Planet Broker 3

by Eric Vall

  I knew she wouldn’t say it either, but I suspected she was happy she ended up with me. I knew she loved Akela and Sef’sla, but not in the same way she loved me, and I thought I could make her feel safer than the other two could. Besides, Akela was right, we needed to split up by weight, and with Sef’sla’s great height, she and I would be too heavy to go together.

  “Who wants to go first?” Sef’sla asked, and I thought for a moment.

  I didn’t like the idea of sending the girls ahead of me, but I also didn’t like the idea of leaving them behind, either. Eventually, though, I figured it was better to have them go second in case there was anything waiting for us on the other side. I would have Neka’s eyes with me, which meant we would be able to see just fine, but it also meant that if something was there, then I’d be able to shoot before things could get out of control.

  “Neka and I are going first,” I announced with my hand on my plasma gun.

  “Alright,” Akela agreed, and she gestured to the old bridge.

  I turned to see my cat-girl staring at me with wide, terrified eyes.

  “It’s okay,” I told her as I put my hand on her cheek. “Stay right behind me and watch your footing carefully.”

  “I should go first,” Neka said as she put on a brave face. “I can see better than you in the dark.”

  “I can see just fine,” I argued, “it’s not quite fully dark, yet. Just stay behind me. It will be over soon.”

  “Okay, I trust you, CT,” she said, and she leaned up and kissed my chin.

  I smiled at Neka, grabbed her hand, and pulled her behind me.

  I took a deep breath as I approached the bridge, and I put one hand on my plasma gun, and the other one moved from Neka’s hand to the rope at my side.

  Neka gripped my waist tightly with her hands, and she was so close I felt her breath on my back.

  I took the first step onto the bridge, and the wood seemed sturdy, so I carefully took another. This thing looked like it could fall apart at any second, but it held up well for the first few steps, and I had faith we would make it across easily.

  Just as that thought crossed my mind, though, I saw a shadow move on the other side of the bridge.

  I quickly crouched down and pulled Neka down with me.

  “What’s going on, CT?” the cat-girl whispered fervently.

  “I saw a shadow up ahead,” I told her. “It could be nothing, but I need to check it out first.”

  “Let me see,” Neka said as she peered around me. “It looks like one of the Gelm is at the end of the bridge.”

  Suddenly, the rope at my side started to shake, and I felt it grow looser than it had been before.

  “They’re cutting the rope,” I hissed through clenched teeth, and then I stood up and fired my plasma gun.

  My first shot missed its target, but if I hit the rope then we were dead anyways, so I had to be careful. I quickly flipped my spotlight on so it pointed ahead of me.

  “Run!” I shouted to the girls. If we didn’t all make it across now, then we might not make it across at all.

  I kept shooting at the Gelm as we ran, and eventually I got a hit. The Gelm went down to its knees, then retreated into the woods. The rope was nearly sliced through, but Neka and I reached the other side, and Akela and Sef’sla weren’t too far behind us.

  “What the fuck was that?” Akela gasped as she doubled over to catch her breath.

  “Someone tried to cut the rope!” Neka yowled, and she hugged the mechanic and Sef’sla.

  “Is everyone alright?” I asked.

  “Fine,” Sef’sla said with a frown. “But who would try to cut the rope on us?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said as I inspected the string that now barely held up one side of the bridge. I looked around on the ground, too, and found some silver blood.

  “Do you think they’re still here?” Neka whispered.

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “They ran off this way, though, so I’ll check, and you all stay here.”

  “As if,” Akela snorted.

  “Yes,” Sef’sla clicked in agreement. “We should stay together.”

  “Alright,” I sighed, “but stay behind me.”

  “Whatever you say, CT,” Neka agreed with a nod.

  The girls followed me into the woods as I inspected the blood trail the Gelm had left behind. After a couple of moments, we reached a spot where it pooled, then there were no other drops to follow.

