by J. P. Yager
Trevor searched and searched. Bastion had been a fledgling spaceport, until millions of refugees appeared. It had been the closest place to Earth when the unthinkable had happened. He tried to find anyone who looked remotely familiar. Pictures with notes were written on walls. Where were his grandparents? Where were his cousins? His friends? He hoped he would at least find his Aunt Maura and his cousin Arilyn.
In real life, he had stumbled upon his uncle Nathan. He was just sitting on a bench staring out. For a while, he didn't say anything. He was adjusting a robotic leg, something he had never had before. When Trev shook him, he looked up and said with a drugged slur, "It's just you and me now."
But in this dream, things were different. There was no Nathan waiting for him. Instead, he looked back to the shipyard and saw something he'd never seen before in this memory.
A blood-red ship sat menacingly. The top opened, and out came a figure he didn't recognize. Dressed in black-and-red flight gear, it walked toward him.
"Render," he said to himself, and for some reason, it felt right.
The figure walked up to him with the sword he carried, the one still splashed with his father's blood.
"I'm coming for you," the figure told him in a robotic voice.
This wasn't how it was supposed to play out. He said the threatening words in his imagination. He stood up to the phantom. But seeing his adversary at last filled him with dread. What if this person found him and killed him? He never really thought out what would happen if he did catch the killer. Finding the assassin had always been an unattainable goal.
"I am the truth you can't let your mind accept." The dark figure pulled the diamond blade from its sheath. "I will be your end."
Trevor was frozen in place, unable to speak.
"You know who I am. You always have," the figure taunted. "But now it's too late."
Suddenly, Trevor saw the darkness swallowing the sky behind Render. It streaked across the sky and enveloped all. Both Render and the blackness came for him.
In a cold sweat, Trev jumped up from his cot. He dabbed the sides of his face. He changed shirts and tried his best not to think of what he'd just seen.
What truth was his mind hiding from him?
Just when he thought things couldn't get worse, his hands and arms contorted, and he dropped to the ground in agony. An overwhelming wave of pain forced him to black out.
Chapter 15
Trevor and Nathan were both back at the controls when the computer announced they were nearing Crystalis. Nathan's mind was too preoccupied with Kaida. Since rejecting her shy advance right out of the gate, he hadn't seen her. Apparently with women, you get one random chance to do what they want you to do. Or is it: to do what they want you to want to do? There is nothing more frustrating than the simple difference between boys and girls. Losing hope on solving one of life’s greatest mysteries, he let his thoughts linger instead on the night they’d spent together.
Trevor was still shaky from his last episode but kept focused. So much felt like it was shifting with Glade figuring him out so quickly, Nathan's being distracted, and now going back to where Epherus had been shot. What if Kaida was wrong and Plath was still alive and well? Perhaps even waiting for them?
Crystalis opened up before them. Thousands of cities were alight on the dark side of the planet. Trade ships and cruisers were coming to and fro. As they descended into its orbit, the cities of glass, as they were known, appeared. As beautiful and magnificent as ever, towers made of crystalline materials shot up into spires. The great cities of Crystalis were orderly, safe, and structured. They weren't going to any of those places.
The Wrath tore across a few smaller towns and the town where Plath got the lucky shot that killed Epherus. On any other day, Nathan would stop and pay his respects. But just like the last time they were topside, they just couldn't. There wasn’t time. Though he knew it was just an excuse.
Nathan followed Kaida's directions toward a small shanty town built in levels on top of the crumbling mountains.
They landed in what appeared to be a junkyard. Crushed cars were stacked on smeared space ships. Bags of indiscernible garbage were wedged between the stripped vehicles. What could be called a landing pad was big enough for only one ship, among the trash.
"This is my cousin Oran's place," Kaida explained. She appeared to be a little surprised herself at the disrepair of the place.
Nathan killed the engines, ultimately deciding they would see how this played out. The instruments spun down until they were as quiet as the night outside.
Kaida led the way out of the shipyard toward the small shop entrance. Cardboard taped over broken windows ran along the side facing the street. It didn't look like it had ever stood as a great place, but indicators showed that most of the damage was new; torn housing panels, blaster discharges, and walls that appeared to have taken a hit from a sledgehammer
"Oran lives above the shop. Wait here." Kaida disappeared up the side stairs. She had to climb over a missing one. After a few minutes, she reappeared with a red-eyed, disheveled younger man.
Oran yawned, ignored the odd assortment of strangers before him, and took one look at the ship. "A Tiger-37, eh? I can do it, but it will cost you." His shirt was dirty; his reddish-brown hair was matted, and he smelled even from a distance. He obviously could use the money.
Kaida nodded. "Of course," she whispered something into his ear to which he nodded gladly.
"I'll get working on her right away." Oran unlocked the shop door and disappeared inside. Tools started clanking and papers rustling moments later.
Kaida caught Nathan's questioning look. She was still upset from earlier, but it was smoothing out. "I'm going to go see some people. Want to meet up in a few?" she asked.
Nathan shrugged. He was still angry that she had been mad at him. Man that sounds stupid. But Nathan backed his gut instinct like the teenager he was acting like.
