by Cherie Marks
Since she was a young girl, orphaned as a child, she’d always wanted a place where she belonged. She wanted a place to call her home. As many star systems and as many planets as she’d been to, none had felt like home. As a result, she’d never really settled down, preferring her spaceship as living quarters and any port in a storm. Nevertheless, she still held out hope that someday she’d find that one place that she never wanted to leave and could finally call home forever.
Right now, she was inside her ship repairing an auxiliary communication device that had been acting up since she’d started her engines. The ship was fueled and ready to go, but this was slightly more than a nuisance. If the communications weren’t working, she’d have trouble talking to the docking stations when she wanted to land. That was a sure way to get a military escort, which usually didn’t end well. She really couldn’t leave without first making sure she didn’t need a part to fix whatever was messing it up. Yet, even after she’d taken everything apart, she couldn’t find the problem. After the inner panel was screwed back on, she realized she’d have to get outside and see if the problem might be with the outer panel. Fortunately, the containment field was still up around her ship, so if she did have to get a part from a nearby shop quickly, she could manage it easily.
With little effort, she clambered out and walked around to the right side of the ship, using the docking apparatus for support. She loosened the panel and pulled it free from the ship’s exterior. A quick look inside showed that some of the wires had come loose. Though it wasn’t entirely unheard of, it was unusual that the wires would pull free with normal wear and tear. She shook her head and went to work reattaching the confounding lines. Once she’d finished the first one, she paused and listened, cocking her head to the side to determine if she’d actually heard something. Her back stiffened at a sound to the left and behind her, as if someone were moving around in the dim docking bay. She wasn’t alone.
With careful movements, Zaira slipped into the shadows cast by the large ship. She scrutinized the area but couldn’t see anything unusual. Then, something caught her eye. Had the light shifted?
Without concern for anything other than getting back inside her ship, Zaira edged slowly toward the ladder. She swung around and began to climb, but her feet slipped free and she dangled for a second before tightening her grip and beginning to ascend upward again. With a quick glance behind her, she turned in time to see a shadow running across the docking bay. Before she could react, it leaped into the space beside her and disappeared. Had to be a Meta. What was this creature?
Gritting her teeth, she began to climb faster, but in a flash, she felt the imposing presence of a living creature as darkness covered her. She swiveled her head around to see where the nothingness suddenly blanketing her was coming from, but all she saw was blackness. For the briefest of moments, she caught sight of the light below her, and she decided to drop to the ground and make a run for it. She never got the chance to act though. The next moment, she felt a heavy blow hit the back of her head, and then—nothing, as she lost consciousness and fell into the nothingness.
* * *
Zaira walked among the gravestones, knowing which ones she’d find at the top of the hill. Her shoulders barely cleared the two-foot tall markers. Ten was much too young for a girl to lose her parents and for a child’s world to shatter, but that didn’t matter because it had happened. There was no changing reality.
Tears flowed and her body shook as she got closer. She hugged her arms tightly around her stomach. What would happen to her now? She had no one left on Wreston or anywhere. All she’d ever known had been taken from her by…them. Metas had destroyed all she’d ever known in one horrific battle, and now all was lost.
The minute the graves were in front of her, she dropped to her knees, feeling the cool grass cushioned against her skin. The simple wooden crosses that marked the two graves seemed small and unadorned, and it brought about another round of sobbing. Again, she wondered what would happen to her. Where would she go? Who would take care of her? The war had demolished so much of the planet. She was a concern to the struggling people around her about as much as a bug concerned them. They just couldn’t worry about her when all their lives were in danger.
She collapsed completely to the ground, crying unchecked tears as she curled herself into a ball. Alone. Forever, she would be alone.
“A terrible loss, to be sure.”
Zaira sucked in a choppy breath and rubbed her fists over her eyes before glancing around to see who had spoken. Squatting a few feet away, a woman with short, white hair and big, brown eyes stared at her. Her arms rested on her knees and her hands dangled in front of her. Zaira hiccupped and sat up slowly, keeping her gaze locked on the stranger.
“Who are you?”
Her light-brown skin was smooth, even as she smiled a toothy grin that spread warmth all the way up to her glowing eyes. “My name’s Selky. What’s yours?”
“Zaira.” She hadn’t hesitated, feeling instant comfort in the presence of the woman. Something about her made Zaira feel okay for the first time in days.
“Were they your parents?”
Zaira nodded slowly and looked back at the pitiful, wooden crosses marking the graves.
“What will you do now?”
With a shrug, Zaira began to tear up again, but she fought breaking down in front of this woman. She didn’t want to seem weak and childish, even though it was exactly what she was.
“Do you have someone here to take care of you now?”
Tightening her jaw, Zaira lifted her chin and shook her head back and forth. She rasped, “No one.”
Selky stood, towering over Zaira, and reached out a hand to help Zaira up. “I’m getting ready to leave Wreston. There’s nothing left for me here either. I’ve got some jobs to do, and I could use someone your size. I’d teach you how to do what I do. You could travel to far off worlds and see some pretty amazing sights. How does that sound?”