  “They must have stopped here to wrap the wound,” I said.

  “That is what it looks like to me as well,” Sef’sla agreed as she crouched down next to me.

  “Hey,” Neka said, and she pointed a few feet away. “What’s that?”

  There was a bright red piece of fabric on the ground. I picked it up to see it was smeared with silver blood, but as I turned it over in my hand, I saw something familiar. The bolt of material bore the same symbol on it that the assassin in the woods had worn. The same symbol that hung above the heads of the godsmen.

  It was the Elphad. The Elphad had sent another assassin to try and kill me and my girls.

  I crumpled the fabric in my hand as my jaw clenched tight.

  “CT,” Akela said, and she regarded me carefully. “Are you alright?”

  “It’s the Elphad,” I growled through clenched teeth.

  “Again?” the mechanic asked, and she snatched the cloth from me to inspect it. “How did those fuckers know where we were?”

  “I don’t know,” I said as I shook my head, “but Shaso is a sneaky fuck, so he may have heard us talking with the king.”

  The thought that the king could have betrayed us crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed the idea. The king had been sincere when we’d spoken, and killing us would only hurt his people. He had nothing to gain from betraying us, so I knew this attack rested solely on Shaso.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me to find he was able to spy on anyone in the castle,” Sef’sla hissed. “He makes me uncomfortable.”

  “He gives me the willies, too,” Neka agreed with a full body shudder. “You’re probably right, CT. He spied on the king and heard us make our plan.”

  “Either that or he found out where our ship was,” Akela pointed out.

  “He also could have sent spies to search all throughout the woods,” Sef’sla sighed.

  “If you want to catch a rabbit you don’t set one trap,” Akela said with a frown, “you set five.”

  All of these were distinct possibilities, and I wouldn’t put any of them past Shaso. The Elphad leader was as mean and angry as they came. I knew he wanted revenge, not only for us convincing the king to stop the ritual and undermine him, but also for the embarrassment we’d caused him at the king’s table. Truthfully, he had made a fool out of himself, but I knew someone as narcissistic as him would blame us for all of his current troubles.

  If any of the scenarios we discussed were accurate, though, they all meant one thing: we needed to be particularly careful on our mission tonight.

  “Okay,” I said as I looked around at each of the members of my crew, “ we need to be extra cautious tonight. I want everyone to be on the lookout, if you see anything strange at all, tell me, and most importantly, stay together.”

  “No more splitting up.” Neka shook her head.

  “No more splitting up,” I agreed, and then I spoke into my earpiece. “O, how much further until we reach the pond?”

  “You are currently one point three kilometers away,” the AI replied.

  “Thanks, O,” I said, and I turned back to the girls. “Let’s move.”

  I led them out of the woods and back to the path we’d been on. We continued carefully, and I watched every step we took as I scanned the area. This time, though, I didn’t have my hand on my plasma gun, I had the thing out in front of me, ready to fire.

  If Shaso wanted to play dirty, then that was what we would do, too.

  As much as I didn’t want to have to use deadly force, if it came to choo
sing the lives of me or my girls over the life of an assassin, it was gonna be us every single time.

  The woods seemed more ominous now than they had earlier, and I felt Neka jump at every sound behind me. The one point three-mile hike that typically would have taken us just under an hour ended up taking nearly an hour and a half. As much as I wanted to rush to the pond and cure the Gelm of Iilmea just to spite Shaso, I knew we needed to be careful. There could be assassins around any corner.

  “I smell water,” Sef’sla hissed after a while.

  “You do?” I asked, and I looked back at the Almort princess as she lifted her nose to sniff the air.

  “We are close,” she assured me.

  I led us through some overgrown foliage, and sure enough, the pond was on the other side.

  “Impressive,” Akela laughed, and she nudged Sef’sla.

  “It is just in my nature,” the princess responded.

  “Right,” I said with a grin. “Let’s get this going. Sef’sla and Akela, can you handle it on your own?”

