted us to go. He could have told us earlier and saved a lot of hassle.”

  “He is a sadistic son of a bitch.”

  “Why do you work for him?”

  “Same as you. Money, and I value my life. Once Brand wants your services, there’s no real escape.”

  A grimace grew on Maygist’s face. “Excellent. Thanks for dragging me into this.”

  “Just doing my job.” Looking at the map, Daria said, “The trail leads down to that large basement area. What the hell would be down there?”

  Stepping towards the door and picking up his carryall and a plasma rifle, Maygist shrugged. “No idea, but I’m not going anywhere unarmed this time.”

  “What about the drones?”

  “With all the derelict military tech sitting around here, I want them here to protect the ship. It’s a damn long walk home.” As he stepped outside the ship, the four drones emerged from their storage lockers and began to circle the ship.

  Pointing to a hatchway built into the roof, Maygist said, “That leads into the stairwell we need.”

  Hurrying across the roof, their footsteps sending dull thuds through the quiet area, Maygist reached the hatch first and pulled it open. Dropping down to the floor below, he pulled a glow drone from the bag and set it free. A warm light filled the area, revealing a stairwell descending deep into the bowels of the planet itself.

  “Down here,” he said, racing after the glow drone as it quickly dropped down the staircase. The clomping sounds of their boots and the heavy gasping of their breath, echoed around them as they descended. Each staircase blurred into the next as they went deeper and deeper. By Maygist’s estimate, they were well below the surface of the planet.

  “Where the hell is Brand sending us?” asked a breathless Daria.

  “More the point of what’s down here that he thinks is so important?”

  Finally, they stopped at the very bottom of the staircase, and came face to face with a large metal door complete with a security locking device. Maygist pulled out his apparatus and began to scan the lock. “Damn, it’s been dead for so long that I can’t trigger it.”

  “Step away then.”

  Seeing Daria unshoulder her plasma cannon, Maygist’s eyes grew wide. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Shaking her head and grinning in the dim light, Daria replied, “There’s no one here, so who’s going to hear?” As Daria prepared the cannon, Maygist stepped back up the stairway, cowered in the corner of the upper landing and covered his ears.

  “Us!” he cried.

  The report from the cannon was deafening in the close confines of the stairway. The explosion filled the area with dust and debris, leaving Maygist and Daria coughing and rubbing their eyes for several moments.

  “Thanks for that. I didn’t think I needed ear implants before, but I do now,” said Maygist.

  “What?” replied Daria.

  “Funny.”

  The glow drone ignored both of them and glided through the now open doorway, hurrying across the cavernous room to stop above a dust covered table. Maygist and Daria quickly followed it, still coughing up decades’ old dust and fighting the ringing in their ears.

  Dropping his carryall on the wide desk, Maygist withdrew his power cube, placing it on the center of the table top and turning it on. Immediately, filaments of energy flashed and crackled from the device, seeking out electronic components to energize. Several ran down to the floor and traced along buried wiring underneath. Intrigued, both watched the sparkling bolts of power head across the wide-open space before disappearing into the
distant walls. Several more shimmering flashes of energy followed in their wake.

  Turning away from the odd display, Maygist noticed a blue glow emanating from the dark tabletop. A holographic screen formed in the dust motes above the surface, at the same time that an older style keyboard illuminated on the desktop. The screen displayed a series of menu items, with a heading that read Center Chamber control menu. Maygist chose lights.

  They were immediately bathed in bright white light.

  “Oh my god, what was this company up to?” asked Daria, dragging Maygist’s attention away from the view screen. Glancing around the room, his mouth dropped open in shock and awe.

  They stood in the center of a large circular chamber. A ring of gigantic transparent containers lined the walls. Each was connected into a vast network of wires and cables, that ran from the containers into the floor or nearby wall. It was what they contained that caused the most disbelief.

  “Birthing chambers,” said Daria.