“You want me to go with you?”
“I’m sure your parents taught you not to go with strangers, and normally, I’d say that would be the advice to stick to, but I know how these things go. Without protectors, you’ll be vulnerable. Someone will find you, but they won’t be the kind of person who you want to end up with. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I won’t hurt you, and I won’t ask you to do anything your own parents wouldn’t have asked of you.” Again, she shrugged one shoulder. “It’s an option for you, kid. I need a partner, preferably a small one, and you need a protector. We could help each other out.”
Zaira considered the offer. It was dangerous to go anywhere with someone she didn’t know, matter alone, to go off the planet. Her parents had taught her that much….before…But, there was nothing here for Zaira now. Nothing. How would she eat? Where would she live? These were things a child on her own would struggle to figure out. Zaira didn’t even know where to start.
Yet, here someone was, offering to take her away from a life of constant struggle…to protect her, even. Under normal circumstances, Zaira knew never to go with a stranger, but these weren’t normal circumstances. If she didn’t act, she’d be stuck here, starving and probably abused, but if she left Wreston, she could find somewhere…somewhere she belonged. Maybe she could find a home, one that wasn’t devastated by war, one where she felt safe and secure. That’s what she wanted more than anything else in the world now.
She just had one question. “What is it that you do exactly?”
Selky’s smile widened again. “I retrieve things. I’m a kind of bounty hunter, but for items people have lost and are willing to pay to get back.”
“And how could I help you?”
“Well, you see, there’s a job where I need to get into a very tight space, but I’m too big. That’s where I could use someone your size to help me out.”
“What happens to me once the job is over?”
With a chuckle, Selky said, “You’re a sharp girl. Tell you what, if you can
help me retrieve this item, I’ll train you as my apprentice. You’ll become a retriever too. I promise I’ll make you one of the best. What do you say?”
Zaira swiveled her gaze to the burned and ruined landscape around her, she glanced at her parents’ graves, and she finally turned her face to the sky above. She was as good as dead if she stayed here, so what did she have to lose?
“Okay. I’m ready. Make me the best retriever there is.”
Zaira awoke with a gasp and a splitting headache. Damn! This was one hell of a hangover she was experiencing, and she didn’t even remember the entertainment of getting drunk.
She’d been dreaming though, and it was the same dream she often had of the day she’d met Selky. It was the day she’d left Wreston and all the misery there far behind. Yet, she often relived that time in her dreams and woke disoriented, feeling the sorrow and anxiety of the loss of her parents all over again.
The one bright spot in all of that time had been Selky. She’d lived up to her promise to protect Zaira and train her to become one of the best retrievers available. Sure, Selky had put her into some dangerous situations, ones where she was lucky to escape with her life, but she was stronger, better for it. Nothing could bring her down now. All she had to do was look back at where she’d been in order to understand what she could endure in the present. Yet, as she glanced around the room where she was right now, she wasn’t quite sure what the present held for her.
It seemed like any other ordinary bedroom with all the usual items, bed, wall cabinet, chair, and other various furniture items that doubled as storage. She didn’t recognize any of it, but from the smell wafting to her, everything was brand new. Slowly, she sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, feeling the pounding throb in her head again. She touched the back of her head with a light brush of her fingers and cringed at the painful tenderness there.
How had that happened?
As she lowered her hand, it slid past a device in her ear. It was reassuring that she wasn’t experiencing some sort of Meta-induced hallucination. It was an implant that all humans wore to protect their minds from being invaded by Metas. Yet, if this wasn’t a hallucination, what was going on?
She glanced around the room again. Where the hell was she? And why couldn’t she remember getting here?
The events leading up to her getting here were fuzzy to say the least. The last thing she remembered was flying into Graefen’s Spaceport, a space station circling the planet Lerges. What had she done there? Met with someone? Agreed to a job?
She rubbed her temples. No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn’t remember anything. It was frustrating that she didn’t even know what had happened to get her here, wherever here was. She needed to know one thing now. Was she in danger? The knock to the back of the head would suggest that she was.
Her instincts kicked in. Still as stone, she listened for any movement outside of the room and beyond. Nothing seemed to be stirring, but she was still cautious as she stood and tiptoed to the door and peeked outside into a darkened room. She waited a few silent moments before stepping into the room. The lights flashed on immediately, and though she tensed, she quickly realized they were motion-triggered.
A quick glance around revealed a cream-colored, plush u-shaped sitting area, dotted with several orange, decorative pillows. Beyond that, she noticed a panel on the grey, concrete floor, which she assumed opened up to allow a viewing screen to lift from the floor. Along the gleaming, white walls were various panels that, no doubt, opened to release necessary items for everyday life. As she made her way around the room, pushing various buttons, her idea was confirmed. Facilities for bodily functions such as eating, bathing, and other activities were all stored within the walls and came out and slipped away as needed.
Again, the smell of newness hit her. This was obviously set up to be a schwanky place for someone. Who lived here? Or was going to live here? She needed answers, but it was clear she was alone…at least for now. She’d have to leave to find the answers she wanted.
