Star Chaser- The Traveler

by Reiter

  “That’s a lot to ask of a security guard who’s really just a retired has-been that never-was hustler!” Lark snapped.

  “He was a human!” Freund barked, stamping his staff down on to the stone floor. The whole room shook from his fury. “A man with a soul! Which meant the only villain in his life was Francis Angoro Freeman! How is it that the powerful fail and the miserable soar, Tolarra?! Hmmm?! The same reason why the powerful glide through life and the miserable dwindle into nothingness! CHOICE! He had the choice and he made it! He has to live with that!”

  “Apparently not for very long,” Tolarra countered.

  “You would be surprised how long it can take to die a true death, child,” Freund said as he marched to the door of the room. “And before you get too close to all of this to see clearly… ask yourself this: if I give such a damn about humanity… why wasn’t I there at The Moment?” Freund’s brow lifted briefly and then he nodded before taking his leave. Tolarra stood there, watching him leave with her hands in tightly balled fists.

  “Is that supposed to make things clearer?!” she shouted as she decided to follow him.

  ** b *** t *** o *** r **

  Tempting herself to fall into the very definition of insanity, her search had never stopped. Xaythra had returned to the place of her greatest wonder and her greatest tragedy. There had been more activity than she had expected, believing that Tau Upsilon had been shunned by most of the other systems of the Rims. All she could see of their many ships were shadows, ripples at best, of the movements they had made while they were here. Then she looked at the region from where the attack had been launched. Try as she might, the means by which she used to identify mortal-made crafts had been countered and all she could see definitely was the merest glimpse of the aft section of one ship before it had engaged its Light Speed drives and sped away. She could see that the ship was black, but that was not enough for her to exact her revenge on the culprit.

  It was her return to the scene that had sparked another light of hope. Xaythra could feel him… her first child, the one she called the Fifth of Five! But the essence was nearly gone – it had been too long since he passed through the system, and the means by which he was contained did not allow his waters to flow.

  “Ahhh, but the ship that took him,” she thought, looking at a very distinctive trail. “It is like no other I have seen in this region. It is unique, and a simple task for me to follow and find!” She passed through space as light burned its way through darkness. Moments after she initiated the search, her eyes caught sight of a massive construct in the midst of space and it was there she knew she would find him. In an instant, she covered the distance between Tau Upsilon and the location of the vessel.

  “Hanvashi,” she called out, entering the craft. She was slightly surprised that the sensors of the spacecraft registered her entry, but it did not give her reason to pause. She extended her senses throughout the ship – only to stagger when they were forced back into her head.

  “That will be enough of that!” Virgil said as he stepped out onto the catwalk. The alarm horn was silenced and the slender man folded his arms, looking as if he had been interrupted and pulled from a more important task. “Guests should–” a flick of her fingers and the man flew apart, each piece atomizing into nothingness before it could travel a meter away from the source.

  “With the exception of the outcome,” Austin said, hovering over Xaythra. “… that was exhilarating!”

  “Then join hi–” Xaythra lifted her hand only to see it crushed almost instantly. She gasped, already containing the pain in her body, though she dropped to her left knee from the sudden shock.

  “And here I was hoping we would have a more civilized conversation,” Austin said as he landed on the catwalk. He touched his handkerchief to his nose as he looked down at where Virgil had been standing. “Oh, what a waste of good material!” Looking at the comely woman as she reformed her hand and stood up looking angrier than she had before, Austin sighed, shaking his head. “Oh dear!”

  “Do you know who I am?!” Xaythra hissed as she slowly approached. A slight tick of her left brow and water began to spout out of thin air to the catwalk, swirling around the woman, lifting her up from the catwalk. “Do you realize what power you dare to toy with?!”

