The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera

by Michael Robertson

  Still with his gun trained on Seb, Owsk said, “You could have said.”

  “I did.”

  “Before you shot it. I can remove a tracking device. I can’t replace that submarine.”

  A look to where the vessel had only just been, the sea crashing over the edge of the rocks as the waves broke against them, Seb scoffed a laugh. “It can’t have been worth that much. It was ancient.”

  Owsk closed the distance between them in just two strides. He pushed the cold steel barrel of his gun so hard against Seb’s temple it sent the start of a headache streaking through his eyes.

  The act of aggression slowed down Seb’s world, but he held his position, pushing his head back against Owsk’s pressure despite the pain of it. With slow and deliberate words, he spoke through gritted teeth. “You helped me get away from the Shadow Order’s base, so I’ll allow you this indiscretion. However, if you don’t take your gun away from the side of my head, I’m going to take it off you and shove it so far up your arse you’ll feel the barrel against the roof of your mouth.”

  A wobble ran through the hard weapon, shaking Seb’s vision as he waited for Owsk to act. Not prompt enough, he said, “I’ll give you to the count of three.”

  But before Seb could start his countdown, Owsk lowered his gun and sighed.

  To look at the thickset granite creature, his arms hanging down by his sides, his shoulders slumped, sent sadness twisting through Seb. In any other situation he would have sparked him, but something didn’t seem right. “I’ll be honest, it seems like an extreme reaction over a crappy boat.”

  “Say it again,” Owsk said, the wind so strong it even tugged on his heavy hair. He looked at Seb, tears running down his face. “Say that about my submarine again and you’ll be wishing you hadn’t.”

  Seb stepped back in the face of Owsk’s aggression. He had to remember that Owsk had gotten him away from Moses. Whatever his reason for being so angry, he needed his chance to speak. After drawing a breath to rein in his reaction, Seb said, “Let’s start again. Why is that boat so important to you?”

  For a second, Owsk said nothing. He then put his gun away and sighed. The anger gave way to a grief that twisted his granite face. When he spoke, his mouth buckled. “It’s been in my family for centuries. Passed down from father to son for as long as we can remember. We’ve always smuggled goods through the galaxy, and that submarine has been with us through a lot of scrapes. If you can get to places via land and sea, you get a lot more work. Although the advantages of the sub are much less important than what it meant to me every time I sat in the cockpit. Of the pride I felt for continuing to be good at what we did.” His voice broke when he said, “We could have removed the tracker.”

  Owsk’s sadness affected Seb much more than his anger had. When a particularly strong gust of wind clattered into him, he stumbled a few steps to the side. “I’m sorry. I truly am.”

  After he’d inhaled another deep breath, Owsk pulled his shoulders back and glared at Seb. “Sorry won’t get it back.”

  “Maybe we could—”

  “It’s at the bottom of the sea, Seb. You’ve seen what’s down there.”

  Although Seb opened his mouth to reply, nothing came out. The taste of salt lay along his tongue when he closed it again. What could he say to that? “So where does that leave us?”

  “There is no us, Seb. There’s just you, me, and the prophecy.”

  Seb waited for him to continue.

  “I’ll help you. I’ll help you because I believe in the prophecy. Because this is bigger than me and I’m not going to stand in the way of it.” Owsk’s voice dropped to a growl, his brow set, his eyes deader than they were only moments ago. “But know this, I hate you for what you’ve done. I hate you with everything in me.”

  They’d been in the strong wind long enough for Seb to be locked tight because of the cold battering. The salty air burned the corners of his eyes, tautening the skin on his face. In a poorly judged attempt to lighten the mood, Seb laughed. “I’ll take it.”

  Muted and stony rage came back at him.

  The dead parasite in his pinch, Seb showed it to Owsk as he shrugged. “Let’s go find this saint of yours, yeah?”

  Owsk paused for a few more seconds before he finally turned his back on Seb and walked off in the direction of Aloo’s spaceport.

