by A A Warren
He stopped for a moment and hung motionless in the water. After the Magistrate’s men dropped him off on the far side of the moon, he had swum for hours, using the wrist display of his suit to navigate the dark, frigid waters. Rastan, Kybera’s third moon, was a bleak, storm swept rock. A churning ocean covered most of the moon's surface, dotted with scattered rocky islands. The crime lord known as the Emerald Empress was one of the moon’s few inhabitants, and she made her home in a fortified tower on one such island.
Although the tower was heavily armored, the Magistrate’s intelligence indicated that the underwater tunnels beneath the rocks were surprisingly unguarded.
After he recovered his breath, Talon slid his axe from a harness on the back of the suit. He triggered the activator switch and a fiery orange glow lit up the water. Bubbles hissed as the burning blade boiled the water around him. Swinging the weapon in a circle, Talon cut an opening through the barnacle encrusted bars.
He deactivated the axe and kicked the loose bars away. Then he swam into the dark tunnel beyond. Checking the glowing display on his wrist, he followed the narrow, curving passageway until it ended at a rock wall. The water above him roiled and churned, and a series of metal handholds were bolted into the rock face.
Talon grabbed a rung and pulled himself up the ladder. Droplets streamed down his clear face plate, as he broke the surface. He clambered up into a spillway tunnel. The water was shallower here, coming up to his knees. He removed his helmet and stripped off the clinging mesh suit.
Sliding his axe into his harness, he drew a pulse pistol from a holster at his waist.
The tunnel was dim and it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust. Patches of blue and green seaweed clung to the surrounding rocks. The moist tendrils seemed to sway gently, waving towards him. The plants emitted a faint phosphorescent glow, providing just enough light to make out the contours of the tunnel. He sloshed forward, peering into the shadows ahead, searching for any sign of movement.
As he trudged forward, his thoughts began to wander. He remembered his conversation with Magistrate Balakov. During his years as a slave and gladiator, Talon had met many nobles and military officials from the Dominion, as well as other parts of the galaxy. And with the exception of Emperor Tygon, few cared enough about their subjects to go to such lengths as this...
The man’s intentions make little difference, he reminded himself. Whether his story is true or not, what choice do you have?
Without thinking, he tugged at the collar around his neck. He had killed many times, both in and out of the arena. But never like this. Never in cold blood…
Orex, my old friend, he thought. I’m glad you can’t see me now. Sneaking around in the shadows like a common thief. Like a coward...
Using the display on his wrist, he navigated through the tunnels until he neared the point marked as the tower entrance. Suddenly, he heard a loud splash up ahead. He froze in place. He saw nothing moving in the shadows, but something had broken the water’s surface. Ripples disturbed the luminescent organisms floating below, sending glowing rings arcing towards him.
He glanced down at his wrist unit. The tunnel ahead forked left and right. According to the map, the left would take him to an air shaft that led up to the tower.
He heard the splashing sound again. Then a metal clanking echoed through the tunnels, and footsteps sloshed towards him. Talon glanced left and right… there was nowhere to hide in the narrow, rocky passage. He retraced his steps, moving back down the tunnel as quickly as he could without making too much noise. As he ducked down a side tunnel, he heard strange voices in the distance.
“Scanning… No sign of intruders.”
“Proceed to next quadrant,” another voice replied. They sounded electronic, inhuman.
Pressing his back against the tunnel wall, Talon peered around the corner. A line of heavy combat mechs marched down the tunnel. Thick armor plating hung from each mech's skeletal chassis. A mirrored dome covered their faces, hiding their optical sensors from view.
As they moved closer, Talon saw one of them sweeping a crimson energy beam over the rocks. It made a humming noise as it processed the information, then it moved forward with the others.
