Rift Breaker

by Tristan Michael Savage

  Luylla eyed the sentinels and hesitated.

  She gave a light shrug. ‘Or not, whatever puts you at ease.’

  Luylla panicked. She quickly went to the chair and sat. Being with another Krusian sparked mixed feelings. She fretted at the thought of this lady knowing her full identity.

  ‘My name is Adel,’ said the lady.

  ‘The Adel?’ Luylla replied. The name was one of the first she’d heard while enquiring of the Tyde’s notoriety.

  The crime lordess nodded. ‘Does it surprise you? That one of your own could hold such a position?’

  Luylla took a moment to form a reply. ‘It is not my interest to comment on our race’s place in the galaxy.’

  Adel half smiled. ‘Very good,’ she said. ‘I understand the reward on your head has made business difficult, yes?’ She placed her glass on a coaster. ‘Ms Warride, may I call you Ms?’ Adel didn’t wait for a response. ‘I have a proposition for you.’

  Adel lowered her hand behind the table and lifted into view an object wrapped in a white cloth. She set it down with care to not scratch the polished wood table, then removed the covering, revealing a metal box beaten to a distorted shape and dotted with black burn marks. Luylla leaned in. She bit her lower lip on recognising the scratched logo on the front panel — the same mark as the cargo shipment in her hold.

  The force field crackled and rippled; a white rectangle appeared. The logo materialised on the screen before spinning to the top right-hand corner, revealing a monochrome surveillance image of a gloomy hangar.

  Adel explained, ‘I personally know you had nothing to do with the Reconotyre incident. And I’m sure, after seeing the surveillance footage, authorities would also be convinced. With that in mind, my contacts will have no trouble persuading the Composite as to what really happened on the Orisurrection colony, which is whatever we decide.’

  An on-screen flash momentarily washed out the image. When the picture became visible again, the heavy hangar doors were breached. Jagged edges of the smoking hole had warped inward, having been exploded from the outside. The image vanished.

  ‘We have the rest, of course, everything recorded on the attack, safely stowed away at a nearby stronghold.’

  ‘And what do you want?’

  ‘The Freegu,’ Adel answered. ‘I want you to bring him to me. Then I will give you the data, we can clear your name, and you’ll be free to continue your journey.’

  ‘What do you want with him?’

  Adel sighed. ‘You ask many questions for a hunter.’

  The comment was piercing. Luylla suddenly felt herself a fraud. She was a fraud. But could a fraud be doing business with the Adel?

  ‘Tazman is a criminal,’ Adel explained. ‘This is a Tyde matter. You needn’t worry yourself with his transgressions.’

  Adel’s tone turned serious and her smile disappeared. ‘I know what it’s like to be blamed for a deed not done. We too are taking blame for the Orisurrection attack. This is not good for business. We are not senseless murderers like the Composite would have you believe.’ She leaned forward. Luylla got a whiff of her tangy perfume. ‘It’s people like you, Ms Warride, that keep society together, people who aren’t controlled by regulations, people that have the guts to do what needs to be done, even in the face of judgement. It’s not an easy job, being a bounty hunter.’

  Adel swivelled back to the force field. Another image appeared: the data from the patrol bot back on Lubric. ‘Watch, this is my favourite part,’ she giggled.

  The patrol bot’s point of view turned to face an image of Luylla, aiming her pulse pistol down the lens, then a bright flash.

  Adel broke into a high-pitched cackle, throwing her head back. About ten spuckons of straight laughter ensued. Luylla glanced back at the sentinels. They stood unmoving with a locked gaze.

  The crime lordess caught her breath, ‘I … admired the way you handled yourself on Lubric,’ her laughter subsiding as she wiped a tear away with her pinky finger.

  ‘Unfortunately, the Composite, bless them, cannot fathom your vigilante ways and as a bonus you’re wanted for something you did not do. By now your network is turned against you.’ She took a drawn-out sip from her glass, not breaking eye contact, even as she set it back on the coaster. ‘Ms Warride, in your position you can’t trust anyone.’

  ‘Then why trust you?’

  ‘Good question,’ Adel cried, leaning forward and slapping the table. ‘Ms Warride, the fact that you will leave here unharmed should be enough. To be forward, I’m the only choice you have. How long will you be able to cope with such a price on your head? What other hope, if any, do you have?’

