by A A Warren
“Hey, makula!” The surly thug shouted, picking himself up off the ground. “Get your ass off my bird!” He drew a curved sword from a scabbard at his belt. Even through the rain and haze, Talon could see the razor-sharp cryocite crystal, shimmering on the blade’s edge.
Talon hefted his glowing axe. “I need to borrow this animal,” he shouted. “We can settle up in the local arena later, if you feel the need.”
He swung his axe, slashing through the mooring ropes. The wild beast emitted an ear-splitting screech. It beat the air with its leathery wings, taking off from the platform.
Talon had ridden razor-wings before, in aerial combat displays at the floating arenas of Nimbion. The beast resembled a cross between a giant manta ray and a flying reptile. Its oblong body was covered with a thick, rubbery gray hide. A mane of white feathers surrounded its gaping maw and forward antenna. A series of sharp, bony tusks curved from the front of its flapping wings, giving the creature its name.
Talon patted the back of the animal’s head as he squeezed with his knees. The gentle pressure drove the creature forward. It flapped its wings harder, speeding towards the storm clouds above.
Talon narrowed his eyes, as he felt a mass of pits and scars on the skin beneath his fingers. He recognized the wounds. They were the marks of an energy lash… He has tasted such punishment himself.
He bent down low and ruffled the animal’s feathered mane. “I think you need a better rider, my friend,” he shouted over the wind. One of the beast’s eyes, a brown orb the size of a man’s fist, rolled back and peered at Talon. The animal uttered a satisfied grunt and spread its wings, gliding faster on the air currents.
Talon patted the creature again, as he searched the skies ahead of them. “That’s it,” he shouted. “Beasts such as you were meant to hunt the skies for prey. Not race and perform tricks for drunken thugs.”
He squinted, focusing on the distant horizon. A flash of lightening silhouetted a tiny black dot against the clouds. Talon gently tugged the reins and squeezed tighter. The animal seemed to sense the prey ahead. It growled and flapped its wings harder, picking up speed as they raced higher into the atmosphere.
A blast of thunder split the air, and the rain pelted his skin like icy needles. Ignoring the storm, Talon powered down his axe and slid it into his harness. He drew his pistol and took aim, as they rushed closer to the fleeing jet bike.
Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning pierced the clouds directly in their path. The energy discharge was only a few meters away, and Talon felt his skin burn from the heat as it exploded down to the surface below. A deafening blast of thunder followed. The razor-wing screeched as it swooped away from the crackling bolt of energy.
Talon fired, but the sudden motion threw off his aim. His shots went wild, vanishing into the distant clouds.
Sukal glanced back at him. The man’s face twisted into a snarl of rage. He aimed his pistol and fired. Talon banked his mount left as a volley of glowing pulse bolts strafed through the air. The razor-wing shrieked as one of the energy bolts grazed its right wing. Talon felt the wind rush through his hair, and a dizzying nausea rose from the pit of his stomach. The animal was falling, dropping from the sky like a stone.
Tugging on the reins, Talon eased the beast into a controlled dive. Then he pulled up, and the creature flapped its wings, fighting through the pain. They gained altitude, climbing back up into the clouds. Talon drove the creature into a spiraling corkscrew, spinning up and over the swerving hover bike.
He opened fire, sending a stream of pulse bolts tearing through the skies. One of his shots struck the bike’s stabilizer fin, sending it weaving back and forth through the clouds. Sukal returned fire, but the wild lurching of his damaged vehicle threw off his aim. Talon swooped behind him as the fleeing man struggled to control his tiny craft.
Another bolt of lightning streaked ahead of them, lighting up the clouds with a neon glow. The bike swerved right, darting past the powerful energy blast. Talon’s mount flapped its wings and pulled back, as a rush of super-heated air washed over them. Then it dove after the bike, reaching out with its fierce claws.
Talon took aim as they loomed over the jet bike. He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He glanced down at the pistol’s energy meter… empty. He holstered the useless weapon and drew his axe.
Bellowing a ferocious howl, he drove the animal lower. The beast’s claws raked across the tail of the jet bike, crumpling its rear fins. But at the last moment, Sukal reduced thruster power, and the vehicle dropped out of reach. Talon heard the man’s laughter over the roar of the wind, as the bike’s rear thruster fired up again. Sukal streaked forward into the clouds.