  Chapter 6

  Seb took the hint and walked a few paces behind Owsk as he strode ahead of him into the spaceport. Purposeful in his gait, every kilo of the granite beast slammed down against the spaceport’s ground as if he stamped out his frustration.

  Before Seb followed him around the first corner, he looked behind them one last time. Not really at the space where the submarine had been, just behind in general. Something felt amiss. It felt like they were being followed. Yet he only saw the rolling sea. The cold and sharp wind crashed into him as he watched the waves rise and fall. A shake of his head, he then entered the spaceport, moving into the bustling crowd filled with creatures he didn’t recognise from planets he’d probably never heard of.

  Owsk moved as if he were telepathic, navigating the throng like he could read their next steps. The spaceport looked the same as the last time Seb had visited it. Full of beings, they all rushed in different directions. Heads down, heavy scowls, and no acknowledgement when they bumped into one another. No idea where Owsk was leading him at that moment, he had little choice but to trust him.

  Even though Seb and Owsk had several metres separating them, he still felt the tension coming from the rock troll. Those close by seemed to pick up on it too. When they looked at Seb, he saw eyes widening and then narrowing as they recognised what he was: a human! If Owsk was setting him up and sides needed to be picked, their reactions served as a clear display of their allegiance.

  The stares did little to help ease Seb’s paranoia. He’d walked into the crowd knowing they wouldn’t react well to him. On top of that, he hadn’t shaken the feeling of being followed. A check behind showed him abundant hostility, but if one of the creatures in the crowd was following him, he had no way of picking them out. At some point Moses would put a bounty on his head, but surely that hadn’t happened yet.

  Whereas Owsk walked through the press of bodies with ease, Seb met much more resistance. At over twelve feet tall, an ape-like creature walked towards him and stopped directly in his path. Huge hands on its wide hips, it stared down at him.

  But Seb didn’t react. Instead, he viewed the world in slow motion, which made it easy to skirt around the brute, moving at the last moment to prevent the creature from blocking him again. While he passed him, the brute released a sharp shot of air from its snout, the sweaty halitosis reek of its breath pushing down on the top of Seb’s head.

  The beast’s weak spot stood out from a mile away: a point beneath its right arm. Seb could have dropped it in front of everyone. Maybe they would have backed off, but he and Owsk didn’t need any more attention on them. If he started trouble, it would get straight back to Moses.

  Several creatures that looked like ants but were the size of large dogs carried crates on their backs. They dumped them in Seb’s path. Again, Seb didn’t react; instead he stepped on one of the crates, transitioned to the back of one of the ants, and continued after Owsk as if his path had been clear all along. A collective clicking hiss followed him, but none of the ants did any more than that.

  Spaceships lined either side of the walkway. Many of them had crew members standing guard outside, and all of them had their cargo doors wide open. They would usually hide their cargo, even on Aloo, but the fact they were open suggested they were yet to collect what they’d come for. Nothing stayed on Aloo for long if it didn’t have to. Seb planned to follow that mindset too.

  The feeling of being followed still played on Seb, and he turned to look over his shoulder again. He saw nothing other than the collective hostility of the spaceport, yet the unease wouldn’t leave him alone. In his gut he knew there was something more than what he�
�d seen so far. As much as he wished it not to be true, he knew Moses played some part in it.

  Thinking of the one large brute that had blocked his way, he turned back around to see a wall of them in front of him now. Smaller than the ape, the six creatures still stood like sentries. In any other situation, he would have fought them if he had to, but he needed to keep his head down and follow Owsk.

  Hairy, barrel chested, and with a strong stance, the creatures created what appeared to be an impenetrable wall. But Seb dropped his head, picked up his pace, and headed for the largest of the lot. Take the big one down and the others backed off. At least, they usually did.

  When Seb barged into the creature, it took more force than he’d anticipated, but it stumbled enough for him to push his way through.

  What sounded like war cries came after Seb, but he ignored them and looked for Owsk. He couldn’t see him. A look left and right, his heart quickened. He couldn’t see the creature anywhere.

