Star Chaser- The Traveler

by Reiter

  “But now you’re too close,” Dungias thought, making a looping motion with his right hand. Zaylo gasped as the war chain wrapped around his neck. Dungias took hold of the other end with his left hand, lifted his feet up to the face of Zaylo and pulled. The Traveler’s right foot was just barely on the Tohgrunn’s forehead, but the left foot had been well secured under Zaylo’s chin. “This should go well with that wounded chest!”

  Indeed! Zaylo found it impossible to breathe and he reached to remove Dungias’ feet. Both hands were kicked away by the young Malgovi’s right foot and the golden-eyed prisoner found the strength to pull harder. Zaylo’s head was pounding as all he could hear was his own heartbeat. He desperately tried to grab the leg that served as his opponent’s leverage, but the free leg proved to be quick, fast, and entirely too accurate.

  The security robots fired their weapons. Energy coursed through Dungias and into Zaylo. Only one of them could scream, but no such sound was made. Dungias felt the pain attack his body and he released his rage to contend with it and use it to fuel his efforts. A second burst struck the two, and Dungias lost all the feeling in his limbs. Zaylo slowly fell forward, but was caught by Measure. As soon as Zaylo was clear, a third and fourth volley were fired, but the fourth was not felt by any conscious mind. Dungias was already unconscious, and Goneo readied his weapons to fire lasers at the motionless Malgovi. Measure was quick to remind Goneo to monitor the transmission.

  The bidding on Dungias escalated dramatically, and Measure negotiated several proposals that had not been posted on the broadcasted review while the last of the Tohgrunn that Zaylo had kept on to be his crew took care of ship matters. Measure calculated his Master would be pleased, but only slightly. He had been beaten in open combat. If anything, his opponent had been placed at a severe disadvantage and still managed to take the bout. The promise of funds might keep him from killing the prisoner, as all offers came with the prerequisite that the property in question be delivered alive and well. To that end, he had the prisoner delivered to the infirmary where the regenerator would have him healthy in a matter of minutes.

  Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand.

  Neil Armstrong

  “Remind me never to make you mad!” Taas said as Dungias opened his eyes. “I get the feeling that people who get on your bad side don’t hang around for too long.”

  “Then… you would be… very surprised,” Dungias replied, sitting up and holding tight to the sides of the machine where his body had been placed. He could hear devices powering down and see lights inside the coffin-like device dimming. “How long have I been unconscious?”

  “About six minutes, er, uh, tonki,” Taas replied, opening the side door. “The security robots thought you were on death’s door, but the worst of it was simple energy burns and your skin was already beginning to repair that damage before they got you to the regen. You Malgovi are something else!”

  “On behalf of my race, thank you,” Dungias said, trying to clear his mind. “Would it be too much of an assumption to inquire about your plan?”

  “Not at all,” Taas answered with a smile. “And thanks to the extra whooping you put on Zaylo, we’ve got more time than I thought we would need.”

  “So, it is still we?” Dungias thought, taking measure of what Taas had done.

  “What do you need me to do?” he asked.

  “I need you to get dressed,” Taas said, stepping out of the way of a floating table that held Dungias’ clothes, equipment, weapons… and Alpha. “I figure you can get dressed in a couple of tonki.”

  “That was very considerate of you,” Dungias said as he held out his right hand. Alpha flew to his grasp and as soon as contact was made, his mind was as restored as his body. Dungias allowed his face to smile as he jumped over the table. As he hurdled the device, his things came up from the tray and whirled around his body. By the time Dungias landed from his hurdling motion, only the cloak had to be fastened. A twirling of Alpha preceded sliding it into the sleeve on Dungias’ leg.

  “I think I’m in love!” Taas whispered as she grabbed her shoulder bag and case. She ran to catch up with Dungias who was already at the doors of the room and holstering the pistol he had had drawn and checked. Dungias reached back to bring the hood of his cloak over his head and stepped out of Taas’ way. She stopped and looked at him, slightly confused as to what he was doing.

