Cromian Conspiracy (Celestial Empires Book 1)

by Raymond Cooper

  “What's got you down, Gem?” he asked.

  “A job,” I said. “It's going to be a difficult one.”

  “In all the time I've known you now, I've never known you to shy away from difficult jobs before. In fact, you seem to thrive on things being difficult, if you ask me. So, what makes this one any different than all the others?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  I shrugged, pushing my glass away. “I dunno, Sy. It's just – well, I guess I always believed there were some levels I wouldn't stoop to. Some lines I'd never cross and things I'd never do. But as I've come to realize, morality isn't as black and white as I once thought it was.”

  “You're telling me this?” he said, scratching his head with a wry chuckle. “You've seen my clientele, right?”

  I laughed, looking around the bar at the others. I was more than sure there were more than a couple killers there amongst us. Assassins – people who were trained to kill and did so for a price. But that was not me. Had never been me. I'd always believed that no amount of money would have made me take an innocent life. And I still held to that belief.

  But what about the life that was not-so-innocent? The life that could extinguish tens of millions of other innocent lives? That was a blurry ass line that I was still having trouble wrapping my mind around.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said with a sigh. “But I'd like to think everyone has a limit. That there are some things they wouldn't do, no matter the price. I always thought I knew my limit and that line I'd never cross. I think I may have just surpassed mine and crossed that line. But I can't be sure, you know? It's a totally morally gray area.”

  “Maybe it's not worth it then?” Sy asked, narrowing his gaze. “If it has you this torn about it, why not turn it down?”

  “Because,” I said, “It's not just about the money. Not this time. This is about doing what's right. And what's right might go against everything I stand for. But it's what I have to do.”

  “So basically, you're gonna be a hero then?” he chuckled.

  “Hardly,” I replied.

  “If you ask me, being a hero is overrated,” he said. “You just worry about being you, Gem. Don't worry about no one else, you hear me? In the end, you're the only one you can really count on.”

  “That's a little cynical, don't you think, Sy?”

  He shrugged. “People relish knocking heroes down off their pedestals, y'know?” he asked. “They forget everything you did and everything you sacrificed for them. The way I see it, being a hero is a fool's game. Better just to take care of your own shit and keep to yourself.”

  “What do you know about being a hero?” I asked, cocking my head to the side and shooting him an amused grin.

  I knew so very little about Sy's life before he became a bartender. Hell, I knew very little about his life outside of the bar at all. His comments though, made me wonder if there wasn't a whole lot more to that man than met the eye. He seemed to speak with some measure of authority and experience about the subject of the rise and fall of heroes. Like it was something personal he'd experienced. Endured.

  Sure, he was small – but if I learned anything in my time on Cromia, it was that size rarely matters. Not when it comes right down to it. When the chips were down, it wasn't necessarily the bigger person who was going to come out on top. It was the one willing to do everything that was necessary to survive.

  I was the perfect example of that. I was a petite woman and could still kick most men's asses before they even knew what hit them. It was something I'd done more times than I could count. And as I looked at him, listened to his words, I began to think that Sy had similar stories in his background.

  He looked at me, and in his face, I saw the look of someone who was remembering the past. But he smiled, a distant smile, and shook his head. There was definitely a hell of a lot more than met the eye when it came to that man. But he seemed to want to keep it private, so I respected his boundaries and didn't push. Maybe before I left for home, I could get something out of him. But he didn't seem ready to share his story with me just yet.

  “Nothing, Gem. Absolutely nothing,” he said. “And I want it to stay that way too.”

  Somehow, I had a feeling he was lying.

  Chapter Six

  With the money from Boygan – at least, the first half of it – I was able to get the part Xavix said needed to be replaced. We even had a little extra for other minor repairs we needed. My ship still needed some work, but we were no longer dead in the water and were able to take off and make it to Acrov without an issue.

  It felt good to be flying again. It was like I'd regained use of a limb or something. As we broke the atmosphere of Cromia and shot into the deep dark of space, I felt like I could breathe again. Felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.

  I swept through a cluster of asteroids, moving so close among them that Xavix expressed concern on more than a few passes. I just laughed. Flying was a part of me. A very big part of me. Which was why being grounded like we were on Cromia had been so hard for me. Being grounded felt like a slow, painful death. Torture, at the very least.

  As long as I could get into my ship and fly off into the black, I knew that everything was going to be okay.

  “Gemma, you are on a direct collision course with the asteroid directly in front of us,” Xavix nearly wailed. “If you do not – ”

  “Relax, Xavix,” I laughed. “I got this. Have we crashed yet?”

  “No,” he replied. “Yet, being the operative term.”

  I laughed and shook my head as I smoothly piloted around the asteroid he was so worried about.

  A short time later, we arrived. I broke the atmosphere and dropped down into the planet's environment. Acrov was a lot like Cromia, in that they were both very dry, desert-like planets. But Acrov was more populated and booming, while Cromia was poor and struggling to survive.