  “Silence!” Austin shouted and the water turned to ice crystals, falling to the floor that was nearly a thousand meters below. Xaythra fell to the catwalk, but kept her balance even though she looked dizzy. “I cannot tell you how much it grates the nerves to have someone end a sentence with a preposition! I tell you, it’s torture!” He made a gesture with his left hand, and Xaythra was once again above the catwalk with her arms and legs pulled away from the center of her body. She grunted, trying to pull against the invisible force as shackles of fire formed around her wrists, ankles, and neck. The entity might have been motivated to scream, but she would not give the mysterious man the satisfaction. She looked up at the ceiling as her nostrils flared, and she breathed fast and deeply as the shackles burned into her.

  “You cannot hope to hold me,” she said.

  “I plan to do more than that, my dear,” Austin said confidently. “I plan on collecting you! You see, that’s what I do… I collect things. You could say that I am the collector! They call me the Legerian!

  “Right about now you are probably wondering why a goddess has been chained up like some dime store floozy who’s about to be abused and misused, and all for the enjoyment of some perverted individual who just might think he has an axe to grind! I don’t recall sending you an invitation.”

  “You did not,” Virgil said, stepping out on to the catwalk.

  “There you are,” Austin quickly replied. “Taking our time, were we?”

  “Pardon me, but we are at the very top of the ship,” Virgil answered, lifting up the tray. “Tea?”

  “Goodness, man!” Austin scoffed. “This is hardly the setting for such things!”

  “Indeed,” Virgil said, preceding a flash of light that took them to a bright room with white walls, floor and ceiling. A small, circular, glass-topped ivory table with matching chairs was offset from the center of the room and Virgil moved to place the tray down and pull out a chair. As always, his timing was flawless and Austin moved, without pause, to the table where he sat down. He nodded to Virgil and then looked up at the slowly burning goddess. Her glistening blue hair was beginning to lose its glimmer, and her emerald eyes their luster. She was definitely weakening, and there was little flow of KaA going into her being.

  “I don’t suppose that if you are released that you can be counted on for a more rational discourse, hmmm?” Austin asked as Virgil poured his tea.

  Xaythra pulled against the fire chains, but there was no give in them. While she could not explain what was happening, it was obvious this creature did not mean her harm… not presently. If nothing else, he seemed curious as to why she had come to his abode. She nodded before speaking, “Very well. We shall… discuss matters first.” The chains faded, but the shackles remained and Xaythra was lowered to the floor. She looked at the two men, but said nothing else.

  Austin’s eyes squinted and Virgil snorted. “Well, of course I know what you’re thinking!” Austin said, waving Virgil off. His eyes opened wide and as he sipped his tea, Xaythra was released. “But I am curious… it has been some time since I was in the company of a god-like entity.”

  “God-like?” Xaythra asked.

  “I think it would be overreaching to call you a fully developed and seasoned goddess when you didn’t even recognize that you had entered into a foreign pantheon,” Austin said calmly. Xaythra’s eyes flared wide with surprise. “Let alone the meaning of keeping a poker face,” Austin added, pouring a cup of tea and offering it to Xaythra.

  “But you are not a god,” Xaythra said, taking the cup. “And… thank you.”

  Austin took note in her change of attitude. “Manners! We do so admire advancement here,” he said, smiling warmly. “And to
offer you a different perspective, I am not worshipped, but I am an entity, just as you are. I have counseled in the presence of gods and I have collected on their behalf, all with one simple reward: make my home an independent pantheon controlled solely by my will! Thusly, your considerable ability with the Element of Water and the Universal Force of Gravity are only meaningful here… if I will it!” Austin sipped his tea while looking over Xaythra. “That is a very inspired combination, by the way. Very fashion forward!” he added, nodding now that things were becoming clearer to him. “And now I believe I know why you are here. Would you care to see them?”

  “Them?” Xaythra asked.

  “Ahhh, so it is only the one called Hanvashi Zoll that holds your greatest interest,” Austin noted. She started to argue, but quickly came to the realization of futility. Xaythra sipped her tea and put the cup down. “And the lady would like two lumps instead of one, Virgil.”

  “Of course,” Virgil replied, quickly fetching another lump of sugar and dropping it into Xaythra’s cup without making the slightest splash.