  When Seb turned around to look at the beasts that had tried to block his way, he saw them bristle and move close to him again. Owsk had set him up. The hostility around him seemed like much more than that now. Every creature in Aloo was in on it. Moses had already put the call out. He’d been set up. A deep breath, he swallowed a dry gulp and clenched his fists. If he had to go down, he’d fight until he had nothing left to give.

  Chapter 7

  One last check around, Seb first looked left. He saw a bank of ships like all of the others he’d passed so far. A mismatched collection from tiny shuttles to intergalactic freighters. He looked back at the crowd and their anger. No way would he win this fight; he had to try to escape. The beasts he’d shoved past moved a step closer to him.

  When Seb looked right at the largest ship he’d seen in the port—chrome and glistening in the strong Aloo sunshine—he suddenly saw the space next to it. A walkway of sorts, he quickened his pace to see into it.

  Owsk had made it halfway down the path already, his long black hair hanging between his broad shoulders. The hostility around him suddenly looked very different. Less like a collective agenda. He broke into a jog to catch up with the troll, throwing another check behind him as he ducked into the alleyway. Still no evidence of something following them. Just a mob that hated humans, and a feeling of being watched.

  By the time Seb had caught up with Owsk, they were on the other side of the ships. The damp concrete ground stretched away in front of them all the way to the sea. The wind ran stronger than it had in the spaceport, and he blinked against its saline sting, trying to swallow as the salt in the air dried his throat.

  In the middle of the expanse of open concrete stood a large warehouse. No other buildings around, it had a chain-link fence surrounding it. Where the spaceport had been hostile, what he now faced looked positively volatile. “Where are we going?” Seb said.

  But Owsk didn’t reply.

  The world in front of Seb still moved in slow motion. He looked behind him at the ships they’d just passed through. Nothing followed them. “Owsk, why do I get the sense that we’re walking into a dodgy situation? I thought you were going to take me to your friend. What is this place?”

  Still nothing from Owsk. The thickset grey creature increased his pace. Maybe Seb should have turned around at that point. Instead, he broke into a half jog to catch up with his guide.

  Seb saw a locked gate in the chain-link fence. When they got a few steps closer, a guard appeared on the other side of it. It had clearly been aware of their approach. A mandulu, it had a semi-automatic blaster strung across its chest. It stared at Owsk and Seb whilst gripping its weapon.

  Seb couldn’t control his quickening breaths or tightening stomach, but he could control his actions. Until he had a reason to fight, he had to hold back and let everything play out as it needed to. Owsk was pissed with him, but he’d had no tangible reason to doubt him so far.

  The mandulu—larger than many Seb had seen at easily nine feet tall—kept one hand on its blaster before pulling the lock on the chain-link gate free with a snap. The hinges creaked as it pulled it open, a heavy glare still on the beast’s face.

  Although Owsk strolled straight through the gate without breaking stride, Seb stopped. He stared at the mandulu, and the mandulu stared back. The weakness of its fat chin stood out and he balled his metal hands. He could knock it out if it attacked him, but he couldn’t let his paranoia win. Also, what lay beyond the gate? And how many other opportunities for help would he come across if he didn’t follow Owsk at that moment?

  As he watched Owsk walk around the side of the warehouse out of sight and into the unknown, Seb chewed on his bottom lip. A look behind and he still didn’t see the presence he’d felt watching him.

  After he’d straightened his frame, Seb nodded to himself and walked through the gate. Hopefully Owsk could be trusted.

  The mandulu stared at Seb for the entire time, looking down on him as he walked past. Although Seb kept his fists balled, he didn’t react. He had to let this play out.

  Once he’d gone a few metres past the creature, the rattling slam of the closing gate made Seb jump. But he didn’t look around. Don’t show them any weakness they can exploit. Just be ready if he needed to be.

  On the same path Owsk had walked, Seb rounded the corner to see the warehouse’s entrance sat wide open. A metal shutter had been rolled all the way to the top.

