Forbidden World

by Jeremy Michelson

  She was the fearless warrior, not me.

  Light shimmered and pulsed at the palm of my upraised hand. The light brightened and brightened. It lanced upward. Then stopped. I felt the heat of it in my hand. The weight of it.

  The sword of Dendon.

  Icy blue flames licked up and down the length of the blade.

  I turned my head to Liz. She drew back the armor over her face. The flames of the blade danced in her eyes. A cold smile turned up the corner of her lips.

  “You know what to do,” I said.

  It wasn’t a question.

  “Finally,” she said.

  She bent down. Planted a fierce kiss on my lips.

  Then she rose and took the sword from my hand.

  I keyed the communicator on.

  "No, Mr. Dragon," I said, "I am the memory of Dendon now. And here is my sword.”

  Liz was already off the command deck, flying down the corridor. I followed her on the ship’s internal cameras. I sent a command to the cargo hold.

  The hold’s exterior door opened.

  Liz blazed down toward the hold area. I opened the interior door an instant before she got there.

  And then she was gone. Streaking out of the ship and into the roiling red-gray dust storm that gripped the city.

  I sent the ship into a dive. Braking, turning. So hard my squishy and stinky passengers cried out in pain.

  Sorry guys.

  Well, maybe not so sorry, since at least two of them stabbed me to death.

  The ship’s frame groaned and popped. The engines screamed. Warnings flashed in my mind.

  But the ship held together.

  I brought the ship back to hover over the spire of the ministry of records.

  Should I have brought it over the King’s seat? Or maybe the Ministry of Defense?

  No, of course not. This was all about memory.

  This was about Dendon never giving up. Even from the grave.

  I trained the ship's eyes on our path. On the beast roaring after us, down the canyon of Dendon towers. Past the dark and silent citadels of Dendon government and commerce. Towers empty but for the dust of those who once toiled in them.

  My eyes found my golden warrior. She carried the Sword of Dendon in her armored hand. I don't know if it was the sword or her, but she was surrounded by a brilliant glow.

  She was like a shooting star, blazing across the sky.

  Then, suddenly, there was the Dragon. It burst from the clouds of dust and sand. Soaring down the wide boulevard toward the plaza. Right in front of Liz.

  And oh god, it was so huge. How had it gotten so big? My breath caught in my throat. My heart thumped hard against my chest.

  She seemed so tiny against the beast. The dragon was like an onrushing locomotive, red plasma trailing from its open mouth, enormous red eyes blazing with hateful fire.

  And she was just a small figure, silhouetted against its monstrous body, its crushing power.

  I ached to turn my face away.

  But I would not.

  I was King, after all. Everything was my responsibility now.

  Whether I wanted it to be or not.

  Liz hung in mid-air. She lifted the sword. Which blazed with blue-white fire now.

  Then the Dragon was upon her.

  She never flinched. Never hesitated.

  She surged toward the beast, the blazing sword in her hand. The light turned the swirling red dust into roiling clouds of white.

  She drove the sword into the space where the Dragon’s neck joined its torso.

  For a moment, the sword’s blazing light disappeared. Swallowed into the beast itself. The light winked out. I gripped the console of the ship so hard the surface broke. I leaned forward, Liz’s name on my lips.

  The Dragon’s body slammed into Liz. Sent them both hurtling forward.

  Then lines of blue-white light shot over the Dragon’s body. Illuminated scales and seams.

  The Dragon opened its jaw in a roaring scream. A beam of blue-white light shot out of its maw.

  Then the Dragon was falling. It tumbled from the sky. The lights over its body fading.

  It plunged into the roiling dust clouds and disappeared.

  I screamed Liz’s name.

  Eighty

  Chris

  Clouds of reddish dust erupted from the street leading to the plaza of government buildings. Ruddy sunlight turned the clouds the color of blood.

  I couldn’t see anything of Liz or the Dragon. There was too much interference for the ship’s sensors to cut through the roiling dust and sand where they impacted.