  “I assumed you knew the way,” he explained.

  “Right,” Taas said without moving. “Surveillance is still in diagnostic mode, and no patrols are on this level for the next two and half tonki. So, out this door… you need to take a right.”

  Her meaning was not hard to understand and Dungias suppressed a chuckle. “I see,” he said, walking out of the room. He moved down the corridor at a pace that was quick for him and Taas had to jog to keep up with the length of his strides.

  “Another right,” she directed. “Then a left, a straight and two rights. From there we take the service lift and head for the heart of the ship.”

  “Problematic,” Dungias said. His hearing had told him there was a serious flaw in Taas’ plan design.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You accounted for two of the three issues between you and your destination,” Dungias answered, hearing footfalls to the rear as well. Taas’ plan had been anticipated! “Or should I say you only saw to the inorganic means of detection.”

  “If you’re talking about the other Tohgrunn, it takes three of them just to find an on-switch! Must be why they see so well in the dark.” Dungias stopped and Taas barely avoided running into his back.

  “It must be… and look what they have done with all of the switch-finding time!” Dungias said as three Tohgrunn walked into the corridor about twenty trams ahead of him. “Is that five or six behind us?”

  Taas quickly turned and she could see two Tohgrunn. Taas did not look forward to fighting, but she was relieved that the Traveler had called the wrong number. She started to voice it when one of the Tohgrunn made a hand signal and four prisoners walked out onto the corridor looking… anxious. “Shit!” she said, shaking her head. “Six, counting the four prisoners!”

  “Then, at the very least, they are consistent,” Dungias said as six prisoners unveiled themselves in the direction he was facing. “You did not happen to tell anyone else about your plans, did you?” Taas sighed with disgust and anger and Dungias shook his head. “That did not sound good.”

  “V’Toog?!” Taas said, thinking out loud.

  “V’Toog?” Dungias inquired.

  “He’s the ship’s physician,” Taas explained. “He’s the one who showed me how to manipulate the ship’s scanners to alter your medical reports! Why would he do this to me?”

  “Perhaps he’s after more than you might have considered,” Dungias said he turned to look at the party approaching from the rear. Only the Tohgrunn had energy weapons, but they had not yet been drawn.

  “They mean to take us alive… if they feel they can,” Dungias thought.

  “You may want to put down that equipment.”

  “This is delicate stuff,” Taas reported. “Anything happens to this equipment, this whole trip will have been for nothing!”

  “Understood,” Dungias said, putting his hand on Alpha. He did not pull it from its sleeve though. He noticed only the prisoners were advancing, not the Tohgrunn. He then looked at Zaylo’s crewmen and his eyes squinted. Another benefit that came in facing this particular race was their inability to grasp duplicity, and if they did have some hold of it, it was not either of the two tribes Dungias had seen.

  “Hold tight to the equipment,” Dungias commanded as he broke into a run toward Taas. “My apologies if this frightens you.”

  Confused by what had been said, Taas looked up. She gasped at the sight of Dungias running at her. He left his feet and tackled her, though it felt like a soft push. What caused her to scream was the lack of a hard surface for her back to slam ag
ainst. She fell back and she kept falling, only to see the underside of the corridor as she dropped through it. Taas looked around as much as she could and screamed again when she saw a wall they were rapidly approaching. She closed her eyes and braced, but once again there was no contact. She opened her eyes to see that they were dropping down the lift shaft. Dungias manipulated her body so that she was beside him, his left arm wrapped around her waist. Taas looked up and she could see the lift car getting further and further away; they only had the bottom of the shaft to stop them.

  “Mind your things,” Dungias said calmly, taking hold of the edge of his cloak. Taas felt their descent slowing and Dungias leaned into a turn. The two landed on a support beam just above and to the left of the level’s access doors.

  “Hold the case,” Taas said, excitedly. “You are just shaving all kinds of time off our plan!” Taas punched in commands on her PC and the doors opened. Dungias handed Taas back her case and swung them into the corridor. The Traveler had been both above and beneath this level, but had never had occasion to stop on Level 100.