  The loud wind had masked the sounds from inside the building. Even if Seb had heard the rattling of chains, he would have put it down to the fence outside. But now he saw the creature, he froze. He should have twigged sooner.

  A small brown porcupine-looking beast shook and twisted, but it had been wrapped so tightly in heavy metal chains, it couldn’t squirm free. A ball gag had been wedged into its mouth and its eyes were wide with fear. Tears had darkened and flattened two vertical lines of fur down its face. What little light they had in the warehouse caught the glistening tracks of the creature’s wounds all over its face. It looked like something had gone to town on it with a knife. The creature kept looking down at a pit in the ground.

  Six mandulus stood around it, daring it to try something stupid. In the middle of them stood what must have been their boss.

  A lizard creature that changed colour from blue to green as the light hit its moving form. It had a thick barbed tail and yellow eyes that were narrowed into tight slits. It might have only been about five feet tall, but it looked like what it lacked in height, it made up for with malice.

  Before Seb could do anything, the reptile looked over at him, appraising him with its cold glare. It then pushed its prisoner into the hole in front of it.

  It had been hard to tell what lay in the pit until Seb heard the splash as the small chained creature vanished from sight.

  “No,” Seb said, shaking his head, his breaths quickening. He then looked at Owsk, who’d taken his place beside the mob. Seb pointed to where the porcupine had just gone. “I know you’re pissed at me, but I ain’t going in there. No way.”

  But when Seb backed away from the gang, he hit the wall of the mandulu who’d let them in. The press of the guard’s blaster felt cold against the base of Seb’s skull, and it spoke in a deep voice. “You ain’t going anywhere, sunshine.”

  Chapter 8

  Usually a creature of impulse, Seb had been about as patient as he could. He should have trusted his instinct and turned around the second he saw the warehouse. He stared into Owsk’s granite eyes, and Owsk stared a cold disregard back at him. Whatever he’d done to the dumb creature’s submarine, he didn’t deserve this. A shake of his head at the granite troll. He did it ever so slightly so as not to startle the mandulu behind him. If he gave him any excuse to pull the trigger, he’d be watching his brains exit through his nose.

  As much as Seb wanted to move—even to dip his head to ease the pressure of the cold steel at the base of his skull—he didn’t. Instead, he retreated into his gift, the world slowing down around him.

  Probably
imperceptible at a normal speed, Seb felt the slightest easing of pressure on the back of his head. He didn’t need any more encouragement than that.

  Dropping to the hard concrete ground, Seb looked up as he fell to see a pulse of red laser fire shoot over the top of him. If he hadn’t moved, would the creature have blown his brains out, or did the movement panic it into pulling the trigger?

  Before the mandulu had time to react to him not being there, Seb spun around and swept its legs from beneath it. He connected clean, a loud and satisfying crack ringing out before the beast’s feet flew skywards. The ground shook when the lump of a brute landed hard on its back.

  Over it in a flash, Seb punched the creature. The connection ran through the brute’s fat chin, sending ripples across its chubby face and turning its lights off.

  By the time he’d gotten to his feet, Seb looked across the warehouse to see the six mandulus that had been by the hole charging his way. The lizard creature ran in the opposite direction—probably to hide, if it had any sense.

  They came forward as a pack, a wall of mandulu. But Seb had been here before. He had all the time in the world to watch their slow charge. So long, in fact, he snapped his neck from side to side, balled his fists, and smiled at the attack. None of them were armed. This would be a walk in the park.

  Giddy with anticipation, adrenaline lighting him up, Seb roared when the creatures got closer.

  Then he heard it.

  Snap!

  When Seb looked in the direction of the sound, he saw a wall of chain flying towards him. It didn’t matter that he saw it in slow motion because it moved so fast and stretched so wide, he couldn’t avoid the metal net’s spread.

  Just before he took the impact, Seb saw the lizard through the net. It stood by a large cannon it had obviously used to fire it from.