Blood scan tech, Talon thought. They’re searching for intruders. I must have triggered an alarm when I cut through the grate! Yet the Magistrate said the tunnels were undefended…
Talon ducked around the wall as the voices came closer. He counted at least twenty of the mechanical guards, each armed with a heavy pulse rifle. He had fought such mechs in the arenas before. If it came to a battle, he had no doubt he could send half their number to the scrap heap. But certainly not all…
Glancing to his right, he saw a pool of water nestled between some jagged rocks. It was a dark, inky blue, and appeared deeper than the rest of the water in the tunnels.
A red beam crawled across the rocks to his left… the mechs were almost upon him. He shook his head.
It was now or never.
Taking a deep breath, he sprinted towards the rocks in the distance. He vaulted over them and slid into the water with a quiet splash. He swam for the bottom and grabbed a hold of the rocks, keeping himself submerged in the dark pool.
Through the water’s shimmering haze, he saw the red beam traverse the pool’s surface. A disrupted, rippling image of the mechs marched alongside the water. One of them paused and peered down into the murky depths.
Talon clenched his jaw, as a thin stream of bubbles escaped his lips. His chest began to ache… then burn.
The mech aimed its scanner at the water’s surface. The crimson beam penetrated into the depths, reaching down about a meter. Then the liquid in the pool refracted the light, breaking it up before it could hit bottom.
The glow swept over Talon, missing him by a few centimeters.
He felt his heart racing in his chest, and the burning, desperate fire grew in his lungs. But still he remained submerged as the mech completed its scan. He peered up, seeing the dark water reflect in the thing’s mirrored faceplate.
Then it turned and marched away, following the others down the tunnel.
Talon forced himself to remain underwater for a few more minutes.
Then he kicked off and floated to the surface. He gasped for breath, pulling himself over the rocks and out of the tiny pool. He waited for a few more minutes, listening as the mech’s clanking faded away into the tunnels.
When all was quiet, he resumed his trek. The passageway was silent once again, save for the dripping water, and the splashing of the tide below.
Then he heard a woman scream…
“Orion’s blazing bow!” he whispered. He sloshed through the water, abandoning all attempts at stealth. Someone else was in the tunnels with him… it was critical that he silence them before they drew the mechs back.
The scream echoed again. More splashing came from the tunnel to the right. Gritting his teeth, Talon glanced left… For a moment, he debated ignoring the disturbance, and making a run for the air shaft. Then he heard the woman scream once more.
Turning around, he waded to the right, moving down the narrow fork in the tunnel. As he drew closer to the splashing sound, he winced and rubbed his temple. A dim red glow filled the tunnel. At first he thought it was the mech’s scanner beam, and his muscles stiffened. Then he realized it was his own crystal eye, glowing and pulsing with light.
“What in Nitara’s name,” he muttered.
Suddenly, he felt something brush against his leg in the water. He spun around, trying to make out a shape in the murky depths. It was impossible to see more than a few inches into the dark water.
Then he felt it again… something long, cold, and sinewy, grazing the back of his leg.
Talon spun around and fired his pistol. The gun wailed and a glowing pulse bolt stuck with the water with a sizzling hiss. Droplets of moisture exploded into the air, sending a trail of steam wafting up from the surface.
Talon heard the splashing sound again. Spinning
around, he saw a wave of water surging through the tunnel. Something was streaking towards him at a rapid speed. His pistol barked twice more, blasting more water droplets up from the surface.
Then he felt something wrap around his legs and yank him forward. A stream of bubbles exploded from his mouth as he plunged beneath the surface. The water rushed by, roaring in his ears like a hover train… Something was pulling him forward, beneath the murky depths. As he struggled to surface, his pistol struck a rock and fell from his grip. Then he rose up from the water, gasping and sputtering for air.
He felt the thing tug at his leg again. He braced himself, grasping at the rocks that jutted from the tunnel walls. But his fingers slipped away. Whatever had him in its grasp, it was too strong for him to fight. He disappeared beneath the surface again and sped beneath the water.
Chapter Three
The roar of the water was deafening. Bubbles streamed from his lips as he struggled to hold his breath beneath the cold water.
