by Jack Adams
“It's a lawless harbor for bounty hunters, professional fraudsters, and criminal syndicates,” Ephemris continued.
“We need to go there so I can finish my work and you can complete this job. My contact, Willow, is the only being I trust to help me with this kind of project.”
“The statistical probability that harm, even death could befall the Captain is far to high,” Ephemris exclaimed.
“What could you possibly do to motivate me to take you there?” Finder asked with his arms crossed to which Jubilant mimicked his posture with an air of defiance.
“I've frozen your payment in escrow. You won't get anything until I get all of the fragments.”
“You aren't going to seriously consider this, Captain?” Ephemris asked incredulously. Finder thought about the risks of setting foot on Yllem. The asteroid was a haven for all manner of rogues and knaves. It's orbit brought it near the outer edge of the Nestle worlds and the verge of the Precipice Point debris field, home of the Zinark Pirate factions. On the other hand he considered the pay. With the amount Jubilant had offered him, he could afford to retire, sell the Ace of Spades and disappear somewhere in hopes of being forgotten. While he could always be hopeful, there were few jobs which would come even close to affording him this opportunity. More likely he would die slowly, just barely making a living until old age and a lifetime of infirmary warranting injuries would render him a broken, useless man.
“We'll do it,” Finder whispered as he broke from his introspection.
“We are not,” Ephemris asserted.
“We are!” Finder announced firmly. “But given the risk imposed by this unexpected detour, our client with her associates help will surely increase our compensation.” Jubilant smiled.
“Given the significance or our findings, I suppose we could arrange for that to happen.”
–
Yllem was a curious study of visual contrasts between the past intent and present purpose. Originally a lifeless asteroid which had migrated unperturbed between Precipice Point and Nestle for ages unknown, the metallic rock had at one point been a prime candidate for a Wisp colony. Said colony was to be an experiment in new forms of mobile living, a sort of ambulant trading post which would act as a natural bridge between the outer Nestle worlds and Precipice. Within a few years of its foundation the colony thrived, accumulating fantastic amounts of wealth. In addition to the original Wisp, Ophidian, Hyla, Pericarp, even Stanchion traders and researchers flocked to the colony to find opportunity and fortune. That was of course before the Point was settled by pirates and the Nestle worlds weren't yet completely dominated by the Faux.
Now the former city of success was a magnet for all of the riffraff in the Refuge. The once effulgent, sterling metal which shined brightly in contrast to the dark rocky asteroid body had become pitted and scarred. All of the portholes and dock outlets, which had once invited hundreds of peaceful freighters, had become lined with dozens of automated sentry guns. The body of the asteroid itself had lost its perfect egg-like shape and had become cratered and deformed, a consequence of centuries of attempted conquest by one would be warlord after another. While no one had successfully conquered the asteroid, floating hunks of rock orbited it as a testament to the violence the settlement had endured.
Such a mixture! Finder thought. A city built on an agone society of optimism and opportunity with a concurrent culture of violence and defensiveness filled Finder with rousing excitation and anxious dread. Even for someone who regularly roamed the star winds Yllem was a place on which to be wary.
Getting access into Yllem was the first hurdle, aggravating and a little perilous, but simple enough. All it took was the right bribe to the dock master to keep from being blown out of the sky while in the asteroids defense perimeter. However, setting foot inside the station seemed to be a momentarily insurmountable obstacle for Finder. He stood on the edge, between his side of the airlock and the first metal plank onto Yllem, preparing himself for the bevy of pickpockets, swindlers, gang members and pirate affiliates that awaited him. With an excited beckon, Jubilant brushed past him briskly. In his aging years, Finder observed the vitality and joyousness that Jubilant exuded. Her zest for living and lust for the unknown was something that reminded Finder of himself during his younger years. Moreover, Finder found the attitude infectious. With a mirthful smile he trotted forward.