  Like almost everywhere else, Acrov had been hit with the financial issues, but the planet itself was more or less thriving. It was very metropolitan, made up of buildings and skyscrapers that went high up into the sky. In the distance, the red, burning sun could be seen against the backdrop of super high buildings and crowds and crowds of people.

  Honestly, it was almost too much for me. I'd never been one for living in the big, overcrowded cities. I preferred someplace quiet with a slower pace of life. I didn't like the hustle and bustle, the constant on-the-go mentality of life in places like I was seeing below. It made me feel anxious. Claustrophobic.

  Which was probably why I enjoyed flying through the vast, endless expanse of space so much.

  “Ahh... the capital city of Acrovia,” Xavix said as we approached the city. “You know I was built in this very city, don't you Gemma?”

  “That's what you've told me,” I said. “How does it feel to be back?”

  Xavix took a moment to consider his answer before saying, “I don't really have any feelings on the matter honestly. I was merely stating a fact.”

  “That's because you're not programmed to have real feelings,” I said. “Only pretend ones.”

  To a human, telling them they didn't have feelings would have – well – hurt their feelings. But to Xavix, it was simply yet another statement of fact. A truth. He was electronic – and very aware that he was electronic. While he could pretend to show empathy and compassion toward others – he didn't have actual feelings of his own. Which was why I considered anything emotional coming from him to be artificial and nothing more.

  “I suppose then, it's a good thing you don't keep me around for my feelings,” he said.

  And he was right. As much as I did value his companionship, I kept him around for his knowledge, his mechanical ability, and anything else he could look up in the computer inside his head. I'm not sure what humans did before the advent of personal helper droids.

  We were cleared to land at a bustling spaceport, so I turned the controls over to Xavix and let him take us down. TheUmbra thumped softly into place and he cycled through th
e shut down process. Ten seconds on the ground and I was already itchy to get back up into the air again. As much as I needed to complete this job and get paid, the idea of being out amongst all those people filled me with a nearly overwhelming sense of dread.

  With the ship secure, I made my way to the door and punched in the code to unlock it. The door hissed open and the staircase descended. I looked out at the mass of people and felt my stomach lurch. With a sigh, I made my way down the short staircase, followed by Xavix, who punched in the code to close and lock the door behind us.

  Xavix was right behind me as we made our way through the crowds of the spaceport and into the chaos of the city proper. Everywhere I looked, there were people – every species I could imagine and quite a few I didn't recognize. There were droids, and of course, the heavy presence of Acrovian security forces milling about.

  I was keenly aware of the people around me, making sure to tuck my money belt tighter against my skin. The last thing I wanted or needed was to get pick pocketed and lose what cash I had left. It had been so long since I'd had money, I was feeling extra protective of it. And if somebody was going to try to steal from me, they were going to have one hell of a fight on their hands.

  “Will you be requiring my assistance on this job, Gemma?” Xavix asked me as we walked into the city.

  “I may need your help,” I said, staring down at the holomap Boygan had provided for me on my handheld. “I'll need someone's help, and I'm not sure who to ask...”

  Just then, a voice piped up from behind me. “Gemma Sage, I presume?”

  A shot of adrenaline spearing through me, I turned around, and at first, I didn't see anyone. But then I looked down. It was a man, shorter than Sygan – which meant he was really short – standing there in a suit and tie. His skin was a bright green and slimy, meaning he wasn't the same exact species as Sygan, but was a close relative. His eyes were almost solid black and reminded me of Boygan's.

  Both, Boygan and this short man's eyes were unsettling to me. Though, in an entirely different way than Xavix's were. Xavix was a droid and the fact that his black orbs were inhuman and unsettling weren't his fault. It was his design. But something in this man's eyes – as well as Boygan's – sent a shiver down my spine. There was something seemingly dark and malevolent in them. Something that was – inhuman.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  I had my hand on my the hilt of my blade, prepared to fight if need be.

  He tugged at his tie and smiled, showing off a mouth full of yellow, fanged teeth. “We have a mutual friend,” he said.

  “Is that so?” I asked.

  “Quite,” the little man replied. “You're working for him, and I was sent to help you with anything you might require”

  “No thanks,” I said, preparing to turn around and walk off. “I work better on my own and have someone to help me already.”

  Xavix tugged at my sleeve, stopping me.

  “What?” I asked him.

  “While I'm happy to be of assistance to you, Gemma, we both know my abilities and talents are rather – limited,” he said. “Perhaps having some local, living help would be ideal?”

  “The droid has a point,” the man said to me.

  He reached out a slimy little hand as if to shake mine, but I just stared at it. I wasn't necessarily rude by nature, but the idea of grasping that small, slimy little hand kind of repulsed me. Seeing I had no intention of shaking his hand, the little man cleared his throat and dropped it to his side a second later.

  “I'm Blyn,” he said. “Our mutual friend sent me to find you. To help lead you on your mission and do whatever is in my power to make you successful.”

  “Funny. He never mentioned sending anyone to help me,” I said, narrowing my gaze.