The razor-wing flew into a tight banked turn, curving on an intercept course towards the bike. Sukal gunned the engine, and the thruster flames burned bright as the bike clawed for altitude.
Suddenly, the skies filled with the crash of thunder once again. The animal veered off course, and Talon clutched the riding saddle for dear life as they swooped away from the bike.
KERRACK!!!
Another bolt of lightning surged from the dark skies, this time even closer than before. Talon threw up a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light. The massive energy discharge grazed Sukal’s jet bike, tearing off one of the rear engines. The sputtering vehicle tumbled through the air, leaving a trail of glowing plasma gas in its wake. As the thunder rumbled into the distance, Talon heard a scream of terror echo through the clouds.
The blast had thrown Sukal from his bike... the man was falling to the planet below.
Talon patted the razor-wing’s head and pointed at the flailing body as it plunged through the atmosphere. “Catch!” he shouted.
The creature roared and threw itself into a steep dive. Talon gritted his teeth as his stomach seemed to leap into his throat. The wind and rain slashed at his face. He squinted his eyes, barely able to see their target in the maelstrom. The animal’s wings tucked close to its body… They spun as they fell, diving faster out of the clouds and plunging past the rocky spires. The sea of poisonous gas came into view. Talon knew if they fell into those billowing orange mists, they would never surface again.
With a defiant cry, the beast flapped its wings and pulled out of the dive. It swooped beneath the falling body. With a loud grunt, Sukal slammed into the feathers behind the animal’s head. The beast dipped in the air, as the terrified man clawed at the straps of the saddle.
Talon grabbed Sukal by the leg as he rolled over the side of the razor-wing’s neck. The animal gave an angry squawk, but it leveled out and began climbing again, pulling away from the noxious gas below.
Talon released the reins and stood in the saddle, hauling up Sukal by his ankle. He held the man upside down in one hand. He drew his plasma axe, and triggered the blade. Water droplets sizzled and left a trail of steam in the air, as they evaporated against the fiery weapon.
Sukal kicked and flailed for a moment, then stopped as he glanced down at the swirling sea of gas, thousands of kilometers below. The rain streamed through Talon’s hair and soaked Sukal’s leather jumpsuit. Another clap of thunder rumbled in the distance.
“The bounty on you is paid dead or alive, Sukal,” Talon shouted. “It makes no difference to me. But I warn you… it’s a long way down.”
Sukal’s flailing arm grabbed the loose reins of the razor-wing. He glanced up at Talon with his dark, beady eyes, as rain spattered across his face.
“You still need proof of death!” The outlaw snarled. “No body, no bounty. Those are the rules! You drop me, you get nothing!”
Talon glared down at him. A bolt of lightning arched through the sky in the distance, and his crystal eye pulsed, reflecting the glowing streak of energy. “Nitara’s nine hells, man! Stop your thrashing, and I won’t have to. Come quietly, and—”
Moving faster than a Gesan rock-snake, Sukal’s hand darted to his waistband. Tugging on the reins to steadying his dangling body, he drew a tiny pistol from his belt and aimed at Talon.
But as fast as he was, Talon was faster.
As Sukal fired, Talon’s plasma axe cut a glowing trail through the air. The fiery blade severed the hanging man’s leg below the knee. The stray pulse bolt flew past Talon’s face, so close he could feel the heat on his skin through the rain.
Sukal gasped as he fell. The shock of pain from this severed limb coursed through his body. His spasming fingers lost their grip on the wet strap of leather.
With a final scream, his body spiraled through the air, plunging past the tiny buildings jutting from the rock spires. His terrified cry echoed through the clouds, growing fainter as he disappeared from sight.
Talon watched the flailing man vanish into the orange mists below. He powered down his axe and glanced at the smoking foot he held in his hand.
“Proof,” he muttered. He slid the weapon back in his harness. Lowering himself in the saddle, he stuffed his grisly trophy into one of the animal’s saddlebags, and guided the razor-wing back towards the tavern’s landing platform.
Talon patted its hide. “You deserve a reward as well, my friend. When we land, I’ll set you free.”
