The Terran Shepherd (The Terran Series Book 2)

by Monarch,Angus

  I wandered what seemed like a main thoroughfare for almost half an hour before sitting down in a place that looked like an open air café. Small tables that sat two or three were clustered in front of a glass storefront. I saw what could have been bowls of food or drink. Even though Free was unclaimed and technically independent I didn’t want to show my face for fear of who may see me, so I kept my face shield down and polarized. There were many in the streets that did the same. Hopefully no one would take a particular interest in me.

  “Would you like something?” said somebody in a harsh, robotic voice.

  My head darted to face the voice, and I found myself gazing into digital eyes on a screen attached by a thin stalk to a set of wheels. It must have been some kind of server.

  “What?” I said.

  “Do you want me to get you something to eat or drink?” said the server. When it spoke the eyes disappeared and a mouth with fuchsia pink lips and teeth that stuck out at odd angles appeared on the screen. After speaking the mouth disappeared, and the eyes returned, looking annoyed.

  I shook my head. While the local cuisine would have been nice to try I wasn’t here for the food and even if I was I didn’t have any way of paying for it. All I needed was some time to sit and think, but I doubted that would be tolerated.

  “A menu, please?” I said.

  The server sighed: a quick flash of the mouth then eyes again. “Access the menu through our open connection.”

  I gulped, and my mouth went dry. People were starting to turn around and stare at me as they went by. If I didn’t say something soon I knew I would be kicked out, and I didn’t want a scene, but I didn’t know what to say or what to do. My head started to spin, and I felt woozy. I started to breath at an accelerated rate. Everything was overwhelming and coming at me so fast. The din, which less than an hour ago had felt so good, started to press on me. The buildings began to squeeze together, their upper floors bending forward and down towards me.

  Something eased into the chair across from me, causing the piece of furniture to squeal and protest, and said, “We’ll each have an Enterlong.”

  Some of the fog cleared. I shook my head and squinted. A P’You sat across from me. He wore a white tunic with tufts of black fur poking out from his collar making it look like his head emerged from a geyser of hair.

  The P’You watched the server leave before turning back to me and saying, “New to Free?”

  I cleared my throat. My new companion must know that I wasn’t from here. I had been acting like a country bumpkin: gawking at people, staring at buildings, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, not knowing how to order food. He wouldn’t have stepped in when he did if he didn’t know. It wouldn’t do me any good to pretend otherwise.

  “Yes,” I said. “Visiting.”

  He nodded and sucked on his lips before speaking. “I saw that someone docked with an old P’You shuttle,” he said. “Much like a group that came in a few weeks ago.”

  I nodded, trying to play it cool, but my pulse raced. It felt like my heart might punch itself out of my ribcage. I couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “I did some digging, and when I found that you were the one who had come in with the shuttle,” said the P’You, “well, I just had to meet the person who had such a vehicle.” He leaned in towards me and lowered his voice. “I’d met the previous group, and they were such lovely people.”

  He straightened. “You were a little harder to track down though. Tricky for the cameras to follow an individual when they’ve got a helmet on.”

  My body screamed at me to run. It was all too coincidental. Too easy. Too lucky.

  “But,” my mind said, “you were lucky on Station Ter. You were lucky at the abandoned colony. Why can’t you be lucky again? Besides, you don’t want to cause a scene and bring attention to yourself.”

  “I’m looking for some friends,” I said. “We’re supposed to meet here.”

  The P’You laughed as the server came back and set down two mugs. His chuckling sounded like the idling of a semi-truck. It made the table rattle, and the Enterlong mugs vibrate. The server rolled its eyes and made its way to the next table after scanning the P’You’s wrist.

  “And your friends didn’t tell you where to meet them besides Free?” he said.

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. All that time on the shuttle and I hadn’t bothered to think of a cover story of why I was on the station.

  “Look,” said the P’You after taking a long drink from his mug, “I know why you’re here.”

  Panic exploded in my chest. I stood as fast as I could. Vice grips grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down hard enough back into my seat that my suit injected me with low-dose painkillers.

  I looked back and up at my attacker: another P’You. She was all corded muscle. Baron would have looked small in comparison. Her grip tightened, and my suit gave me a pressure warning. A few passersby slowed to watch, but a quick head nod from one of my guests got them moving again.

  “I’m trying to help you,” he said. “You’re looking for some people, and I know where they are.”

  It was too easy.

  “And what do you want in return?” I said.

  The P’You smiled. “Your shuttle,” he said. “I know a collector who will give me a high price for it.”

  “And if I don’t believe you?” I said.

  “You don’t have to,” he said, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands over his stomach, “but I like to be a fair businessman when I can. Whether you take me up on my offer or not though, I’m taking that shuttle.”

  “That’s it?” I said.

  He chuckled then stood. His chair scraped and squealed against the ground, its burden lifted. I felt myself pulled to my feet.

  “That’s it,” he said and placed one hand over his chest. “I’m Nellinon.” He inclined his head to his companion. “That’s Martel.”

  I didn’t return his gesture, and I didn’t look at Martel.