He felt his direction change course, then cold air blasted his skin… the thing that wrapped around his leg pulled him up and out of the water. He gasped for breath, sucking in a lungful of oxygen as water streamed from his hair and clothes.
His vision focused… He saw two glowing orbs hovering before him. Then, two more…
There were four huge eyes, glowing from the shadows.
He was dangling upside down, held aloft by a slimy purple tentacle as thick as a man’s arm. He was no longer in a tunnel… the creature had pulled him into an undersea cavern. Four more tendrils flailed around him and another three clutched the jagged stalactites lining the roof of the cavern.
The creature's body resembled that of a massive crustacean. As the thing carried him closer, he saw a fanged beak on its underside, centered within a pink, fleshy mass of skin and organs. A pearlescent shell wrapped around the thing's body, protecting the rest of its organs. Only the mouth and eyes were visible through the cracks in the armor plating.
“Iberon’s harem!” Talon shouted. He reached for his pulse pistol. Then, muttering a silent curse, he remembered he had dropped it in the rushing waters of the tunnel.
The beak made a loud, wet clicking sound as the thing drew him closer. Talon reached back and slid his axe from his harness. Triggering the blade, he slashed at the tentacle wrapped around his leg. The creature shrieked in pain as the fiery blade tore through the thick, sinewy tendril.
Released from its grasp, Talon fell into the dark pool of water below. He struck the surface with a loud splash and immediately dove deeper, swimming away from the strange beast. But before he could move more than a couple meters, he felt more tendrils wrap about his legs, and yank him back into the air. Once again, they carried him towards the creature’s mouth.
As the clicking beak hovered closer, a woman's voice called out to him. “Whoever you are, don’t let it spit on you! When it hardens, it’s stronger than stone!”
Talon turned his head, following the sound of the voice. He glimpsed pale skin and auburn hair. A human woman hung from the side of the cavern, held in place by what looked like a blob of white plaster.
“Spit?” he shouted back to her. “I don’t know what you—“
Before he could finish his sentence, a deep, wet cough echoed from the beast’s maw. A stream of thick white fluid sprayed from the its beak, dousing Talon from head to toe.
He felt his skin burn. He struggled to raise his axe again, but his movements became slow. The fluid was hardening around him, trapping him inside.
“Get in the water,” the woman shouted. “Quickly!”
Talon grunted with exertion. The muscles in his arms bulged beneath the hardening fluid. He managed to free his weapon arm, and swung his axe again. Two more tentacles writhed in pain, and a piercing shriek emerged from the beast.
Talon deactivated the blade as he fell back into the water. Beneath the surface, the viscous white shell began to dissolve and wash away. Breaking free from the weakened cocoon, Talon dove deep, swimming around a large rock formation. The creature’s tendrils pierced the surface, snaking past him. Talon spun around. Planting his feet on an underwater rock formation, he grabbed the tendrils and pulled.
The thick tentacles whipped and thrashed in his arms. He felt razor-sharp suckers tearing at his flesh. Ignoring the pain, Talon braced himself and pulled again. The muscles in his arms and back burned with agony, but at last he felt the thing give. A tremendous splash erupted from the center of the cavern.
He had dislodged the creature from its perch. Now, it was in the water with him.
Talon released his hold on the tentacle. He winced in pain as the beast's suckers ripped free from his flesh. A cloud of crimson blood stained the water.
Surfacing, Talon gasped for air, and clambered up onto some rocks in the center of the cavern. The thrashing creature righted itself in the water and swam towards him. He could see its four glowing eyes staring up at him beneath the surface.
He took a step back as he heard the wet rasp of the thing’s flesh crawling up the rocks. A low, angry rumble echoed from its beak. The armored beast rose before him, snarling in fury. Talon powered up his axe, slashing left and right with the fiery weapon. Another tendril spurted blood as the plasma blade tore through its flesh. He ducked under the flailing limb and drove the axe into the beast’s spiny shell.