  Nodding, Maygist stepped towards one of the containers. Inside, it held the body of a humanoid figure floating in a thick green-tinged liquid. The figure was curled up into a fetal position, as if it were in fact a babe in the womb. It was the enormous size of the fetus that shocked Maygist. The one before him was the largest at almost two meters in size. Several others nearby were not as large, but even the most ill-formed was over half a meter in length.

  “Are they real?” asked Daria. “Are they human?”

  “I think it depends.”

  “Depends on what?”

  “Whether you think Dallas Brand is human.”

  Realization hit Daria like a brick. “Oh god. That’s why he sent us here.”

  “Yes, I think so.” Maygist headed back to the tabletop and pulled out his data capture device. The internal security on the computer was arcane and easy to overcome. Within moments, the little device hummed as it drew data from the central computer banks and sent it into Maygist’s cerebral storage.

  He closed his eyes as the data entered his mind and scanned what he could. “It seems this was a Federation military cloning center, specializing in genetic modifications to humans.”

  “That’s illegal.”

  “Probably, but maybe not under the Federation’s laws. They were experimenting with breeding a new type of super soldier.”

  Glancing around the lifeless hulks floating in their chambers. “But all they ended up with was Dallas Brand?”

  Maygist fell silent for a moment, before nodding. “Yes. He was the only success. There’s no history once he left this facility, but it seems he was transferred out and straight into an army training facility when he was barely a few years old.”

  “That’s monstrous.”

  “Well, they did create a monster.”

  As the data download finished, a red light flashed on the device. “It’s finished.”

  “Let’s get the hell out of here. This place is disgusting.”

  “Totally agree.”

  Maygist quickly packed up his items, and followed by Daria, headed towards the exit doorway. As he hurried through, Daria stopped and lowered her plasma canon. “Don’t,” he cried too late as she unleashed several shots into the room.

  Plexiglass containers exploded, sending the viscous fluid and lifeless husks to the floor. Smoke and dust filled the room, obscuring her view of the experiments.

  Once finished, she turned and joined Maygist.

  “Feel better now?” he asked.

  “Damn straight,” she smiled, pushing past, and heading up the stairway.

  With barely a few floors left before they reached the roof hatch, Maygist stopped and grasped his head in agony. Brand’s implant sent tendrils of a pain through his head as it connected with the neural net and uploaded all the data they’d found in the computer system.

  After a few moments, the pain passed, leaving Maygist with bleary eyes and a raging headache.

  “You okay now?” asked Daria.

  Through a mixture of agony and rage, Maygist spat in reply, “First thing I’ll get that asshole to do is take this thing off me.”

  Before Daria could respond, a deep voice echoed through Maygist’s head. “Well done, Maygist, well done. This information proves a lot to me about my origins, my past, and about my future. A future that will bring many changes. Not least of which will be to you.”

  “What do you mean by that?” asked Maygist aloud, causing Daria to throw him a confused look.

  Ignoring Maygist’s question, or not having the capacity to receive it straight away, Brand continued. “You’ve done me a great service. Your reward will be with you very soon.” The conversation ended, leaving just a dull hissing noise of static in Maygist’s head. He felt a slight jolt in his temple. Reaching a hand to the implant, it fell away, dropping to the hard plascrete floor of the stairwell.

  Staring at the small piece of electronics, Maygist’s mind ran with questions.

  What the hell did he mean?

  Daria’s voice brought him back to the present. “What was that all about?”

  “It was Brand. I think my service is done. He mentioned something about my reward.”

  “Maybe he’s transferred the money into your account?”

  “Maybe?”

  “Did he mention me?”

  Glancing at Daria, Maygist shook his head. “No.”

  A concerned look crossed her face. “I wonder what that means.”

  A sudden explosion boomed above them. The ancient building shook. Long cracks broke in the plascrete walls, spilling dust onto the landing and stairs. Both looked up the stairway, but only Maygist saw the resultant damage.