  Nellinon grumbled and began to walk away. Martel gave me a hard shove in the back. I stumbled forward and regained my composure.

  “I have no dog in your fight,” said Nellinon. “I couldn’t care less what the Vantagax want.” He continued to walk ahead of me, his hands clasped behind his back. “I came to Free to escape the dealings of the Confederacy and the Vantagax Republic. I just want to be left alone to make money.”

  Maybe Nellinon was telling the truth. Maybe he wasn’t. Either way, I overrode my gut instinct to get away because I wanted to find out what Nellinon knew. A lead was a lead and at the very least he knew about the P’You shuttles that had come from Station Ter.

  I glanced back at Martel as Nellinon continued to drone on about why he didn’t want any part of galactic politics and all he wanted was to make money. For all I knew she was genetically enhanced. I’d read about people who had modified their body to basically make themselves a living, breathing exo-suit. After her quick display of power at the café I didn’t want to take a chance.

  “Where are we going?” I said, after walking for several minutes, going down smaller and smaller streets without Nellinon taking a break from speaking.

  He stopped in front of a nondescript door in a well maintained if average looking, except for the floor to ceiling windows on the top floor, four story building on a side street. I could see no one for blocks in either direction. Nellinon looked up and down the street before brushing his wrist over the door. A lock clicked, and the door swung open.

  Lights turned on and illuminated the inside. Long shadows cast into the corners of the room, but from where I stood I could see a bar with a multitude of bottles on the shelves behind it. Armchairs of varying sizes and shapes were scattered around the room in small groups of two or three. There were no windows letting in any outside light. Nellinon stepped inside and beckoned for us to follow.

  “Welcome to my abode,” said Nellinon as he walked across the room then up a set of stairs.


  I followed with Martel coming in after me. She closed the door with a loud bang, the lock click echoing through the empty room. With the door closed the room felt cut-off from everything else. There were no sounds emanating from outside the building. A knot in my stomach began to grow. It felt like I had made a huge mistake coming here.

  “When are you going to tell me where my people are?” I said, hoping my tone wasn’t too confrontational, or too meek. I knew I wasn’t in an advantageous position and had to walk a fine line.

  Nellinon paused at the top of the steps in front of a large door. We’d come up four flights. He sighed. It sounded like a windstorm passing through a tunnel.

  “Terran, you know General Braxa, correct?” said Nellinon without turning around to look at me. His hand hovered over the door knob.

  I gulped and nodded without thinking that Nellinon wouldn’t see my actions.

  “Of course you do,” said Nellinon.

  “Do you know Braxa’s family?” said Martel.

  I flinched not expecting her to speak. Her voice was higher than I would have imagined. In a different context it might have been comical.

  “I just want to make money, Terran,” said Nellinon. His hand gripped the knob, and he turned it. The door started to open.

  “Braxa’s family is well connected with a lot of influence,” said Martel.

  My muscles started to tense. Adrenaline started to flow. My mind screamed that it had been betrayed. I should have listened to my gut. I should have never come here. I should have run when I had a chance. Make a scene in public, get away. Damn the consequences then. Hindsight was 20/20.

  “With a lot of money,” said Nellinon.

  The door opened to its full extent. Light from the windows backlit seven Vantagax. All had their rifles trained on me.

  Chapter Five

  Martel blocked my exit back down the stairs. Nellinon stood just to my left, within arm’s reach. He smiled. I could see the money signs floating in his eyes.

  “Your search has come to an end, Terran,” said Nellinon.

  Martel came up a step.

  One of the Vantagax moved forward. He held out a set of handcuffs to Nellinon.

  Nellinon looked at the cuffs then back to me and threw his head back, eyes closed, hands over his stomach and laughed. The booming sound echoed around the room. Several of the Vantagax cringed. One took half a step back.

  “You paid me to deliver not to arrest,” said Nellinon.

  I grabbed Nellinon’s wrist. His laugh caught in his throat as he let out a surprised exclamation. I pushed him toward the Vantagax squad and into the room. The one holding the handcuffs barked a command, and all of them started firing.

  Nellinon’s body shielded me from the first volley of fire as I dashed into the room. I made a beeline for the nearest window as Martel pounded up the stairs behind me. Five of the Vantagax continued to fire at me, energy blasts whizzing past. My suit screamed proximity warnings at me like I wasn’t aware of what was happening.

  Two of the Vantagax turned and took aim at Martel who had briefly stopped at the corpse of Nellinon. She reared her head back and howled in what sounded like a mournful tone. Blasts impacted on her chest, but she didn’t seem to notice. She swatted one of the soldiers out of her way. The Vantagax hit the wall like a child’s toy, slid down the wall and crumpled to the ground in a broken heap.

  The Vantagax were angled in such a way that their shots didn’t hit the window until just before I reached it, the glass shattering. I covered my face and ducked my head, leading with my shoulder. At the lip of the window I stumbled and tripped, falling and twisting in such a manner that I looked up as I plunged downward. The broken body of a Vantagax flew out after me, flying across the open space and disappearing over the roof of the next building.

