by Adam Drake
“A conclave?” Ash said. Conclaves were the largest criminal organizations. So large and powerful, they controlled entire system groups. They were even larger than most stellar governments.
Femke pointed a thumb at Klayd on the screen. “Right now he's thinking 'what if?' - what if we're part of a conclave? Does he want to take that kind of chance?”
Klayd finally said, “Okay. But don't take too long.” He and the other man walked back to their scout.
Ash let out a little cheer. “It worked!”
Femke looked at the comms panel. “Channels are clear.” She pressed at some buttons.
“Who are you calling?” Ash said. “We don't know anyone, either on this moon or even in this system.”
“He doesn't know that, but we need to look like we are.”
“So who are you calling?”
“I'm just going to tether a channel to one of the comms satellites. Have it tell us about all the sports scores going on across the galaxy. It will look like data is being transmitted.”
Ash watched as Klayd and the man climbed up the ladder and into the scout. “You've bought us some time, honey.”
Finished, Femke stood. “Okay, I don't know how long we have but we need to tear through this transport quickly.”
They started their search with the crew quarters in the upper decks, running hand scanners over every inch of paneling and hull casing. The benefit to the ship being so barren was that there were few places anything could be hidden.
They entered the last crew quarters to find Gish floating in the middle of the room, eyeballs looking in the direction of the door expectantly.
“Greetings!” Gish said with enthusiasm. “Much has occurred beyond that door I wish to learn more about.”
“Not now, Gish,” Ash said as he and Femke scanned over the room. They kept a wary eye on the alien. “We got problems.”
“Problems?” Gish said. “Problems are broken fractions in need of being made whole again.”
Ash rolled his eyes. “This kind of problem is too big to fix with fractions or any other math.”
“Most certainly it can!” Gish said. “What is the equation?”
Femke finished her scan and shook her head. “Nothing here. That clears these upper decks, lets check the hold.”
“It's pretty empty,” Ash said.
“Need to check it anyway,” Femke said, then she stopped and stared at Gish.
Gish, with his dozens of floating eyeballs, stared back.
“Gish,” Femke said after some thought. “How did you get on this transport?”
“I was inside the inside!” Gish said.
“That doesn't make any sense,” Femke said.
“Are you surprised?” Ash said.
Gish split his eyes between the two of them which was creepy to see. “Inside the inside! But when I craved the beautiful wave, I moved outside the inside in order to go feed.”
“Were you brought here as a prisoner? A holding ceremony?”
“Incorrect!” Gish said. “I hid at the inside, but the inside was taken and brought here.”
“So no one is aware that you are on this transport?” Femke said.
“Correct!”
“A stowaway,” Ash said. “Where did you hide at?”
“Shall I present the inside to you?” Gish said.
“Sure,” Ash said.
“Wonderful!” Gish said floating to the door. “It brings me joy to help increase your minimal intelligence!”
They followed the alien down into the cargo hold. The being crossed over to a section of the outer hull lined with a thick bulkhead.
“This is the spot?” Femke said.
“Correct!” Gish said. “But an obstruction has been placed over the inside of the inside!”
Femke stepped closer and ran a scanner over the paneling. “Not picking anything up.”
Ash ran a hand over the paneling's edge. “Seems pretty secure.” He looked at Gish. “Are you sure this is it?”
“Correct!” Gish said.
Ash tried pulling at the paneling, but it didn't budge.
“Here,” Femke said waving her hand at him. “Stand back.”
Ash did as he was told, smiling at what he knew would happen next.
Femke chose a spot on the paneling then reared back a fist and punched it. The hard metal dented. She struck it several more times until the dent formed a crack.
“I could shoot it,” Ash said trying to be helpful and held up his scatter-pistol.
“Nah, I got this,” Femke said. Another hit punctured through the metal. She then gripped the ragged hole and tugged at it.
The metal squawked in protest as she bent and yanked it off.
In moments she had removed the paneling. She stepped back and stared with amazement.
Ash was equally intrigued. “Oh, wow.”
“Inside the inside!” Gish said.
Secured against the inner hull were a series of narrow cabinets. Each one had a logo designation of a Med-Tech company.
Femke carefully swung open one of the cabinet doors revealing a lab console deck within. Its screens and indicators were dark.
Ash whistled. “Wow. Synth-tech lab equipment.”
Femke nodded. “I'm not certain, but this is about as high grade as you can get.”
“You can make Dust with it?” Ash asked.