  “Damn, that was the ship.” Concentrating he checked the status of the drones. Nothing. “Drones are gone as well. I can’t see what’s happened outside.”

  Two levels up, they found the ceiling caved in and blocking off the exit. Finding the exit doorway on that level intact, Maygist drew it open and called to Daria, “This way,” and went through.

  They found themselves in a dark corridor lined with administrative offices. Releasing the glow drone, Maygist stared down the line of plexiglass walled rooms. No movement. No heat signatures.

  “What the hell are we gonna do?” asked Daria, “If the ship’s gone, we’re stuck here.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “There’s a faint signal to the neural net. I should be able to set up a booster and send out a distress signal.” As he scanned the immediate area for any communications chatter, his implants indicated movement above them. “We got company.” Glancing round, he motioned to Daria to follow and moved down the corridor to a wide-open area.

  “Halt.” The resounding command pulled them up short. Several dark-clad figures stood around the area; their weapons raised towards them. Maygist scanned all around. None of the shapes showed up on infra-red or ultraviolet. “How the hell?”

  “Imperial Special Corps,” Daria whispered. “Probably have thermo-dampening skin implants. Really expensive upgrade.”

  “Shit, what do we do now?”

  “Special corps don’t take prisoners.” She raised her plasma cannon and fired shots into the ceiling above several of the soldiers. The plascrete split and rained down on the black-clad figures, disabling five of them, before the others returned fire. Maygist joined in, forcing the special corps soldiers to take shelter.

  Another sudden volley of fire from the soldiers made Maygist and Daria duck behind a wall of ancient dust covered furniture.

  “What the hell do we do?” he asked.

  “Rinse and repeat until we win or the cavalry comes,” she responded.

  As Daria braced herself and began to rise, a single shot rang out, followed by a high-pitched whistle. A small silver dart buried itself in the wall behind them. Maygist’s eyes locked onto it, his mouth dropping open.

  “Disarmer,” he shouted. He grabbed for Daria and tried to get them both to move for safety, just as the missile explo
ded, sending out beta waves that sunk into their weapons. The result was instantaneous.

  Both guns exploded in a deadly shower of shrapnel and flesh. Maygist and Daria were thrown apart on a massive concussion wave, slamming against walls on either side.

  As the darkness descended across Maygist’s vision, the last thing he saw was Daria lying atop a pile of broken plascrete, her eyes open and staring at nothing. Her arms were outstretched, the right one ending in a bloodied stump. Reaching towards her extended left hand, he brought his right arm into view. The jagged mess of bone and rendered flesh matched Daria’s almost exactly. A scream of pain built in his throat as the blissful welcome of the dark void took him.

  The blurry shape framed by a stark-white background gradually came in to focus as Maygist blinked his eyes.

  “Ah, Mr. Maygist,” said the figure. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

  “Whas? Whas going on?” Maygist slurred as his eyesight returned. Blinking again, he held his eyes shut and tried to bring his implants online. Nothing. Nothing happened. “What have you done to me?”

  “Yes, sorry, I’ve shut down your cybernetics for the moment. I wanted to talk first. Human to human.”

  The man stepped back, giving Maygist his first good look. “Who are you?” he asked of the tall, gaunt figure. He wore the all-black military uniform of the Empire’s armed forces, with the addition of a floor-length black overcoat. “You’re military, not special corps, but from one of those secret units.”

  “Well done, sir. Yes, I have been sent by central command to find you and Miss Sandlocke.”

  At the mention of Daria’s name, Maygist blurted out another question. “Daria’s alive?”

  “Well, it was a close thing, but yes. Both of you are quite alive and, to put it mildly, much better for the experience.” The tall man nodded down Maygist’s body.

  The data hacker followed the tall man’s eyes and saw his arm. The memory of his last sight flooded back. Bone, flesh, gristle, blood, was all he’d seen. Now his hand shone in the bright light. A new prosthetic appendage had been grafted on to the raw stump. “Dilurium? Expensive.”