  “Is this the mid-point of the ship?” he asked.

  “Damn near the very center,” Taas replied with a bright smile. She took hold of her shoulder bag and lifted it off her shoulder. “We’ll move faster if you carry this.”

  “And to hear her say, the equipment is a very precious thing,” Dungias thought. “What sort of a workman trusts their tools to a stranger?

  “As you wish,” he said, taking the bag. Taas smiled and nodded before breaking into a run. “You don’t want me in front?” Dungias moved into a slow jog to keep pace with Taas.

  “No bruisers on this level!” Taas shouted, nearly dancing as she ran. “And anything with a circuit for a brain won’t be able to see us for another five and three-quarter tonki!”

  “Is that all the time we will need?”

  “All the time we’ll need to get inside,” Taas explained. “It’s nothing but mist and wind from there.” The long corridor led to an intersection of a slender, slightly curved corridor and Dungias closed his eyes at the sensation. He was very close to the Void, which meant the level had been fashioned into a very large circle. “This is another reason why you needed to be in shape,” Taas said as she turned left at the intersection. “We’ve got a lot of running to do and in a very short time period! We’ve got just over four tonki to run 1.63 olig-trams. My best time, fully loaded, is 1.77 in four tonki.”

  “It is time to improve yourself,” Dungias said, getting a better grip on the bag and increasing his pace. “Think only of keeping pace with me and nothing else!” he barked, recalling yet another lesson from Guyn. At nearly a full sprint, Dungias stole a glance at his computer. The diagnostic he had requested when he first donned his clothes was complete. Two foreign constructs had been located, as well as the presence of two active programs Dungias had not added, and one dormant.

  “How are you faring?” Dungias said, looking back as he ran. He stumbled slightly and caught himself on the wall.

  “Mind on your running,” Taas said, mimicking Dungias as she looked at her PC. “We’re down to two tonki.”

  “Then you should have plenty of time,” Dungias said, slowing down and running to the side of the corridor. “Assuming that these double doors are your dest–”

  Taas nearly pushed Dungias to the ground as she moved him out of the way. She put the case down and started keying in commands. “You are a godsend!” Taas proclaimed. “Do me a favor and put the bag down. Just inside the main pocket you’ll find a pair of gloves I’m going to need.” Taas heard the bag touch the floor panel and she activated the capacitor. The glow of soft blue light let her know that the electricity was coursing into her very helpful target. The light had just started to dim when she heard a body fall to the floor.

  “You don’t make anything easy, I’ll tell you that,” Taas said, smiling at her progress. “Leave it to fate to send me someone who can absorb energy emissions; had to make a few changes to the bag on the way down here. Not sure what I am going to do with V’Toog, but I fully expect to see him on the other side of these doors, given what I am reading in the circuit logs.” Taas looked up at the slowly opening door. She shook her head in disgust. “I tell ya… can’t trust anybody these days!”

  “My sentiments exactly,” Dungias said, walking by Taas and into the large chamber. Taas gasped, looking back at her bag. It was still smoldering from all the electricity that had coursed through it. She picked up the case and ran after Dungias.

  “How did you do that?” she asked, receiving a passing glance from Dungias. He waited for the doors to close before saying anything.

  “Your objective is not escape,” he concluded, looking around the dimly lit room. “What will we find here?” Taas started to speak when Dungias chuckled and took hold of Taas’ neck with his right hand, drawing Alpha with his left. “I am thinking like my Vu-Prin, believing for a moment that you would tell me the truth.

  “Now let us draw a quick end to the folly,” Dungias said coldly. “Open!”

  “You have lost your mind!” Taas yelled, trying to escape Dungias’ grip and extremely surprised when she found she could not. Her eyed moved to the end of the Osamu when it sparked a blue light.

  “Having trouble engaging your true strength?” Dungias asked. “Care to guess where you will find your planted devices?!”