“Dust, Space, Impact, you name it,” she said, then looked to Gish. “You were hiding inside one of these cabinets when it was brought here?”
“Correct!”
“Then you got hungry and snuck away to the core?”
“Correct!” Gish said. “Most happy your intellect is growing with each communication!”
Ash said, “Whoever brought it here must not have noticed him and sealed the paneling up after he went to feed.”
Femke said, “So this is what Klayd's after. And he was going to double cross Stacks to get it.”
“So does this give us the leverage we need to get out of here?” Ash said.
“I think so,” Femke said. “This tech is insanely expensive. Forget a shuttle to the port, our demands are about to get much more ambitious.”
“Like in lots of credits?”
“As in tons of credits!” Femke said with a laugh.
Ash's scanner pinged an alarm. “Uh-oh,” he said.
“What?”
“We got two ships inbound and they're coming fast.”
“Let's get topside,” Femke said.
They got back to the cockpit just as the two ships arrived.
Ash gaped at them on the screen. “Oh, crap.”
One was a fully equipped gunship, dark, sleek and deadly. It circled around the transport with a slow purpose.
The other was a small troop transport which landed next to the scout. Armed men quickly disembarked and fanned out across the desert.
“Bipedal shades of an offensive nature!” Gish declared.
“By the stars,” Femke said. “The damned Jarduss military.”
Klayd exited his scout and spoke to one of the troops. Then he turned to look toward the transport and spoke into his wrist comm.
“Times up, idiot. Now we'll see if your higher ups will do anything to save you.”
The troops moved closer to the transport. All were armed with the latest weaponry and carried hull breaching equipment.
“This is not good,” Ash said with obvious dread. “I think the game is up.”
Femke stared at the assembled troops and blinked out of her trance. “Not yet,” she said dropping into a chair. “Maybe we can get the engines fired up enough to get us out of here.”
“Honey,” Ash said. “We're not getting away from this. The transport is too damaged.”
“But we have to try!” Femke said, fear finally showing in her eyes.
“We need to get from inside to outside?” Gish said.
“Yeah, sure,” Ash said as he slumped into a chair. “We need to get as outside as we ca
n.”
“Like, the other side of the galaxy outside,” Femke said with frustration. Still, she tapped at the navigation panel and the engines sputtered to life, what little there was left in them.
On the screens, the troops slowed their approach as the engines turned on. But they could tell the damage to the ship was too great. The transport wasn't going anywhere.
Gish floated over to a power conduit along the wall. “If outside the outside is needed for the safety of all, then that is what must be assembled!” Suddenly, slim metallic tentacles emerged from the drone's base.
“What the heck?” Ash said, alarmed.
Several tentacles extended outward and attached themselves to the power conduit. One touched the navigation panel.
“What are you doing?” Femke said backing away while unslinging her rifle. “Stop that!”
“Momentum of a forward nature can not be halted at this time!” Gish said. Electricity burst from the conduit and encompassed Gish in a flash.
Femke and Ash fell back to the other side of the cockpit, eyes wide.
“Gish!” Ash shouted over the crackling sound of electricity.
“Time for outside!” Gish declared. Built up energy shot out from his drone and arced over to the navigation panel. In seconds the whole cockpit was electrified.
The troops outside halted, staring in confusion as large arcs of electricity traveled over the length of the transport. Some of the smarter ones moved back.
The transport lifted, something the damaged engines could not do. Sand and debris slid of the ship.
Ash and Femke looked to the view screen in amazement. They could see the military gunship hovering a short distance away, its main pulse guns growing brighter as it prepared to fire.
Then it was gone.
The screen was clear of the gunship, and troops and desert. In fact, Jarduss Three was no longer showing. Instead, a vast star field splayed across the blackness of space.
The electricity suddenly stopped, and Gish's drone dropped to the floor. His eyeballs drifted to land in a heap at the bottom of its tank.
Stunned, Ash moved to the navigation panel and tapped at it.
“Honey,” Femke said, stupefied. “What the heck just happened?”
Ash's eyes widened. “He did it.”
“Did what?”
Ash looked to his wife, his face ashen. “He just teleported us to the other side of the galaxy! Were deep inside the Fringe!”
END.
Continued in: Lost in the Fringe
Forthcoming
Until then, enjoy your bonus books.
Shadow Gambit
An impossible quest for a legendary item.
I love questing for loot.
And the more difficult the quest, the greater the reward.
So when I'm offered a chance to retrieve the ultimate treasure of all, I signed up.