The creature grunted and its wings beat the air. The lights of the landing platform twinkled through the clouds as they flew towards the cluster of buildings.
Chapter Four
Talon paced along the dusty streets of Legaras, the largest of the colonies carved into the rocks of Gesa. The planet’s twin moons peeked through the clouds overhead, and the night wind blew a sulfurous fog through the streets. The vapors carried a hint of the gas from the lower atmosphere, and they filled the streets with their pungent odor. Talon ignored the stench as he made his way down the crowded walkway.
He spotted a few thugs and pickpockets sizing him up as he walked past a series of collapsed buildings. A stern glance from his crimson eye, and a cautious hand on the butt of his pistol, were enough to send them scurrying into the shadows. Talon’s broad, muscular shoulders towered over most of the locals in the street. There was far easier prey for the local vultures to target.
Hefting the saddlebag over his shoulder, he turned a corner and crossed the street. A glowing hologram hung in the air, projected over a small, prefabricated hut. The sign displayed a neon blue star, spinning in the air… No other markings adorned the dura-plas structure. But the hologram was enough to tell anyone what its purpose was. The Order of the Blue Star… the marshals who kept the peace in the desolate stars of Wild Space. Here in the Gyre, the Order was the only thing standing between law and chaos.
Talon glanced over his shoulder, making sure the riff-raff he had spotted before weren’t following him, waiting for him to exit the building with a pouch full of chips. But no one in the crowded street seemed to pay him any mind. Tightening his grip on the bag, he held a small hexagon-shaped transponder badge up the door. A scanner beam read the info on the device.
“CONTRACT REIMBURSEMENT: SUKAL DAEDOMA. ENTER.”
The panel slid open. Talon ducked under the low doorway and made his way inside.
Everything in the tiny building was covered with a fine layer of red dust… Particles of rock from outside, blown in by the near constant winds. The glow strips along the ceiling bathed the room in a dim, sickly light. Several holo-vid screens lined the walls of the tiny hut. The screens displayed the faces of wanted criminals in the region, and the rewards for their capture. A force field rose from a counter that ran along the back wall, partitioning the room in two.
A man in a battered white armor lounged in a chair behind the counter. He flipped the visor of his helmet up, revealing an old, wrinkled human face. The man’s gray hair hung in thin wisps across his brow, and his skin looked like sun-dried parchment. But his ice blue eyes remained sharp and alert. He glanced down from the holo-display above his desk, eying Talon as the big man stepped up to the desk.
Talon watched the man’s hand dart under the counter as he approached the glowing barrier. He held up his palms, and his crystal eye glowed in the dim light.
“Easy, Marshal Waylan. I come to collect a bounty. Sukal Daedoma will trouble this planet no longer.”
The marshal looked Talon up and down. The skin around the old man’s eyes crinkled as he broke out in a smile. “Sure, sure, I remember you now. Don’t know how I could forget a big fellow like yourself. Eyes must be going bad.” He glanced up at the ceiling and scowled. “It’s these damn lights. I told the Order we need new tubes in here. But Gesa’s just a stinking sulfur pit on the far edge of Wild Space. The Order has bigger fish to fry, I suppose.”
Talon swept a layer of dust off the counter and set down the saddle bag. The marshal deactivated the force field as he stood from his chair. He put his hands on the counter and leaned forward, peering at Talon with squinting eyes.
“So where is the bastard?” Waylan asked. “Did he give you any trouble?”
Talon opened the saddle bag and tipped it over, letting its contents spill onto the counter. A blood-stained boot tumbled out. The charred stump of Sukal’s leg protruded from the battered footwear.
“No trouble at all,” Talon replied with a grin.
The marshal eyed the boot in silence, then glanced at Talon. He licked his lips. “Hmmm… well, let’s see here.”
He tapped the holo-display above his desk. A burst of white mist vented into the air, as a metal drawer slid out of the wall. The compartment was about the size of a human body. Strips of blinking blue lights ran along the interior.
The marshal grabbed the boot and dropped it into the drawer. He tapped the controls again, and the compartment slid shut.
“MATCHING CELLULAR DATA,” a computerized voice warbled from the control panel. “SCANNING… SCANNING.”