  Taas’ eye patch receded from the center and a high precision point laser fired for Dungias’ face. He did not flinch as the laser tried to burn into his cheek. His eyes started to glow with energy, and the small spark of light at the end of Alpha became nearly blinding. The Traveler placed the lit end of his Osamu against Taas’ forehead.

  “Open,” he repeated calmly. “Open or die in there!”

  “Okay, okay, okay!” Taas screamed as the eye patch closed. “Don’t burn him!” Dungias pulled Alpha back and waited. The chest of Taas opened up and inside he could see a black-skinned creature just over a third of a tram tall. Her yellow hair reached past her midpoint and there were braided tufts on her forearms and shins. Her vest, shirt, pants and bracers looked to be one computer that was slowly beginning to lose power. Dungias smiled down on the form as her pink eyes stared back with hatred. “Are you happy?!”

  “Happiness would be too much to ask for at the moment,” he replied. “Let us just say that at the moment I am content. Is your name really Taas?”

  “Yes… and this is Ray-Ray,” Taas said, motioning around her. The comely bronze body quickly changed to a heap of metallic liquid from which Dungias could detect all the signs of life. Taas was slowly and carefully deposited on the floor.

  “Hello, Ray-Ray,” Dungias smiled.

  “Grab and hold!” Taas commanded and before Dungias could react, the living liquid metal had splashed against his chest, forcing him to the wall. There he was held fast.

  “Ungh!” Dungias grunted. “Ray-Ray is very strong!” Looking at the floor where Ray-Ray had leapt from, he could see the device Taas had tried to plant on him.

  “Yes he is,” Taas said, folding her tiny arms. “And how did you manage to overpower him with one hand when you couldn’t do it to Zaylo?”

  “Just now you remember that, eh?” Dungias laughed.

  “You’re not in a position to be making wisecracks, friend,” Taas warned.

  “Come now,” Dungias retorted. “Are we even that? What sort of friendship is sustained by one party always in the position of having to forgive the other?

  “Get down!” Dungias shouted. Taas was not able to understand what had been said until after she had jumped from the volume and power of Dungias’ voice. Jumping back from Dungias, however, had been enough to make the laser bolt miss her minute form.

  “V’Toog!” Taas cried as she ran for cover. Despite her size, she was incredibly fast. That, combined with the size of her frame, made her nearly impossible to hit. V’Toog might have had the ambition to shoot, but he possessed very little of the necessary skill to be c
onsidered a threat. So, he hit a switch on the side of the weapon and started firing smaller bolts very rapidly.

  Ray-Ray dropped to the floor, taking Dungias with him. He flowed over the Traveler, leaving a small circular shield on Dungias’ arm. The young Malgovi took the hint and jumped from the wall, landing between the origin area of the laser bolt and Taas. A powerful laser blast pounded against the shield just after he landed.

  “Proooo-tect!” Arching across the room, Ray-Ray crossed the room in a single bound, taking hold of the energy rifle that had fired at his friend. Dungias could barely see the form holding the weapon, and after the rifle was made to explode, there was nothing to see, save Ray-Ray. The liquid-metal bio-form was glowing when it came gliding over the floor toward Taas.

  “Good boy, Ray-Ray,” Taas said as her fingers combed through the metallic body. “Oh, that was V’Toog. You just can’t trust Skularians! And before you say anything, no, I don’t know what Ray-Ray is. We found each other here in the Astral Realm… both of us were kept in viewing cases like some sort of freak show. One night, the owner wanted to know if I was completely female… my people aren’t equipped for dealing with giants, but we’re not cowards either. I put up enough of a fight to get the crap knocked out of me. On one of my more fateful rebounds, I fell into Ray’s bucket. He was all gray then, and it turns out he only had enough power to move around. My skin touched his and I fell into a coma. When I came to, we were free and he was a shiny gray metal. We’ve been together ever since. He doesn’t speak much, but we’re all we have.”