  I didn't like surprises. Surprises rarely turned out well for me. And on something like this – where my freedom and very life were at stake – I liked surprises even less. Boygan hadn't mentioned assigning me an assistant, so there was no way in hell I was going to accept help from somebody who showed up out of the blue, completely uninvited, claiming to be there to help me.

  Blyn sighed and pulled out what looked to be a communicator of sorts. He pushed a few buttons and then turned it to me, showing me Boygan's face on the other end of the line.

  “Hi Gemma,” Boygan said. “I'm glad to see that you made it safely to Acrov.”

  I started to answer him, but he continued, cutting me off. It was only then that I realized it was merely a recording of Boygan.

  “If you're seeing this message, it means you've met with Blyn – who I've sent to help you on your mission. He's fully aware of the scope of our task and knows the city inside and out. So, I trust he will be a valuable asset and a help for you.”

  “A help or a spy?” I muttered to myself.

  When the recording finished, Blyn put the device away and just stood there, staring up and me and blinking – waiting for me to say something. What he wanted me to say though, I had no clue. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

  “Do I have a choice in the matter?” I asked.

  “No, not really. Not if you want to work with our mutual friend,” Blyn said. “And given that you have already been paid half of what was promised, I assume you'll want to see this arrangement through.”

  At this point, it was too late to back out. Blyn was right – I'd already spent a lot of the money he'd paid me to repair my ship. Given that fact, there was no way I could give it back to him now. I was stuck. I had to see this job through. Which meant that I had to deal with Blyn hanging around – likely reporting on me back to Boygan.

  “Well, just so you know, I don't work well with others,” I grumbled. “You'd be better off knowing that up front.”

  Xavix nodded. “She speaks the truth,” he said. “She can sometimes be very – disagreeable.”

  I glared over at my droid, but how could I be mad at him for agreeing with me? Maybe because I would expect him to sing my praises no matter what. He was programmed to be loyal to me. But the truth of the matter was that Xavix knew me well enough to know I didn't like other people.

  And I especially didn't like spies following me around, reporting back to their bosses about me and everything I was up to either. That had a tendency to really set me off.

  “I'll remain quiet,” he said. “You won't even know I'm here. But if you need something to help you complete your task, you have help at your beck and call.”

  Somehow, I doubted that. Blyn stood tall – or at least tried to. Even standing on his tiptoes like he was, he was still only about three feet tall. At most. He was a plump, little green man who was going to be my partner as I carried out a political assassination.

  Had you told me that one day I'd be on a distant planet preparing to murder a politician with a chubby, little green man on one side and a sarcastic robot on the other, I would have called you a liar. I would have laughed in your face and told you that you needed to get your head examined.

  But in fact, there I was.

  And there was no turning back now.

  Chapter Seven

  Blyn led me through the crowded, cramped city. It was full of strange, exotic aromas – some that made my mouth water and others that made me want to gag. The city was a maze of buildings and streets. Truthfully, I was glad to have Blyn leading the way because I didn't think I could navigate this chaotic warren all on my own.

  But I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of telling him that. I simply walked on, acting as if I knew where we were headed the entire time. Eventually, Blyn led us where we needed to be.

  Boygan had put us up in a hostel near Kysos' residence. His last public speaking engagement was in his home city, not far from his actual home. He was supposed to be sealing the deal with one last speech and everyone – and I mean everyone – was pretty much calling the election already.

  Unless someone else took a stand against him, there was going to be no competition in this race. And time was runn
ing out for that to happen. It didn't look likely that anybody was going to step up – not with his last two opponents dying mysteriously, anyway.

  Of course, they'd died in freak accidents and no one actually blamed Kysos. In fact, he was beloved. You couldn't walk down the street without seeing banners and flags hanging from every home with his image splashed upon it or the words “Long Live, Kysos!” emblazoned upon them.

  The level of adoration was eerie. Especially knowing what I did about the man. Knowing what I did about history, I couldn't help but feel like it was a fascist-type regime taking over – and given the IIS' involvement, that's exactly what it was.

  And I felt that if I didn't stop him, this would be the end for my people. And people across an abundance of systems.

  As we were heading down the road that led to the hostel, we came across a demonstration in the street. Acrovians, wearing brightly colored dresses and skirts were dancing in the streets, wide smiles spread across their faces as they sang about Kysos saving their world. I knew Cromians also supported him, but not to the extent that the Acrovians did.

  Or perhaps they just didn't have the energy to dance in the streets since most of them worked fourteen to eighteen hours a day – every single day – just to survive.

  Acrovians and Cromians were a lot alike. Native Acrovians almost looked human – almost. As did Cromians. But these days, with interplanetary travel, the Acrovians mixed with other species, creating a whole host of new, exotic looking beings. And there were a wide variety of beings dancing and singing at the demonstration in the street. Some of them were tall and lithe, with silvery white hair hanging to their feet. There were others who were short and stout like Sy and Blyn with green skin and bald heads – even the females of their kind had no hair on their bodies.