  “Of course,” Akela scoffed. “But where are you going?”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “I’m just going to stand guard over you. If Shaso does know about our plan, then he will definitely know this is where we’ll be, so I don’t want to take any chances.”

  “I’ll stand with you, CT,” Neka offered as her tail wrapped around my wrist.

  “Thanks,” I told the cat-girl, and I kissed the top of her head.

  “Let’s cure some Gelm.” Akela grinned.

  “Let’s,” Sef’sla responded with a sharp-toothed grin of her own.

  The two women crouched down and began to unzip their backpacks while Neka and I stood over them. I aimed my plasma gun out in front of me and scanned the area. I saw no signs of anyone, but I didn’t trust that.

  “Hey, O,” I said into my earpiece.

  “Yes, Colby?” the AI asked. “What can I help you with at this late hour?”

  “Don’t act like you sleep,” I laughed. “Can you tell me if there are any Gelm within one hundred meters of us?”

  “There are none currently,” the AI responded, “but I will let you know if this changes.”

  “Thanks, O,” I said, and I clicked my earpiece once more.

  I looked back and forth between Akela and Sef’sla and the woods. The two women had pulled the pill shaped device from the bag and set it on top of the water. Then Akela held a small remote she used to pilot the thing out to the middle of the lake.

  Once it was in the dead center, she pushed a button, and the machine dove down, with only a few bubbles left in its wake.

  “How long will this take?” I asked.

  “Once it gets to the correct depth, it will only take seconds,” the mechanic assured me.

  We all watched the surface for any signs of change.

  “Bingo,” Akela said after a moment, and a large ripple blew through the water. The pond lit up a bright blue for a second, then went back to its original color.

  “Is it done?” I questioned, and my eyes were wide with amazement.

  “It sure is,” Akela said as she stood back up.

  “You two are brilliant,” I told them, and I pulled them both into a hug.

  “Hey!” Neka yowled.

  “Get in here,” Akela laughed as she pulled in the cat-girl.

  “Now,” I said after a moment, “we need to get to the safe house.”

  “Right,” Sef’sla agreed, and she spoke into her earpiece. “Omni, could you please lead us to the safe house now?”

  “Of course, Sef’sla,” the AI responded, and I couldn’t help but be a bit jealous of how sweet he always was to the girls.

  I was the one who “created” him, after all. Kids, they were never grateful.

  We followed Omni’s directions and headed west. The foliage was thick, but we pushed through. I still held my plasma gun out in front of me, because even though the water dose had been completed, I didn’t trust Shaso. He’d sent another assassin after us, and I was beyond pissed my girls had been in danger. It was bad enough he wanted to kill me, but to go after that bridge when Neka was on it?

  That was beyond low, even for him.

  Finally, we made it to the safe house. It was a small, rustic cabin of sorts, and as we entered, I did a sweep of the area. It was more of a hut than a proper house, but it had a bed, a table, and a fireplace, which was really all we needed for the evening.

  “This is … nice,” Akela laughed as she threw her bag down.

  “Once we build a fire, it will feel cozier,” I chuckled.

  “At least it’s somewhere to stay for the night,” Sef’sla said.

  “Yeah,” Akela agreed. “I just can’t wait to get these people some irrigation systems in place. I get so frustrated when I see ways to improve things, but I can’t do it yet.”

  “You’re so nice,” Neka giggled, and her eyes squinted shut with a smile.

  “No,” Akela protested and crossed her arms over her chest, “I’m just a realist. If we help the Gelm, then we’ll get some mior to fund our other travels.”

  “Fine,” Neka purred. “You don’t have to admit you’re nice, we all already know it.”

  The mechanic grumbled, but didn’t say anything else, and when she turned away from the cat-girl, I saw a smile spread across her face.

  I got the fire going quickly, and we huddled around it for a few minutes while we drank some water and ate some dehydrated fruit.