The blade hummed as it bit deep, but the creature's armor plating was too thick. He knew it would take too long to cut through and reach a vulnerable spot.
Talon leapt back as another tentacle slashed at his legs. The hooked teeth tore through his breeches and slashed across his skin. He glanced over his shoulder. Behind him, the water lapped at edge of the rocks. He knew if he fell in, the thing could easily drag him under and drown him.
He had to make his last stand here.
The creature dragged itself across the rocks with its remaining tentacles. Rearing its body up, it exposed its sharp beak. The mandibles clicked and hissed as they scissored open, snapping at thin air. The beast lumbered closer...
Talon rushed towards the thing, slashing at it with his axe. The glowing blade tore a vicious gash across the creature’s underbelly. Purple fluid splattered Talon’s chest as the monster wailed in pain. From the corner of his eye, he saw more of its tentacles rushing towards him.
Before they could strike, Talon braced his rear leg on the rocks and kicked the teetering animal with all his strength. Burdened by its heavy shell, the creature toppled over onto its back. The thing thrashed and howled as it struggled to right itself. Talon glanced up… he could just make out the sharp, jagged rocks above, where the thing had perched earlier. He heard a loud scrape as the animal rocked back and forth on its shell. It would flip itself over soon…
Talon threw his axe straight up. The hum of the fiery blade echoed through the cavern, as the weapon spun through the air and struck the rocks above. Talon heard a loud crack and rubble pelted him from above. One stalactite tore free and plummeted down.
The creature rocked again, teetering on the tips of its remaining limbs. Before it could turn over, the massive spear of rock plunged into its soft underside. A fountain of purple blood sloshed across the rocks as the beast screamed and wailed in its final death throws.
Then it lay still. Purple blood sloshed down the side of the rocks and stained the churning water below.
Talon caught his axe and deactivated the blade. He glanced around the chamber. Dozens of white cocoons adhered to the walls of the dark cavern. Most of them held limp, withered corpses within their translucent shells.
But one contained a live, thrashing woman. Unlike the others, her head was exposed, and she peered down at him. “Well done. Now, are you going to help me get out of this thing?”
“That depends. Who are you? And what is this place?”
“I could ask you the same question,” the woman shouted, glaring back at him. She grunted and struggled to break free from the cocoon, but the material had long since hardened
.
Talon shrugged. “You could. But then again, I’m not the one trapped in that thing's spittle. I assume there are more of those beasts in these caverns?”
“They’re called krakasaurs, and yes, there are more. I thought they kept to deeper waters this time of year. Apparently, I was mistaken.”
“I ask again… who are you?”
The woman ceased her thrashing. “My name is Dariel. I was a servant of Navena. Well, slave really. That’s why I was trying to escape her tower.”
“Navena? You mean the Emerald Empress?”
“That’s what the miners and petty thugs on Kybera call her, yes.” She gave him a suspicious look. “Why? What are you doing here?”
Talon clambered over the rocks and climbed up the wall of the cavern. “I require an audience with this Emerald Empress," he grunted, as he pulled himself closer to her cocoon. "Although I doubt she would agree to see me if she knew the purpose of my visit.”
He balanced on a narrow ledge and slashed at the white material with his ax. The chalky substance crumbled, and the woman gasped as she fell free.
Talon caught her arm and swung her onto the ledge. She fell to her knees, shivering in the cold air. She wore simple breeches and a cloth worker’s tunic. A leather band, adorned with a pale, milky crystal, held her hair back from her face. The white, powdery residue of the shattered cocoon covered her arms and legs, giving her skin a deathly pallor.
“My arms and legs... they feel numb.” She shivered again, then looked up at him. “Thank you. I've been trapped here for hours."
Talon deactivated his axe and slid it into his harness. “Give yourself some time to get the blood flowing. Then, you can repay me by leading me into the Empress’s tower. You know the way back, I assume?”
She squinted at him in the dim light. “Are you crazy? I just got out of there! Besides, what does a man like you want with the Emerald Empress?”