  “Thank you, Virgil,” Xaythra said calmly.

  “My lady, you are more than welcome!”

  “You are correct,” she admitted. “I am interested in all of my… flock that you have gathered. But Hanvashi is my most beloved.”

  “And they say one should never play favorites,” Austin challenged.

  “This they of which you speak,” Xaythra replied, giving a slight grin. “… are they mortal?” Austin laughed genuinely as he stood up from his seat. Again there was a flash of light and the three of them were now in a holding facility. The room was huge, covering hundreds of thousands of square meters, and it was filled with variously sized, though well-arranged, stasis chambers.

  “Indeed they are! Or at least they were when they said it,” Austin laughed as he gestured toward one chamber in particular. “Consider this a sign of good faith. I, for one, can understand when a body is overwhelmed with emotion. It causes the mind to shut down, and we start thinking with our hearts. Argh, the horror! But for your obvious… reboot, look upon this.”

  Xaythra stepped forward and gazed upon Hanvashi. He was not alive and he was not dead… but he had been perfectly preserved.

  “What does the Legerian require for this one to be returned to me?” Xaythra asked, turning away from her Master of the Five. “Returned to me, happy, healthy and in all ways whole, that is.”

  Austin turned to smile at Virgil who also gave a slight grin. “She learns at a godly pace, does she not?”

  “You were wise not to destroy her,” Virgil remarked and Xaythra cut her eyes over at the clone; though her nostrils flared with anger, she said nothing. “Very wise indeed!”

  “Ignore him,” Austin said, waving Virgil off with his handkerchief. “He can be such a bother sometimes. Let us discuss the matter at length, my dear. After all, it isn’t as if either one of us is getting any older!”

  Willing or preferring is the same with respect to good and evil, that judging is with respect to truth or falsehood.

  Anthony Collins

  “Everything is fine, young soul.” The words were uttered by an androgynous voice and instantly Dungias was awake, but not startled in the least. His body was at an incline that was slowly approaching a sheer vertical perspective. The device propping him up was soft and extremely comfortable. “This is not Driahdré because you are not dead!” The only discomfort he had was an inability to see, but Dungias did not give it too much weight at the moment, as he felt something about his head that could easily be covering his eyes. The speaking voice seemed so accommodating, Dungias was sure it would be mentioned eventually.

  “Thank you for that information,” he said as he felt mechanical hands take hold of his arms, near the shoulder, as the platform pulled away from his back.

  “Your body has been fully restored,” the voice explained. “However, your liberty is a matter which has yet to receive judgment. Once your life-signs were stabilized, your healing rate exceeded our expectations. You are very strong, Dungias, and it has been our privilege to have served you.”

  “Exceedingly polite considering the fact it has not yet been concluded whether I am a free man,” he thought, as the arms gently ushered him to walk forward. He could hear footfalls to his left and right, and Dungias quickly calculated the measure of his escorts. He chose not to resist, deciding instead to walk faster than the speed the robots had set. It did not take them long to follow suit and the only guidance they made was when turns needed to be made or when his stride needed to be raised, or lowered, to negotiate stairs. “And it would appear that whoever built this place is bipedal.”

  The walk was not too long, but it was clear that where he was going was not too close to what Dungias assumed was something of an infirmary. Heavy and tall double doors swung open toward him and the sudden gust of wind carried with it different scents, one which made Dungias stop and gasp. His escorts stopped with him and they gave no insistence that he proceed.

  “What is the matter?” It came from his right, his robotic escort, no doubt. The development of its speech center had not been given the same attention as his nurse, as this voice was almost crudely synthesized. Still, the point of speech had been attained and Dungias was quick to respond.

  “I smell flowers,” he answered. “Flowers I have only ever smelled in a dream.

  “A dream I was sharing with my wife!” he thought.

  “Bring him forward, please,” a voice boomed from inside the chamber. As the escorts started to usher Dungias, it spoke again. “I am sure you will find our guest can proceed under his own power.”