  Luylla tried not to look her in the eye for too long and glanced away, consciously shifting her gaze between the box, the dancers and the machines on guard.

  Adel continued. ‘You’ve no doubt discovered that the simian can be somewhat irritating. We’ll be more than happy to take him off your hands. Do we have a deal?’

  Luylla took a subtle breath and sat taller. ‘Where do you want him?’ she asked sternly.

  Adel reverted to her original smile and plucked her drink from the table. ‘Just fly into our airspace and you will be prompted.’ She shot a glance at the sentinels. They swiftly moved in and grabbed Luylla’s upper arms from behind, pulling her to her feet and into the elevator.

  ‘Oh and by the way,’ Adel added. ‘Do not underestimate him. Tazman is gifted with a special kind of cleverness that many fail to understand. Approach with caution.’

  Tazman swiped, but tail somehow evaded him and he was sent facedown to the floor — again. Tail thrashed dramatically. With a growl, Tazman picked himself up and swung round but his appendage was too fast; it moved with him, defeating his reach.

  In shiny, carved-out purple walls, Tazman paused to look at his scattered reflection. Tail crept ahead of him and wriggled mockingly. He went forward and it floated away to the side. He narrowed his eyes, sinister like. It’s going to be like this is it? He bounded and broke into a sprint down the passage, swiping at the air with his hands. It didn’t matter how fast he ran, he could never catch up. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

  This was how Tazman spent his time. Milton was no fun; if he wasn’t out being scanned he spent most of the time in the quarters, day dreaming about his home planet. Reelai had said this ‘safe haven’ lab was altered for the two of them, but Tazman couldn’t possibly see how; it was so boring. The corridor mazes were fun to explore, but you could only go through the silver doors, not the gold ones. Tail drew closer to his reach — he had it now. He dove forward and his belly went splat on the cold floor. Missed again!

  His pointed ears perked upon hearing a sound in the distance. Somewhere a door was opening. He looked up to see a left turn not far ahead. On his feet again, he snuck up and edged against the wall, stopping at the corner. Tail snaked around him. He knocked it away, ‘Get lost.’

  Tazman inched forward. His gaze passed over the purple rock wall. He reached the end and peered around the corner. Upon seeing the source of the noise, he let out a dramatic gasp and pulled back, pressing himself flat against the wall.

  Tazman had caught sight of a black robe hem, trailing into another passage. A Xoeloid scientist had come out of a big fat gold door, which was still open.

  Tail curled to his front and shot off a wild idea.

  ‘…’

  ‘What?’

  ‘…’

  ‘Are you mental? It’s the forbidden zone!’

  ‘… … …’

  ‘I see your point but —’ Tazman’s ears perked. The door started to slide closed. ‘If we get in trouble it’s your fault,’ he spat.

  He bounded from his corner and sprinted towards the opening. The entrance was closing from the side. He picked up the pace; he hadn’t run this fast today. Heat flowed through his superior Freegu muscles. He was even in front of tail. He closed in. The gap was too small now! And his speed was too much! Tazman turned his torso to the side a
nd lunged, breaking into a cartwheel, making his body as thin as possible. The doors scraped his belly as he tumbled through the gap. Tazman collapsed into the dark. Behind him, the thin crack of light shruak and disappeared.

  Fourteen

  The place was barely lit. Interesting. Tazman ducked low, sliding his hands up along the smooth, cold wall. Probably left big greasy smudges, he hoped anyways. ‘Whoops, not so sterile anymore.’

  He attempted to activate his night eyes faster by slamming them shut. There was the thumping pulse, coming from somewhere in the distance. Before him was yet another tunnel. He advanced, crouching low with level hands and spread fingers, ready to engage lurking enemies in hand-to-hand combat. If they could work up the nerve to spring out and fight.

  An opening appeared on the left and Tazman ducked into it, evading any stalkers. Glancing about the room, he could tell it was a lab, or something similar.

  Equipment and doodads hung off the walls. As he stood looking around, tail brushed against something. It slid off the bench and fell, smashing to pieces on the polished floor.