  Beside me, the Don, Zek, whimpered. I didn’t have time for him or his rancid cat food stinking brethren.

  I kept my hands gripped to the control console. The Dendon ship bleated its pain and concerns at me. So many systems were damaged or broken that it was amazing the ship was still in the air, hovering over the Ministry of Records tower.

  I directed the ship to lower itself to the circular plaza in front of the buildings. Thankfully the landing gear extended on command. I settled the ship down not far from the blackened wreckage of the ship we came to Dendon in.

  Which seemed like a million years ago now…

  The ship settled to the ground with a tired groan. I shut down the engines, then leapt from the flight couch. I ran past the other two naked Dons as they lay against the wall, moaning.

  I’d deal with them later.

  I had to find Liz.

  Seconds later, I ran out the still open exterior door of the cargo hold. Icy wind buffeted me, driving sand and dust in my face. I strengthened the shield around my body. The worst of the wind went away.

  “Liz!” I shouted.

  I ran toward the clouds of dust settling across the plaza. I caught glimpse of bronze. Streamers of black smoke threaded through the wind-driven dust.

  “Liz!”

  I came upon a chunk of bronze. It was one of the smaller cylinders with claw-like extensions at the end. One of the arms. I kicked at it. It rolled over with a dull ring of metal.

  Dead.

  I ran for the center of the dust clouds.

  Then skidded to a stop.

  From the roiling dust, a figure emerged.

  A golden figure with a shining sword resting over her shoulder. She stopped and put her hand on her hip.

  “Hey, buster,” Liz said, “I thought you said this would be a challenge?”

  I ran up to her and threw my arms around her. I pulled back and the armor parted over her face. She gave me a wicked grin.

  Then she put her hand on the back of my neck and pulled me into a deep kiss.

  When we finally came up for air, I ran my hand over her cheek.

  “You had me worried,” I said.

  She shrugged. “What? It was just a dragon,” she said, “When do we get to the hard stuff?”

  I rolled my eyes. “You don’t want to know.”

  The dust was settling. By some miracle, the wind was settling down, too. An eerie stillness came over the plaza with its circle of lifeless buildings.

  The ruddy light glinted off the parts of the Dragon. Returned now to its component cylinders. The head of the Dragon lay pointed at us. The jaw was closed. The formerly blazing eyes dull and black now.

  It wasn’t truly dead. Just in stasis. If I wanted, I could reactivate and reprogram it.

  And, before I left Dendon, I would have to. The planet still needed protection from nosy beings looking for high tech killing trinkets.

  “So what now, boss?” Liz said.

  I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

  “We spend the rest of eternity tracking down Dendon’s toys and cleaning up their messes,” I said.

  “Cool. Sounds like job security. With travel benefits,” Liz said.

  Um. Sure.

  "You realize we're not really human anymore, don't you?" I said.

  Another shrug. “So? Who wants to be a squishy human?” She said. She flexed her golden ar
mor covered hand. “I like this a lot better. It’s fun. So are you really the King of this place?”

  I nodded. “I passed all the tests. Or something,” I said, “It wasn’t like there was a lot of competition.”

  Liz held the sword out in front of her. Cold blue flames licked up and down the blade.

  “Are you kidding? There was a whole galaxy’s worth of competition, Bub,” she said, “And you got the job. Just don’t get a swelled head, okay?”

  “Not likely,” I said, “I’m much too boring for that.”

  Liz threw her head back and laughed. “If this is boring, I can’t wait for exciting.”

  The sword suddenly brightened. So much that it looked like it was about to go supernova. My heart sped up.

  But then the light dimmed. The sword disappeared with the light. Shrinking until it was just a ball of light in Liz’s hand. Then it vanished into her armor.

  “I like that trick,” Liz said, “By the way, I’m keeping the sword.”

  “I kinda expected you to,” I said, “I’m not much of sword guy.”