  Then a knock sounded on the door, and all the girls turned to me with wide eyes.

  I stood up and carefully walked to the small door of the cabin, with my hand on my plasma gun.

  “Who is it?” I asked.

  “It is the king,” came from the other side, and I opened the door.

  “Oh,” I said. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

  “It’s quite alright,” the old man replied as he pushed past me, threw a small, red bag by the door, and took a seat by the fire. “Is the mission complete?”

  “It is,” I assured him.

  “Did you run into any trouble?” he asked, and his eyes narrowed in concentration.

  I thought for a moment about whether or not to disclose what had happened to the king. He didn’t know about the other assassin either, and I wasn’t sure what he would do if he were to find out. I knew he and Shaso were already not on the greatest of terms, but I also knew he couldn’t outright overthrow the Elphad without there being a civil war on his hands.

  “Well?” King Grenn asked, and he looked at me closer. His deep gray skin was illuminated by the light of the fire, and the flames made his milky yellow eyes seem young and fresh once more.

  “There was some trouble,” I admitted at length, “but nothing we couldn’t handle.”

  “From your reaction, I take it this is something I should know about,” the king said, and he leaned back from me. “But I also take it you are hesitant to inform me.”

  “I am.” I nodded.

  “It was Shaso,” he said, “wasn’t it? Did he try to disrupt the plan?”

  “Your Majesty,” I sighed, “I will tell you what happened, but I need you to not act in anger because of it.”

  “Do I look like the kind of king to do such a thing?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t get to be as old as I am without having a way to control your anger.”

  “How old are you?” Neka asked, and she leaned forward to inspect the king.

  “Neka!” Akela hissed.

  “It’s alright,” Grenn laughed. “I am one hundred and six.”

  “One hundred?” I asked with wide eyes.

  “Oh, yes,” he said. “Our people can live for a very long time, but we are immature for a lot of it. We do not go into puberty until we are well into our thirties.”

  I thought how strange that seemed. Nothing in the Terra Nebula research had indicated them possessing such longevity. I felt a deep frown take over my face as I realized what that meant as far as t
he plague. So many Gelm had died, and they were considered young by the standards of these people.

  “It is alright,” the king said, and he put his hand on my arm. “You have cured us.”

  “I am just saddened by the loss of your people,” I told him. “I hadn’t realized just how young most of them had been.”

  “It is true,” the king said, “but we will carry on. We will rebuild and regrow, and with your help, we will grow better.”

  I smiled at the older Gelm. He truly was the most noble person I’d ever met.

  “It was Shaso, Your Majesty,” I informed him.

  “I figured as much,” the king said with a nod. “What did he do?”

  “He has attempted to kill us not once, but twice now,” I clarified.

  “To be fair, it seems like he’s mostly after you,” Akela said with a shrug and a teasing smile.

  “My associate is right,” I chuckled. “It seems the assassins are mostly after me, though I wouldn’t put it past Shaso to put a hit on my crew as well.”

  “No, neither would I,” King Grenn agreed. “You say they were assassins? How do you know they were sent by Shaso?”

  “The first one was in the woods on the way to Lord Anix,” I explained. “The guards there could testify to that.”

  “If you forced them to tell the truth,” Akela muttered.

  “Right again,” I told her, then I turned back to the king. “There were at least ten assassins that day, and one of the guards we were with killed one of them before the others fled.”

  “The guards said that since the plague had set in, the city had resorted to crime,” Sef’sla added. “He said the assassins must have been common thieves.”

  “But you knew better than that,” the king guessed.

  “Well, yes,” I said. “We saw their robes were made of a very nice material, far too fancy to belong to a common criminal. And on the upper chest of the dead man was this symbol.” I held the cloth out to him. “The same symbol was on this piece of cloth the assassin left tonight after he tried to cut a rope bridge and send us all to our deaths.”

  The king turned the cloth over in his hands, and his eyes closed slowly for a moment before he turned to look at me.