  ‘Oops. I mean … tail look what you did!’ He saw another weird-looking shiny thing, a kind of beaker or a sample holder made of a metallic glass. His reflection was caught by the bulb, which distorted his image to a round bubble. He grinned at himself and opened his mouth wide, showing his shiny teeth and waggling his tongue. He hooted and snapped his mouth shut. Tilting his head forward, his eyes grew big and bulgy. He put on a serious face. ‘Do not enter the gold doors,’ he said, mocking Reelai’s voice and moving his arms in robot fashion. ‘I must maintain sterilisation of sensitive areas because I am a superior being.’

  With a swipe of his hand, the thing was shattered on the floor. Tazman shrugged and continued his investigation. He came upon another exit from the lab. He edged along the wall and looked out into the unfamiliar hallway. With intense focus, he closed his fists and hit them together, before leaping out.

  ‘Whooaaaa,’ he yelled, landing in a fighting stance. When nothing came out to attack him he stood with a half-smile, ‘Yeah … that’s just what I thought.’

  The pulsing sound had become more distinctive. Ahead, he could make out a faint yellow shaft of light. He crept onwards, finding an archway on an angle. With his hands on the frame he pushed into the room.

  He stepped into a wide circular chamber. In the middle towered a thing with a dark spiny surface. The brave Freegu ventured forward but not too close. It was some kind of machine. He was usually good at this game, but he couldn’t figure out what this was for. He sidestepped to the left, not taking his eyes off it.

  His foot caught and he tripped and stumbled onto something raised in the air. It gave way under his weight and he crashed to the floor. The pulsing noise rumbled and slowed. He rolled over and sat up.

  He was sitting on a cluster of giant cables. These thick tubes ran to the wall and seemed to mesh with the mineral, except for the one he had dislodged. Sparks jumped from the exposed section of wall; he stood to get clear. The heavy pulsing noise lost its tempo and began to fade.

  Tazman sang along with the noise, ‘whuum … whuum … whuum.’

  He tucked his foot under a cable and lifted it to examine. It consisted of fine metal strands wound together under a flexible gel coating. Tazman thought it strange that a crystal based technology would need cables. He let it drop and started to follow the wires to the machine. Before he could take a third step, a long-fingered hand wrapped over his shoulder.

  Back through the gold door, a reluctant Tazman walked ahead of the scientist, who ushered him from behind. Tazman hesitated at an intersection only to be nudged in the direction of his quarters. He turned and tried to apologise, but the Xoeloid wouldn’t listen and hurried him on. Tazman had to make up a good excuse and fast. These guys seemed real uptight about their ‘forbidden zone’.

  Three silver doors later, Tazman was back in the allocated quarters. Milton was pacing towards the table, staring at the floor; Reelai was also there. They turned their gazes in unison upon Tazman’s entrance. His captor pressed a hand against his back and walked him closer, stopping short of Reelai. The Xoeloid beings stood in silence, conversing by thought.

  As they thought to each other, Milton displayed his usual ‘What the hell have you done?’ expression. Both Xoeloid nodded and left the room.

  ‘All right, that was pretty weird,’ Tazman blurted as soon as privacy presented itself.

  Milton asked the question Tazman had foreseen. ‘What the hell have you done?’

  ‘I didn’t do anything bad.’

  ‘What were you thinking? They have to sterilise the whole area now. You contaminated everything.’

  ‘I don’t see what the big deal is.’

  ‘That’s part of the problem,’ yelled Milton. ‘They have been nothing but hospitable. The rest of the galaxy wants us dead. You could at least show some respect for their rules.’

  He had never seen Milton so worked up before. He felt the urge to stir the Human even more. But then Milton’s tone flipped to sympathetic. Hew hadn’t needed to apply his rationale.

  ‘It’s not all your fault,’ said Milton. ‘I should tell you the news.’ He had a worried look in his eye. ‘The radiation from this place is affecting you. It might be making you a little bit unstable.’

  Tazman couldn’t help his creeping smile. He grabbed his belly when he burst out in abrupt laughter. ‘So what?’ he said, giggly. ‘I have space dementia? What about you then?’

  ‘It doesn’t affect all species,’ Milton said sternly, trying to get his attention, even though he already had it. ‘You’ve been acting funny, chasing your tail, mumbling when I try to talk to you. You are displaced.’