Yet no one warned me the task would be impossible. Against overwhelming odds I'm also expected to defeat an ancient evil - one with the power of a god.
But you know what?
Some loot is worth risking it all.
CHAPTER ONE
I clung to the cliff face for dear life as the angry dragon flew overhead.
Pressing my body hard against the rocky surface I did my best to keep from being noticed by the giant flying lizard. Rock climbing may have been a specialty for my Shadow class, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. One slip and I would plummet hundreds of feet into the molten lake below. An ignominious end to a rather stellar questing career.
Thankfully, the dragon did not look in my direction. Instead, it banked away, flapping its great leathery wings to disappear into the dark haze and smoke which spewed from the volcano. I breathed a sigh of relief and adjusted my hand and footholds. The giant lizard would be back that was for certain. Within my backpack was its egg I had just swiped from its nest, and the creature would do everything to get it back.
Craning my neck I looked upwards. The cliff ledge was still a fair distance away. Reaching it would be the only salvation I could hope for. Either that or be melted off the cliff wall.
Unconsciously, I wiped at a trickle of sweat on my temple being careful of my grip. The simulation suit I wore did a good job of making me feel like I was really perched above real lava. Too good. With a few sub-vocal commands I instructed the suit to tone down the climate controls, and instantly I felt cooler. My avatar would not benefit within this virtual reality. She would sweat like a pig, regardless. But for me as the player could be allowed some comfort. A message appeared at the corner of my vision, asking if the temperature was adequate. I dismissed it and looked around for the dragon.
Nothing but smoke and ash filled the sky. Delay would only bring failure and this quest I was on had been earmarked as 'Special'. If I failed my character would be heavily penalized. I resumed my ascent although it was slow going. Having climbed down this same cliff to get to the dragon's nest a short time ago, my avatar was feeling the strain. But I could not stop now and regenerate. Time for that after I reached the top.
Gripping an overhang, I attempted to pull myself over when my foot slipped. Panicked, I clasped at the rock face in desperation. The movement caused my pack to jostle open and the dragon egg within slipped out. I gasped and shot a hand out to grab it as the egg tumbled beneath me. Its slick golden surface did not help, but I barely snagged it with my fingers.
From across the volcano the dragon shrieked.
Uh-oh, I thought and risked a glance over my shoulder.
The reptilian image of the flying dragon emerged from the dark clouds. It was a fair distance away, but not for long. And it was heading straight at me.
I looked from the approaching dragon to the egg in my hand. The creature sensed it. My pack shielded the egg from detection but exposing it gave the dragon a beacon to home in on.
Not that I could do anything about it now. Placing the egg back in the pack wouldn't stop it from zeroing in on me and blasting me off the wall. I looked below me. The lava lake bubbled and hissed. Throwing it might be an option. The dragon would follow the egg downward until the treasure vanished into the lava. Then it would turn its rage on me. Tossing the egg would not give me enough time to reach the cliff top. And besides, I wanted to keep the egg considering all the trouble this quest had given me.
There was only one choice, and it wasn't the best.
I placed the egg back into my pack and then, with a cringe, selected the 'Summon Companion' icon from the bottom corner of my vision.
The next instant a ferret appeared on the edge of the overhang above me. He wore a pair of leather breeches over his fur, and a small blue jacket with the name 'Phlixx' embroidered across one breast pocket. Atop his head was a wide-brimmed hat with a white feather pinned to one side. His ears poked through a pair of holes in the brim.
His wide eyes latched onto me. “My love! You have summoned me!” he hollered.
I rolled my eyes and pulled myself up onto the overhang, my chest pressed against the wall. There was hardly any space to sit. “Phlixx, I need your help.”
“You need me, my sweet?” The little ferret crooned as he scampered up the rock to get eye level with me. Climbing was one of his innate abilities, far superior to mine. Which was exactly what I needed.
“Yes,” I said, and pulled my pack around to open it. The moment I did, and the egg was exposed, the dragon roared. This time much closer.
Phlixx looked from the egg to the dragon coasting through the air toward us over the volcano. His huge eyes got even wider. “Dragon! A dragon!” In one of his tiny fists a little crossbow appeared. “I'll protect you, Honeybun! Even if it is with my last breath!”
I was counting on that. Grabbing the egg, I turned Phlixx around so his back was to me. I then jammed the golden egg into his own little pack.
“A gift?” Asked Phlixx. “Now, of all times? Shouldn't we be fleeing?”
As if to emphasize the suggestion, the dragon roared, again.
“Climb?” His head whipped about in confusion. “But where?”