Kaida searched his indifferent eyes and spun off like a thunderstorm. Nathan saw her wipe her arm across her face a few times before she disappeared.
"You always have a way with the ladies." Trevor laughed.
Nathan gave him a dark look and then turned his attention to Glade. "I need a drink."
"I'll join you," Glade answered. "But before we do…" He reached into a large bag and showed off the assortment of weapons held within. Trevor watched them each pick one out like they were going on a date with it, and off the four of them went.
-o-
The Salty Dog sat crouched between two old, dilapidated apartment buildings. It appeared to have been a seaworthy ship or at least boat-shaped. The sign for the cavern had rusted to great effect and had lost most of the hinges connecting it to the front entrance. Off-white paint chipped in splotches throughout or showed off stains.
Inside the crusty place, cliques were gathered behind stout drinks. There were a handful of different kinds of aliens, so when two humans, an Asterion, and a robot companion entered together, they fit right in.
The place was filled with roughnecks, but the kind that only went bad on you if you disturbed them.
They found a table toward the smoky back and ordered. It didn't take too long to get a mug filled. An attractive Ecath girl brought them around the bar and set one in front of each of them. Her sensual feline face went unnoticed by the grumbly space captain, the carefree copilot, the disgraced Asterion, and the robot who was noting how to look more dangerous.
As time passed, Boost caught on to how the others pulled down drink after drink. A gathering of glass met in the middle and then became a bottom floor for the tower that followed.
"I don't think I've ever understood them," Nathan said after idle chitchat had drained. "They want a real man, but then when you act like one, the world ends." He slid the beer away from him and wiped his face.
"Uncle, you keep telling her to take a hike," Trevor replied.
"Oh. Look at who's observant all of a sudden." Nathan spun his current glass aroun
d. "Maybe you're right, or maybe I'm just getting too old for this. I just don't remember things being so complicated."
"They aren't. You've always been a selfish jerk." Trev chuckled into his drink.
Nathan's eyebrows came down in anger and then after a second's consideration, rose back up. "I blame the military."
Trevor wanted to get him again when he thought he heard something.
In the pause that followed, Glade entered the conversation. "So, I overheard your mission from this one." The Asterion nodded toward Trevor. "I'm glad you are letting me join you. Those Elysians didn’t have a spot for me to join their fight, so I'm happy I can join yours."
"An honorable death is one fighting for one's life." Nathan waved for another round. "I did love those Asterion war calls. Is that why this venture interests you?"
"That? Yes. But also because I should have died with my brothers when the darkness came. I can never return to my people, and without them, life isn't worth living. It's like my world is gone." Glade slicked back his mane of hair. "My world is gone..."
"So now all you have left is revenge, redemption, or a weird mixture of both."
Glade shook his head. "Yes."
Nathan watched him for a moment and then broke out into a laugh. "You joined the right crew."
"Trevor Andrews," a woman called.
Trev turned his head to see who had called for him again. Nathan and Glade hadn’t reacted. No one in the bar was even looking his way, which was too bad; there were some cuties. He figured he was hearing things when he saw someone outside motion him forward and then walk away. Trev stood up.
"Where you going?" Nathan asked. By his eyes, it was clear his uncle had finally had one too many. His military bearing was shot. "You have to keep up, Soldier."
"I'm going to get some air." Trevor left the table and went outside.
Nathan shook his head at Boost. "He's fine."
For once, Boost didn’t agree with his Captain.
The night air had grown cold, and the streets were empty. Trev bundled himself up and searched out where he thought he had last seen her.
Just ahead, she reappeared. She was just as beautiful as she had been all those years ago. In fact, she hadn't aged at all.
"Nya!" he called.
The young woman nodded to him and smiled. She was wearing a summer dress despite the cold and beckoned him to follow with a teasing finger. Then she turned and ran further into the night.
Trevor couldn't believe it. She was alive. After all this time, she had made it off the planet. It was true he had never actually seen her dead. He had just seen her lab explode. He ran after her.
As it ran up his spine, the parasitic life form was approaching Trevor's brain stem. The disease was running its final course at long last, pumping hallucinogenic fluid directly into his head to make way the tendril that would end his pain forever.
"I'm coming, Nya." Trev disappeared after her.
-o-
Nathan drained another and looked up from his empty glass. He went to get up from his seat when he heard a commotion outside. There was a moment when his consciousness called for action, but he was feeling too woozy to intervene.
His instinct immediately told him it was caused by something Trevor had done, but his gut disagreed. He had gone chasing after something. Maybe to use the bathroom on the ship, since the one in this place was putrid beyond compare.
Just when the loud barks from outside stopped, five armed men burst through the bar door. There were five—two human, one Gymon, an Ecath, and an oversized robot with an arm cannon.
"We're looking for three off-worlders. There's a robot with them too!" the tiger-faced Ecath called. The figure was dressed in clothes reminiscent of a thief's with a cloak the color of midnight. His sneer betrayed his hunger for violence. The others were dressed in different variants of the same.
Everyone turned to the three in the room who fit the bill the closest. Nathan squinted against the alcohol and saw that everybody seemed to be looking at him. He motioned for their Ecath waitress to get another round. She stood motionless.