  ‘You are displaced,’ Tazman repeated mockingly. ‘Listen to yourself, you sound just like him. You actually think I’m going crazy and you aren’t? Maybe you’re the crazy one huh? Oh no, but that can’t possibly happen,’ he added sarcastically, ‘because you’re sooooo special, the Rip Flaker! And I’m just a stupid chimp that can’t handle a bit of radiation.’

  ‘I didn’t mean it that way,’ Milton cried.

  Tail slithered round to Tazman’s face. He grabbed it and looked it in the spots. ‘He thinks we’re crazy,’ he informed it. He looked up again and threw tail aside. Milton needed further convincing. Tazman stepped forward. ‘Look at me, Milton,’ he stretched his eyelid wide open with his finger and glared with flared nostrils — with over-the-top emphasis — ‘I am fine.’

  ‘Trust me when I tell you it comes and goes without you even realising it. And it’s getting worse every day.’

  Tazman grew bored as Milton spoke and his gaze began to wander the room hazily. He smiled at the pretty colour of the walls.

  Human hands were suddenly on his shoulders and a voice tried to get his attention. ‘Listen to me. This is important,’ it cried.

  Tazman reeled, blinked and rolled his sight back. It was Milton; his friend’s face made him giggle.

  ‘The Xoeloid have found a way to remedy our problem so we can leave. I must have an operation, to implant a device in my head that will permanently block the Vellnoa signal.’

  A spot of frustration forced his aggression. Tazman wriggled out of Milton’s grip. ‘And you agreed to this?’ he said, changing his mood in an instant. ‘No,’ he spat. ‘No, I won’t allow it. I won’t let these stiffs lobotomise you.’

  ‘They’re trying to help us. We are in more danger than you care to acknowledge. The Vellnoa could arrive at this place, as easy as they did in the Reconotyre.’

  ‘Will you shut up about the Reconotyre!’ Tazman screamed. Milton stopped. Tazman couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Milton was actually putting his life in the hands of a group of weirdos he’d just met.

  ‘I’m disappointed in you,’ said Tazman. He couldn’t look at Milton so he studied the floor for a moment to ponder the situation. There was no convincing this kid. The Freegu then looked onto Milton’s face and told him exactly w
hat he needed to hear. ‘Mate, you don’t need to grovel to a bunch of freaks because your parents decided you were a mistake.’

  Milton said nothing. A long, drawn-out pause lingered between them. The Human took a swelling breath. His cheeks puffed just enough to indicate that Tazman got his point across. Milton calmly stepped around him and strode to the exit.

  Tazman watched. Milton slowed for the automatic door, but before he walked out, Tazman bounded up behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. Milton turned and shoved him. Tazman felt himself flying back through the air. His back landed on the edge of the fruit table, which broke under the force. Fruit flung into the air and Tazman landed hard on the floor with the tabletop smashing around him. Milton disappeared down the hall.

  Tazman’s pulse was going crazy in anticipation of a fight. He picked himself up from the broken shards of mineral and growled, exhaling through his teeth, spraying a hundred spit particles. He launched forward, running out in time to see Milton disappear down a side passage.

  ‘Hey!’ he yelled. ‘You can’t push me around. I’ve got space dementia.’ Tazman broke into a jog. ‘Get back here and face me!’

  He made the turn and yelled again; Milton was in the distance, refusing to look back and acknowledge him. The nerve. Tazman snorted and broke into a sprint. A silver wall slammed shut over the tunnel and cut his path short.

  He barged into the door. ‘You think you can protect him from me?’ he screamed, kicking and punching, expecting the seal to give way.

  After a while, he grew tired, sat, and slumped against the door. His thoughts started to gather. Alone, he thought. Maybe he was going crazy like Milton said.

  Frustrated, he wandered the hallways aimlessly, kicking the rock wall and yelling obscenities. He had to leave. He found the boarding terminal where they had arrived and wandered down the tube. He sat in front of the sealed opening, yawned and stretched his legs, staring past the wall and into the green space. What was the big deal with Milton anyway? He was just another Human. Tazman didn’t care anymore. They obviously didn’t need a Freegu around.