  “As you wish,” the robots replied, releasing Dungias as they stepped away from the chamber. “Fair tracking and trekking, Traveler.”

  “Thank you,” Dungias said softly as he turned his head to face his escorts. Bringing his head forward, he could hear the apparatus on his head give suddenly. It fell in three pieces from his head and face. The lighting of the expansive corridor quickly dimmed, and Dungias was touched by the depths of consideration he was being shown. He only blinked twice as his gold eyes focused on the chamber ahead of him. The importance of the room was immediately evident. He looked out on a very large room with high circular walls, stacked like an auditorium of sorts. The seats of said audience numbered twenty-eight, giving Dungias an idea as to who might be filling those chairs; Taas had told him there were twenty-seven sectors to the Realm Astral; that would leave one seat for every sector and then something in the way of a mastering authority. Stepping across the threshold of the room, Dungias heard a soft chime.

  “Present,” a male voice replied, heavy and labored. Dungias looked up toward the source of the sound and he witnessed a teleportation where a creature three meters in height, covered in white-spotted black skin appeared in the aisle, and slowly started making his way to his seat. He had two large gray eyes and horns coming out of his shoulders, pointing forward. Despite his girth, he moved well and with grace. He opened his mouth and Dungias could only see a nearly perfect round opening and small sparks of light as the creature inhaled. Three streams of gray smoke blew out of the back of his head, causing his white hair to wave in the wind as he sat down.

  More voices called in present as they were also teleported to their seats, and Dungias turned a very sharp eye to those who appeared seated in their chairs. “Most of them are not truly here,” he concluded. “Those are broadcasted images. Impressive resolution!”

  “Let us come to order, Chancellors,” a voice called out before a short and slender figure appeared on the floor, facing Dungias to whom he quickly bowed. “I am called Dier-Nesekor, Nes to my more intimate acquaintances.” His skin was milky white and his voluminous hair was long, gray, and shiny.

  “Well met, Nes,” Dungias said, returning the bow. “I am Dungias. If I may ask, what is the purpose of this gathering?”

  “The fate of your life, of course,” Nes stated flatly, winking one of his blue eyes. “But
you needn’t worry, we’ll have you on your way, whichever way that might be, in no time. Nature abhors a vacuum! So, no, there is no need to be wasting one’s time!”

  “How… expeditious of you,” Dungias said before Nes turned to the seated members of the court.

  “Chancellors, if we can come to order, please. Thank you.

  “Think nothing of it,” Nes replied to Dungias, winking again. “You can consider me to be your liaison to the Chancellors in these proceedings. And speaking of which...

  “We have before us the matter of Z’Gunok Tel Dungias,” Nes announced. His voice was augmented to echo throughout the room. “… a male Malgovi, listed as shay-spawn in their community, and Traveler.” The reaction to the word ‘Traveler’ did not give Dungias a warm and welcomed feeling. Equally discouraging, Dungias was not happy to hear that shay-spawn had followed him across the dimensional breach.

  “Kill the Traveler and be done with it,” a six-armed female called. “No good comes from his kind.”

  “Indeed!” another weighed in, flapping his rather large ears in protest. “Kill all Travelers who come to the Astral Universe!”

  “Hold on that action,” another Chancellor spoke, standing up. It was one of the broadcasted images. Though he was not Malgovi, he was hominoid, and much closer to Dungias’ size and shape. “I too have had dealings with a Traveler, but I can hardly say it was detrimental.” Dungias sighed in relief; his image of Travelers was beginning to suffer with the responses he had received while in the InterVoid. “In fact, she was most helpful to me in a time of great peril and need. Such has been recorded and I would ask you to review these accounts.

  “It should be noted that this Traveler is not of the species with which most of us are familiar,” another Chancellor added. Dungias turned to see a small cloud of sparkling light seated atop a pillow. It was a hologram, but Dungias was curious as to whether it had sent an image of choice or if the entity actually appeared in that form. “As Nes has stated, he is Malgovi, and the record will also show of the encounter received from the last Malgovi Traveler who entered the Astral.”