  “Yeah, you’re the thinker guy,” Liz said, “Except you think too much sometimes.”

  What could I do? I shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin.

  Engines roared to life behind us. We spun around.

  The Dendon ship shuddered then started to lift from the ground.

  “Son of bitch!” Liz shouted, “Are those assholes trying to steal our ship?”

  She turned to me.

  “Did you leave the keys in it?” She said.

  “Uh…”

  “Nevermind.”

  In a flash of shining gold, she sprang from the ground and streaked off toward the ship. The ship zoomed up into the dusky red sky with her racing after it.

  I sighed and went to go sit on the steps of the Ministry of Records.

  She’d be back. If the Don were lucky, she might let them live.

  Though by the time she was done with them, they might not want to.

  I eased myself down on the cold, stone steps. The towers of Dendon rose up around me. I tilted my head back and stared up at the sky. A few stars twinkled through the hazy air.

  I realized that this was the end of the beginning for Liz and I. We’d somehow crossed over into a new level of being grown up. A new, crushing level of responsibility.

  No pressure. Just keep the galaxy from blowing up, okay?

  I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

  As long as my golden warrior was by my side, anything was possible.

  I wasn’t afraid anymore.

  Eighty-One

  Kawl Tejoh

  Captain Kawl Tejoh, fearless commander of the Don battlecruiser The Hojan's Murder, Thirty-second in line for the Lordship of Tejoh-Kav, skilled…

  …Blah, blah, blah…None of that was relevant any longer.

  He sat in the command chair on the control deck of The Hojan’s Murder. He belched and dropped the empty bottle of blood wine on the deck. It clattered and rolled away. Arrayed around him, the control panels of The Hojan’s Murder were dark. In fact, only the dim, bluish emergency lights were still on.

  The air in the ship was cold and held the acrid stench of scorched wiring.

  The view screen in front of him was black and lifeless.

  Someone touched his shoulder.

  He yelped and nearly jumped out of his skin.

  “Captain, it’s time to leave.”

  Tak. It was only Tak. The stupid, cowardly sensor technician.

  Tak’s tentacles were flaccid and gray. Much like his own tentacles now. Which also trembled and quivered like Tak’s.

  He tried to sit up straight in the command chair. He was a Don warrior after all, he was…

  …Eh, never mind.

  Tak put his hand on Kawl’s shoulder. In an earlier time, that would have been a killing offense. Subordinates would never dare to touch their superiors. Kawl would have gotten his blade from his cabin and…

  …Which seemed like far too much work now.

  Besides, Tak was taking care of things now. Tak, who had negotiated the surrender of The Hojan’s Murder to…

  He shuddered. His hands shook so hard, he gripped the arms of the command chair in a futile attempt to hide his gibbering terror.

  The golden female warrior…

  Tak took hold of Kawl’s arm. “It’s okay, Captain, she’s not here. Remember? We’re safe now. Everything is okay.”

  Which they both knew was a bald-faced lie. Nothing would ever be okay again.

  But still…he looked around behind him. There was nothing but dimly lit space. The corridors and cabins of The Hojan’s Murder were probably empty by now. The crew had already offloaded onto the Yevhae controlled station.

  What humiliation. The Earth creatures couldn’t be bothered to drop them off in Blinky controlled space. With Blinkys, at least, there might have been a chance of getting back to HeJovna.

  Though…maybe HeJovna wasn’t a good place to return to.

  Explanations would be demanded.

  Punishments given out. If they were lucky.

  The crew would probably be put to death after they were interrogated and tortured.

  As for himself, maybe his grandfather could pull a few strings…

  Or maybe not. The depths of failure here were beyond a mere amusement like diddling another Lord’s breeding stock.

  Yevhae weren’t so bad. They were silly looking. And terrible warriors. But at least they were unlikely to torture and kill him.

  Maybe they made wine. Probably weak, flavorless wine. But, given enough quantity, it would blot out the memories of that golden figure. That golden figure ripping through the walls…reaching for him…

  A terrible shudder rippled through him.