As she strode toward the door opposite the bedroom, she noticed a translucent electronic reader, but she didn’t pick it up. She debated whether it would be useful to her or not, but in the end decided it would be missed by whoever lived here, so better to leave it behind.
She touched the panel beside the door and it slid open. Understandably hesitant, she put her head out before stepping into a large area off which many more doors seemed to lead to other apartments like the one she’d just exited. She stood in silence for a moment, staring at the gleaming white of the walls around her. Though she expected a door to open and someone to walk out, after waiting what seemed like long minutes, no one exited. It was as if no one were actually here, and she was completely alone.
A few heavy breaths fortified her to make her way toward the center, where an elevator of sorts stood open and lit up. She stepped on and pushed the button for the lowest floor. It was a smooth ride, and before she knew it, the doors opened. Zaira stepped off cautiously and looked around, expecting more of the same. Instead, now that she was on the ground floor, she looked through the lobby at the multitude of Humans and Metas milling around, seeming to be concentrated around a console, and every single one of them had a translucent electronic reader in his or her hand. They all seemed to be double-checking something at the console, and more were streaming in through the outer door. A few had started toward the elevator, now behind her. All kinds of beings brushed by her, and she slipped through the oncoming crowd to head toward the door.
With effort, she made her way outside and stopped in the middle of a large intersection that was clear of everything but people of all species. She spun in a circle, looking around at all the colorful buildings that appeared newly constructed and previously unoccupied. As Zaira took in all the sights around her, she thought she knew where she was. And she wanted to throw a fist into the nearest, freaking, gleaming wall. Or throw up the meager contents of her stomach.
The Complex. Somehow, someway, she’d ended up in the last place in the universe she wanted to be. How had this happened? She never would’ve signed up to be a resident here in a million years. How was it possible she was here?
She looked around at the alien creatures mixed in with the Humans. There were giants, incubi, and magical beings of all sorts walking with some form of luggage in one hand and that electronic reader in the other. Uniformed authorities were directing the various people of all sorts where they needed to go. A mistake had been made. How was she here among them?
Her eyes scanning the area, she thought if she could approach one of the beings in charge, she could explain her situation and that she needed to get to the closest spaceport to get out of here as soon as possible.
She stepped toward a uniformed female, but before she could get close, two other uniformed officers blocked her way.
“Looks like we have another one.”
Zaira’s eyes narrowed. “Another what?”
The other officer said, “Another fool who already lost her reader. Where do you think you left it?”
“There was one in the apartment, but I…”
“You need it on you at all times. It’s your form of identification, your map, and so many other things. Don’t leave it when you go out. Now, let us escort you back to your apartment, so you can get it.”
They hooked their arms through hers and began walking her toward the crush of people heading into the building. She dug in her heels and worked to make them stop.
“You don’t understand. I’m not really supposed to be here. This is some kind of crazy error, and I need to get back to my ship and get out of here.”
“If you’re here, you volunteered, so why the sudden change of mind?”
“I didn’t sign-up for this. I just woke up in a bed upstairs and don’t even remember how I got there.”
One of the uniformed officers grabbed her arm and began dragging her in the direction of some buildings standing tall in the center
of the domed area. “Not possible. I don’t like liars, and I know just the intra officer to get the truth out of you.”
Though she continued to protest, they’d stopped listening and pushed her toward some kind of transport. It was a flyer, and she hated riding those. She didn’t resist any longer. Maybe if she cooperated, they’d get her out of here sooner rather than later.
They left the residential area and made their way into another part of the Complex. It seemed to be the main city.
The intra officer bypassed security once they arrived in the Clim intra enforcement office. As Zaira was hauled through the door of a busy building, she identified the multiple desks and an information window as those one might find inside a law enforcement office. Clearly, this was a hectic time for the city. So many creatures were seeking help as they familiarized themselves with the place that would be their home for the next two and a half years. Stupid suckers!
Zaira had high hopes she’d soon be getting off the planet and away from all the Metas around her. It was high time she find someone who would listen to her.
“Where’s this intra you want me to talk with?”
He gave her a once-over and pushed her into a dull, metal chair that looked like it had been in use for many years already. Must have been a purposeful decision to go for drab in here. The white walls and lack of artwork on those walls made Zaira think it was a design choice. Going for depressed and dejected? Bada-bing! It worked!
The pushy intra that forced her here walked through another secured door, leaving her to wait for another stretch of time. This was getting ridiculous. Any longer and she could be stuck here.
“Can I get a little help here? I don’t have all the time in the world!” She shouted, crossing her arms over her chest and staring hard at the two intra standing guard across the room from her current location.
After a couple more shouts, the intra returned with a hulking Meta who had to duck and turn to fit through the door. His skin had an orange-ish tinge, and he had tusks the size of a pointer finger rising from his bottom teeth. She assumed he’d been chosen to intimidate her. On a normal Human, it might work, but Zaira had been through too much to be scared of anyone.