Vestiges of the cities former splendor even after hundreds of years of degradation was still evident within Yllem. All around him metal towers reached towards the hollowed asteroids center. While covered in clear evidence of inferior and hackneyed repair, the buildings bore clear elements of marvelous architectural design. At the center of the colony a bright band glowed, the source of interior light
Looking up, Finder could see the other side of the colony. A similar mass of spires stretching towards Yllem's false sun.
“Ephemris can you hear me?” Finder asked as he tapped the minute comm device lodged inside of his ear.
“I can, Captain,” Ephemris responded. “Did you hear me when I told you that coming to this place was a bad idea?”
“I did ,” Finder responded dryly. “And if we ruin into any trouble I need you to have the Ace ready to run. Can you do that?”
“Of course. And what sort of trouble are you predicting to run in with this plucky, young trouble-finder?”
“In this town? Something unpredictable.”
–
“So this the famous Iarc Research Facility?” Finder quipped as he and Jubilant toured through the dilapidated facility.
“Well, it has seen better days,” Jubilant commented as she marched up crumbling concrete steps. With each footfall several new chunks of rock fell, turning each edifice into a flat hill. “And the person, er Wisp we need is here. Yeah, his laboratory should be right over here.” Jubilant pointed to a single open doorway with a faint light emanating from it.
“Right, the xenoarchaeologist,” Finder murmured as he noted the graffiti tags painted to the walls. As he did he noted Jubilant's apparent obliviousness to clear signs of peril. “And who does he associate with?”
“What?” Jubilant asked as if in a daze.
“His contact, his affiliations. Willow, who does he associated with?” Finder asked as he began to fiddle with the pistol concealed along his waistline. As the pair continued walking towards the lit doorway small bursts of adrenaline flowed through Finder's body.
“What? Wait? Oh, Finder he's harmless. I mean have you never heard of a malevolent Wisp before?” Jubilant said defensively.
“Yes, I've actually fought a couple.” Finder said while he pressed himself to the wall adjacent to the entrance of the doorway in an attempt to steal a concealed gander into the room. He drew his pistol and starred at Jubilant intensively. “What aren't you telling me about him?”
“Nothing,” Jubilant said throwing her hands up then charging through the door. “Hello, Willow?” Finder cautiously followed behind her, careful to keep his right hand near his posterior in case he need swiftly grab his firearm. The room was a cluttered mess of tables which seemed to only serve as platforms for disorganized electronic pads, notation paper, boards littered with almost unreadable notes, and a few remnants of stale snacks.
“Willow arr you here?” Jubilant called out again only to be met with unnerving silence. “Perhaps he's out. Maybe we should try-”
A loud clang sounded from behind the duo. In a single quick motion Finder pivoted both feet, drew his pistol, and placed a bead on the mushroom-shaped being in front of the door. From the top of the fungus-like body a pair of stalks protruded which terminated in large, black eyes. Near the middle spindly legs covered in weight-assist cybernetic components stretched to the floor.
“Willow!” Jubilant exclaimed as she rushed towards the being with open arms. “It's so good to see you.”
“Good..to see. You...as well,” Willow's speech synthesizer replied in a strange stichato voice. Then he rose a tendril to point at Finde
r.“You...do not need...to be alarmed.”
“Habits,” Finder explained as he slowly tucked his pistol away. “You must be Willow.”
“I am...yes. Xenoarchaeologist. Expert in Apocryph artifacts. Speaking of...you told me that you had something to show me Jubilant.”
“I do,” Jubilant responded joyously as she withdrew the scepter from a dark wrap. Upon seeing the artifact Willow drew multiple tendrils up triumphantly.
“This...one of the seven?” he asked to which Jubilant vigorously nodded. Finder tried to allow himself to relax a bit as he surveyed the room. Other than the door from which they had passed there was another exit the his far left and it was half concealed by a heavy storage cabinet. Unlikely anyone would easily gain entrance from there. The closets thing to a weapon in the room appeared to be just a few writing utensils which, with a little bit of sharpening and sufficient effort, would be used as a crude shank. Again Finder tried to relax, but found that he could not. Willow and Jubilant continued to chat away while studying the scepter.