"There was another with 'em," an ugly alien from the other side of the room claimed. Most of her tentacle arms were pointing at them.
Boost's shuttered eyes blinked around, counting the weapons on the riffraff. They were armed to the teeth with guns, knives, and explosives. His robot counterpart was 90 percent weapons.
The armed men began to walk toward them, guns up. Patrons slid out of the way as the gang plowed through. Nathan could see that whoever they were, they were well-known and well-trained. His buzz was starting to fade.
Nathan flipped his wrist up and had a gun aimed at their leader. "Careful," he warned. Glade was also armed with two large assault rifles, which he had been hiding under the table. He kicked the table away and rose with them aimed at the robot and the humans. Boost just looked from one to the other.
"Not so fast." The leader motioned with his arm, and a sixth man appeared from outside. He had Kaida struggling in his arms with a gun to her head. "You don't want your girlfriend harmed, now do ya?"
"What is this about?" Nathan asked.
"Call it revenge." Daphkalian strode through the back of the bar. His face was badly scarred from frostbite. "Bet you thought you wouldn't see me again."
"More like, I hoped I wouldn't." Nathan laughed a little. He was still pretty lit.
"I was lucky to get picked up." Daph coughed. "Had to make a deal with the devil to be dropped back here. Then I see Kaida Elwin walking alone. I think to myself, now Sutherland couldn't be too far away from her. It's time to even the score."
With a look of pure hatred, Daphkalian drew his weapon up and fired.
-o-
Nya ran through busy streets and alleys, through abandoned buildings and along rivers. Every time Trevor thought he was going to catch her, she reappeared farther ahead.
Crystalis, though it had fallen on hard times, was still a beautiful land. On top of hills, like the ruins of San Francisco, stood several districts. Much like that ancient city, it was mostly concrete. The difference was the land was taking the city back. Trees grew through old buildings, and rivers ran through streets. Since arriving at Oran's and meandering to the Salty Dog, he thought the city had grown wilder; some streets had animals grazing right the middle.
After going down several more blocks, across a wooden bridge, and over a street river, he caught his breath in an empty plaza. He could have sworn he'd run through it a few times already, but couldn't remember for sure. So much of the city looked alike. The fountain was a statue of an Ecath holding a large bowl. It looked like water was supposed to pour from the bowl into the circular concrete pool below, but there was no water in it, just a moldy gathering of wet trash.
"Remember?" she asked. Nya was sitting next to him. She was glowing slightly like a spirit, but when she touched his arm, he could feel her warmth. When Trevor went to hold her, she disappeared.
She reappeared on his other side. "You proposed in a place like this." She smiled. Her raven-black hair hung beautifully around her shoulders. She looked around at the scenery and then let her eyes fall on him.
"What is this?" he asked her. "I don't understand."
She was now dressed like she had been the last time he'd seen her—in blue jeans and a light-blue sweater. That night, she had told him to get to his father's lab, that Scott had made a breakthrough. She finally opened her mouth to answer. "Remember? You got on one knee in the snow, and you asked me to be your wife."
"Of course I remember," he said. "It was under the old Washington Arch Monument when we took that trip to New York."
"I knew you'd still cherish that moment," she said coyly. She got up and slowly began to dance with herself. "You always were a softy."
"So did you make it off Earth? Have you been here the whole time?" Trevor motioned to the dilapidated city around them.
She looked at him and laughed. Then when he blinked, she was at his side a
gain. "Your mind is playing tricks on you, Trevor. Are you sure you remember everything as it was?"
Trevor didn't understand what she meant. Of course he did. He would never forget their time together.
"Look back. The answer to your greatest question lies there—the truth your mind is trying to protect you from, the answer that's hidden. You knew what your father was really working on. Don't lie to yourself anymore." Her smiled turned wicked, and her eyes began changing color.
"Wait. Stop," Trevor pleaded with the wraith.
Finally, they stopped on orange and glowed dully in the night air. "Now do you remember?"
She was there, and then, in a flash, she was gone.
Trevor was alone.
He felt his cold, sweaty undershirt sticking to him. His hair was wet. He felt tired. The arms of a feverish trance were lifting. He looked down at his shaking hands and knew what it meant.
The heat from his fever blazed across his forehead. Black spots were showing up in his vision. He could feel a new darkness closing in. Then he collapsed in the dirty street.
-o-
Nathan watched Daphkalian's shot go wide left and heard the chunks of wall fall behind him.
"That was a warning," Daphkalian choked out. The fur across his face looked like it was coming off in patches. The frozen ice world had taken a toll.
Nathan understood a miss when he saw one. Daph’s eyes just didn’t look right. "There is no need for violence here. Let's make a deal." Nathan rotated his wrist to remind them he was also armed.
"Trust you? Not likely," Daphkalian spat. His hands were shaky, making his guns vibrate. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled up their data pad. "Though I do need someone to unlock this."
Nathan's eyes kept betraying him. They continued to find the woman he needed to protect. He was blinded by fear of losing Kaida. He couldn't let anything happen to her. "All right, how about I start by dropping my weapon?"
Daph scoffed.