  I hit the ground hard. I saw stars and blackness started to pinch the edges of my vision. My suit administered a stimulant and began a readout of injuries. I coughed, trying to breath, panicking for a moment that I had somehow severed my spine. The fear passed when I took a great, gasping, ragged breath and rolled onto my side.

  Another Vantagax screamed as she flew from the upper floor and impacted on the ground next to me, face first. She twitched and her gaze darted around, eyes unfocused. I pushed myself away as her body shuddered, and she stopped breathing.

  The sounds of fighting had diminished from Nellinon’s buildings. One Vantagax rifle continued to fire then was silenced.

  All of the windows that I could see were broken out, the glass littering the ground around me. A few people stood at the end of the block, whispering amongst themselves. Somebody ducked back into a farther down building then slammed their door when I caught their gaze.

  I shoved myself up. My entire body hurt. The pain started to edge away as my suit administered first aid. In a few seconds I would be able to run without worrying, for a little at least. Where I would go I didn’t know.

  Martel came to the edge of the window. She looked down at me and jumped. The street cracked and buckled as her giant bulk came to a halt on its surface. I would have congratulated her on landing on her feet but for the murder in her eyes.

  Her clothes had disappeared on her upper body. Her fur hung in black, burned strips and tufts exposing some kind of non-organic material underneath that glittered in the light. Smoke wafted off of her. I didn’t have time to pat myself on the back for knowing she was enhanced because Martel roared again, hunched over a bit and pounded towards me.

  She covered the distance between us faster than I thought. I jumped to the side as she swiped. Pain exploded in my left arm, and my suit alerted me to a serious laceration injury. I didn’t want to look at it, so I let my suit take care as best it could and began to run in the opposite direction of Martel.

  I pushed myself and my suit to the limit, but it didn’t feel like it was enough. Martel closed behind me, and I ducked into an alleyway. She ran past and had to double back. Her shoulders brushed the walls of the alley, knocking loose pipes or anything attached as she ran. The obstructions didn’t slow her down. It didn’t seem like she even noticed they were there.

  My suit opened up a general feed. Sirens brayed over it. Warning symbols directed my attention in the general direction of the oncoming authorities. A looped cease and desist communication from the Free Authorities played. I tried to ignore it as the alleyway ended, and I burst out onto a large street.

  Bystanders scattered as I stumbled through the traffic. Driverless transports, with their occupants open mouthed and staring at me, swerved to miss. Pedestrians split apart as a fleet of small, white single occupant vehicles with flashing lights made their way through the crowds. The squawking of somebody over a bullhorn was almost drowned out by the din of the public. The sirens over the general feed became louder as a recorded message, from the Free Authorities, to disperse now played in a loop.

  Martel came forth from the alleyway and jumped atop the nearest transport. The top distorted and warped under her weight. Its passenger screamed and crawled out of a broken side window. Martel frothed at the mouth, head panning back and forth. Her hands clenched into fists and unclenched. Synthetic muscles open to the air from the Vantagax attack, rippled and flexed.

  I tried to slip away in the confusion, attempting to move with the crowds. As I moved I went through the various feeds trying to find anything that might help me understand my situation a little better. The best I got was a local live-broadcasting of what was happening. It didn’t sound like anyone had noticed that I was the center of Martel’s focus.

  A woman screaming came from behind me. The crowd turned as one and looked back. Martel had jumped off the car and began bulldozing her way through the throng, bystanders tripping over themselves to get out of her way. The white vehicles stopped in her path, but she lowered her shoulder and slammed into them. One tipped over with its passenger still inside. Others got out of their vehicles and began firing at Martel. The shots seemed to only anger her even more
.

  Additional vehicles pulled up and more enforcement got out. Martel roared and seemed to buckle under the barrage. I continued to move away, looking for an exit as she disappeared from view. A small street wasn’t too far away. I broke from the river of people. Sirens continued to wail over my feed as more and more vehicles arrived. I’d made my way to the mouth of the street when a collective gasp arose from the crowd.

  Martel rose again, swiping at the enforcement. Her attacks didn’t have the same veracity as before nor did she land a blow. The enforcement redoubled their efforts, closing in around Martel as she hunched over and once more disappeared from view.

  As the crowd started to close back in to watch the scene finish I slunk down the side street and moved away as fast as I could. My heart pounded, and my muscles were weak. I felt like I had been wrung through the ringer, stretched too thin. The adrenaline started to wear off, and as I moved away from the now cheering crowd, my steps started to falter, and I felt faint.

  I stumbled around a corner and had to brace myself against a wall. The world spun. Everything felt like it tipped hard to one side. I dragged my feet, and fell to my left with the rest of the world. My shoulder impacted against the building and a jolt of pain shot up my back. Injury warnings wailed from my suit, but I silenced them. I knew I was hurt. I knew I needed medical attention.

  I knew I needed to get out of the area.

  Around the corner I stumbled and fell to the ground. I just caught myself, but my arms didn’t hold, and I collapsed onto the ground. The cheering of the crowds had disappeared along with the wail of the sirens. The general feed closed. Perhaps life had returned to normal for the people of Free. Maybe everyone was moving on.