“I'm going to wait outside and keep watch,” Finder announced to which the other two barely acknowledged. Finder stepped from the room and re-drew his pistol. Taking a position adjacent to the doorway behind a pillar he switched his gaze from the laboratories room entrance and a few of the graffiti tags around him. Some he was familiar with while most were figuratively and literally alien to him. However, one stuck out as being somewhere in the middle.
Above the doorway entrance to the lab was painted a bright amorphous creature with lines running through it. Adjacent to the creature was a symbolic tag of some variety, possibly the symbol of one of the local gangs. The rendering was brighter than all of the others suggesting that it was newer than the surrounding vandalism. In the center of the subject was an angular shape, similar to a 'C' shape.
Carbon? Finder mused. Yes, the universal indication of a lifeform. But what do the dark lines mean?
Finder walked towards the painting, still vigilant to be mindful of any unexpected additions to the reunion between Willow and Jubilant. As he did he overheard some of the excited chatter between the two of them.
“I think you've figured it out,” Jubilant announced as the scepter in her hands began to glow. “Now we can not only figure out where the other fragments are but also how to wield them.”
“Yes, and perhaps we can break free...from our bounds.” Willow said with a hint of relief and anxiety.
“What do you mean by that, Willow?”
“Oh, nothing.” Willow replied sheepishly. Jubilant shrugged the comment off, but Finder focused in on its full meaning. Bounds, does he actually mean bars. Wait...
“Who are you marked to?” Finder demanded as he charged back into the room, pistol drawn and eyes full of fury. Willow's beady eyes seem to flash indications of regret, shame and sorrow with each step that Finder took towards him. Finder grabbed Willow and flipped him over. “Who marked you?”
“Finder what are you doing?” Jubilant screamed. Finder's eyes poured over the aliens body in search for a clue that Willow might now voluntarily give. Jubilant began to grab at him to cease his search, but Finder's muscled form easily repelled her.
“You... do not...understand,” Willow protested. “It is...not my fault.” Finder backed away as he finally saw what he had been searching for. “Oh, dear stars,” he whispered as Jubilant's gaze switched from him to Willow.
“What? What is it?” Jubilant asked.
“You're friend here's been marked. He's a prisoner, he's 'bound' to work for a syndicate of thugs and thieves until his debt is paid off. I should've recognized the glyph over the door when we got here.” Finder ran his fingers through his hair as he processed the combination of stress coursing through him.
“You've gotten tied up with one of the gangs here?” Jubilant asked Willow.
“No, it's far worse than than a criminal gnang,” Finder answered as he posted himself to the doorways entrance.
“I...am marked by the Zinark,” Willow finished.
“Jubilant we have to go, now!” Finder exclaimed. “We have to leave here before anyone else see us.”
“Too late,” Willow said, to which Jubilant starred at him with an face that read disbelief with eyes that reflected feelings of betrayal. Willow continued, “when you contacted...me, I alerted...them. Please...understand Carly...I am in so deep already.” Willow slowly attempted to move towards Jubilant in a consoling posture, but then a gun shot echoed through the rotting facility. Then another and another. Three shots, the signature sign that the Zinark were announcing that they were coming and in force.
Chapter 5 – Continued Corruption
Finder rushed to the alternate exit and began madly pulling the debris surrounding it away. Willow began to pace in a circle between the main door, then towards Jubilant and then Finder. Jubilant simply stood fixed, processing the emotional eight that had been hoisted upon her. Finder called out her name, beckoning her to aid him, while Willow attempted to both console her and apologize. Unable to react either to either of them, she simply retreated into one of the laboratories corners, only to find herself in front of a video message displayed behind her.
“Hello,” a human figure said on the display screen. “Willow, we are here to collect what you owe us. No doubt, you've probably told our quarry, to some degree or another, what our intentions are. However, you and your guests should be aware that we have the facility surrounded. That and we promise not to harm any of your so long as you surrender the artifacts in your possession.”