  “Captain, we really must go,” Tak said, “The…the…Terrans are coming back for the ship soon.”

  That got him up out of the command chair. He got up so fast it made him dizzy. Or maybe that was the bottle of blood wine he’d downed. The blasted crew had already stolen most of his blood wine before he was returned to The Hojan’s Murder in humiliation.

  Fortunately he’d secreted a few bottles in a hidden compartment in his cabin.

  Unfortunately, the bottle rolling on the floor with its brethren was the last bottle he had.

  It made him so sad that tears rolled down cheeks.

  Tak took hold of both his shoulders and gently pushed him along to the door. As they reached it, Kawl put his hand on the door frame and stopped them.

  He took one last look at the command deck. His command deck. He patted the door frame.

  “She was a good ship, wasn’t she, Tak?”

  Tak spoke in soothing tones. “Yes, of course, she was, Captain. And you commanded her as fiercely as any warrior ever had.”

  Which was complete and utter crap. The ship had been barely better than a garbage scow.

  And he…

  Well, he certainly wasn’t going to be emperor of the galaxy any time soon, was he? No giant planetoid starships with an infinite number of decks for his various pleasures.

  All he had left was a single Sensor Technician and a permanent scar on his chest.

  His ran his fingers over the scarred tissue on his aching chest. At least he’d found some clothes in his cabin. He wasn’t going to exit his ship naked, like a new-born babe.

  “Did they ever dislodge the…object…from Commander Zek’s rectum?” He asked.

  “I believe the Yevhae medical technicians are still working on it,” Tak said.

  Kawl shook his head. “He really shouldn’t have resisted that…creature.”

  Tak gently pushed at Kawl’s shoulders, moving him off the command deck and into the corridor.

  “From my understanding, as told to me by Sergeant Kyn, Command Zek tried to use his armor against…her. Unsuccessfully.”

  Kawl put his hand to his face. The dim emergency lights made uncomfortable shadows in the corners. He flinched at severa
l of them.

  “She ripped it right off him. Ripped the armor off him. That’s not supposed to be possible,” he said, “Her words still echo in my mind. She stood there, holding Zek’s armor in her golden fist…You killed my man with this. Lucky for you that’s not a permanent condition for him. So I’m only going to stick this where the sun doesn’t shine instead of plucking off your body parts and making you eat them.”

  Tak patted him on the arm. They were nearing the end of the corridor. The docking hatch was open. Harsh, yellow light poured through it. The earthy stink of the Yevhae drifted through the hatch, along with the soft murmur of Yevhae voices.

  “Yes, Captain,” Tak said, “That’s what Sergeant Kyn said. You were most wise to not resist.”

  Resist? After the golden female warrior dropped Zek, she turned to him. He'd pressed himself against the wall, pissing himself in terror as she stalked up to him. His quivering, terror-filled face was reflected in the smooth golden helmet of her seamless armor.

  You want to try anything, asshole? She’d said.

  He shook his head, making his limp tentacles slap his face.

  I’m going to give you something to remember me by.

  Then she raised a golden finger to him. The tip of her finger suddenly glowed white hot. She put it to his bare chest.

  He’d screamed and screamed and screamed.

  “Captain?” Tak said, still pushing him gently toward the docking hatch.

  “Sensor Technician Tak,” Kawl said, “Tell me something…”

  “Yes, Captain?”

  Kawl shivered. Even after all the blood wine he'd drank…he still had the stink of his own charred flesh in his nostrils. Even with the powerful painkillers he'd gotten from the medical bay…he still had the dull ache of pain in his chest.

  “Tell me, Tak…were you able to translate the markings?”

  “Sir…”

  “The markings that…creature…made on me?”

  Tak sighed. They finally made it to the hatch. The light was bright. Harsh. Kawl raised his hand to shade his eyes. The earthy stink of the Yevhae made his stomach twist. Was this what he had to put up with for the rest of his life?