“We don’t have blood scan equipment out here, like the Dominion,” the marshal said as he eyed the screen. “Hopefully you left enough cellular mass for the system to identify.
“His body fell into the poison sea,” Talon grunted. “You’re welcome to go fishing for the rest of him if you like.”
A series of beeps came from the drawer, and the lights turned green. “SUBJECT CONFIRMED. SUKAL DAEDOMA, DECEASED. CONTRACT CLOSED.”
The marshal sighed and grabbed a small wooden mallet. He tapped it against a metal gong that sat on the counter. “By the Order of the Blue Star, justice has been served.”
“Your precious Order had little to do with it,” Talon muttered. “You wear battle armor and call yourselves marshals. But all I’ve ever seen you do is sit behind a desk and hand out chips. What kind of justice is that?”
“The kind that doesn’t get you killed,” the old man said, tapping more glowing lights on the panel. A series of holographic numbers appeared in the air, floating in front of Talon. The total ticked up higher as the credits transferred into his account. “I’m going to assume Sukal is dead as you say, and not hopping around on one leg, looking for the nearest cyber-mancer. Dead pays half, I’m afraid. I’ve transferred the funds to your transponder.”
Talon glanced at the badge in his free hand. It blinked, as a series of numbers flashed across the tiny display. “Half is more than enough for me. Enough to repair my ship and finally leave this system.”
“What’s your rush?” the marshal asked. His chair creaked as he settled back down in the seat. “New contract came in yesterday. Real nasty piece of hundskak, too.”
Talon slid his thumb across his transponder, accepting the reward and triggering a purchase from a local salvage yard. “I already told you, this reward was enough for me. I’ve ordered the parts I need. Once I repair my vessel, I’ll be opening a star-path to the Dominion. I have unfinished business there.”
As he turned and walked away from the marshal, the old man tapped the holo-screen controls. A looming figure appeared in Talon’s path, blocking the exit from the tiny shack.
Talon stopped and squinted at the glowing image. The alien’s face was wide and round, and his skin had a sallow, gray tint. The being’s mouth was a dark, angry slash full of sharp teeth and
purple gums. His two eyes were huge, taking up most of his head. The blinking orbs glowed with a phosphorescent orange light. A thick, ridged brow lent an angry cast to his features.
“What manner of alien is this?” Talon asked.
The marshal shrugged. “How should I know? You’re not the first person to get stuck in the Gyre. We get all kinds of lifeforms here. What he is doesn’t matter. It’s who he is that’s important.
Talon eyed the shimmering hologram. “I’m in no mood for guessing games, Marshal. Who is he?”
“Listen for yourself,” Waylan grunted. He touched the controls, and the holo-vid expanded, wrapping around Talon like a ghostly sea of light. The monstrous figure animated, pointing a clawed hand at Talon. His loud, hissing voice boomed through the speakers in the room.
“…longer stand for your interference. I repeat, this is Orvane Raygor, leader of the Eternal Shadow. To all Blue Star vessels in the Gyre, we shall no longer stand for your interference. We have claimed these trade lanes as our own, and we shall plunder as we see fit. If your ships intercept our caravan, the price shall be blood and pain!”
The fearsome alien held up the severed head of a human male. The skin of the grisly trophy was pale and grey, and the man’s deep brown eyes were frozen in a dead, glazed-over stare.
“Let this be a warning to you,” The alien shouted. “I, Orvane Raygor, leader of the Eternal Shadow proclaim—ZZZZT!” The transmission cut out, and the hologram faded away.
“Eternal Shadow?” Talon muttered, glancing back at the marshal. “I’ve never heard of any gang by that name.”
Marshal Waylon opened a bottle on his desk, and poured a small glass half full of amber liquid. “That’s cause you’re not from around here. In the Gyre, the Eternal Shadow is… well, they’re a legend. Like a ghost story, something parents tell their children. Every couple decades, we get word of a missing freighter, or some spoiled noble’s palace gets burned to the ground… Sometimes, the entire place has been cleaned out, top to bottom. Not even a bolt left in the deck plates. Other times, the vault is still full of treasure, like they didn’t even want it. The bodies they leave behind are marked with a symbol. Two rings, one black, one white, looped together. Supposedly, that’s the mark of the Eternal Shadow.”