“No,” Jubilant defiantly responded. Her body shifted from a still frame to a dynamic figure and rushed to assist Finder remove the debris from the other door.
“Come on help us, Willow,” Jubilant demanded as she helped Finder clear the exit doors path. The Wisp simply stood still, a clear reflection to Finder, or the degree of ambivalence as to where his loyalties lay.
“Forget him, Jubilant. We need to get out of here now,” Finder said as he stripped away the last of the clutter blocking his path. With a strong kick he bashed the door open and pulled Jubilant with him.
“What about Willow?” Jubilant protested as she only passively pulled away from Finder's grip.
“He made his decision before we arrived in Yllem.”
“But he's not an evil being,” Jubilant exclaimed as the pair began to ascend a flight of poorly lit stairs.
“No, he's not,” Finder said as he stopped in mid-stride, listening for the sounds of footfalls on the upper stair case. He forced the door shut and blasted several thermal rounds into the handle. With luck the melted metal would provide sufficient seal to keep the entrance shut. “But he is indebted to one of the most powerful extralegal organizations in the Refuge. So, we need to go. Are you with me or not?” Jubilant hesitated for a moment, and then shook her head affirmatively. Finder then grabbed her hand, but more gently this time and led her through the flickering flights of stairs.
“Ephemris,” Finder said in an exclamation which attempted to be a whisper. “Bring the Ace in toward the second tower of the Iarc Research Facility.”
“You do know that the Ace of Spades is no longer fully capable of flying in a high-gravity environment, let alone one with a thick atmosphere.”
“Just do it,” Finder said as he surveyed the stairs above him. “We'll deal with the damage to the craft later.”
The two raced through the ascent, watching for the slightest traces of movement coming from either above or below them. Seconds stretched on like hours, until, near the the final flight, they found a the middle of a rain of gun fire. Finder threw Jubilant against the wall behind them and blindly fired back. Then he jumped backward as his opponents brought another storm of munitions back down in his direction. Finder took note of the echos running through the corridor and the apparent sounds of their origin. There are three of them.
After the volley had finished the sounds of rushing feet could be heard descending through the stairwell. The lig
hts switched back on and three armed bodies could just be seen. The Finder came towards the railing and fired again, only with far more focus and precision. A scream could be heard, then the collapse of one body on the stairs, along with another one falling down the length of the corridor.
With maddening speed Finder collected Jubilant by the waist and the pair ran up the stairs with renewed vigor. Once they reached the final flight Finder wordlessly beckoned Jubilant fall behind him as he swapped clips and waited in the comfort of silence. The firefight had become a waiting game, whoever acted first lost. Finder was accustomed to this situation, but not with someone else. Not with someone unused to being in a firefight. Finder looked over to Jubilant who huddled near the wall. He was unable to ascertain whether or not she would correctly judge the situation and remain still, or give into panic and rush either up or down the stairs, revealing them both to their overhead adversary. With each flicker of the light Jubilant's facial expression and body language seemed to suggest that she was alternating between either reaction. Then her face began to tense, her body became wound. She was going to run.
Finder slowly moved in towards her in attempt to ease the growing panic inside her. He tried to mouth instructions to keep her calm and wave her into a feeling of safety. Then from above foot steps crashed downward accompanied by heavy breathing. The lights cut out and Finder cocked his head in an attempt to track the sound. There!
Finder fired six shots at a left angle above him. Then waited as he discharged the spent clip from his pistol. As the magazine feel neatly into his hand the sound of a body sliding against a wall could be heard. The lights switched back on and Finder could see the corpse he had made on the adjacent wall above him.
“Let's go,” Finder command as he roused Jubilant from the floor and loaded his last clip into his pistol. The pair continued their race to the top of the stairs and burst through the door. On the roof, Finder could see a far off streak could be seen in the distance, along with seven Zinark pirates emerging from the adjacent tower.
