Double Life

by S. Usher Evans

"Let her go, Relleck."

  "And what are you going to do about it?"

  Sage cleared his throat. Out of nowhere, his crew of six appeared behind him. In the corner, Razia saw Vel standing mostly behind Ganon, but ready to fight.

  She scowled. That little shit must've called Sage.

  Relleck and Sage stared at each other for a minute, until Relleck sniffed and grabbed his jacket from one of his goons.

  "C’mon, guys."

  The two goons released Razia, and she wiped the blood off her lip, trying not to look as if she was in as much pain as she actually was.

  "You got lucky, Razia," Relleck said, turning to look at her as he walked away.

  Once they were around the corner, Sage dropped his icy glare and swooped over to Razia. "Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out a hand to her.

  She batted him away angrily. "I’m fine."

  "You really aren’t. You're bleeding," Sage said, reaching out again. "Let me take you back to my ship and clean you—"

  "I don't want your help!" Her words echoed in the alley.

  "Really?" Sage blinked, a hint of anger in his voice. "Because from where I was standing, Relleck was about to beat the crap out of you. Would you like me to call him back and tell him to continue? It’s a damn good thing Vel told me what you were up to—"

  Razia turned her ire on Vel, who tried valiantly not to wither under it.

  "As much as you’d like to think otherwise, you're not invincible," Sage said softly, obviously trying to temper his anger. "And you cannot take on three people at once. Especially when two of them are twice your size."

  "I wasn’t trying—"

  "Lyss, he’s the number one bounty in the universe," Sage said, throwing up his hands. "You know he’s not going to go anywhere without his crew. What were you thinking?"

  "I don’t need a lecture from you," Razia snapped. "And don't call me that."

  "You know, sometimes I wonder." Sage's voice began to rise again. "Because you seem to have forgotten everything Tauron taught you about how to be a good pirate. I mean, the number one rule—don’t get into a fight you can't win!"

  Razia continued to stare daggers at him.

  Sage threw up his hands, letting out a loud cry of frustration. "You are the most stubborn, the most... You drive me insane," he exclaimed. "Let’s go, guys."

  Razia watched as Sage and his crew walked away. Once they were out of sight, she sighed and leaned against the wall, clutching her aching stomach.

  "Your search results, and Sage called and…" Vel started.

  "We’re fighting."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  "Yeow!, that is a shiner!" Harms said, leaning close to the camera. "Relleck really got you good, didn't he?"

  "How bad is it?" Razia poked at her sore cheek, which had turned a blotchy purple.

  "I dunno, honey, you might want to go see a doctor," Harms said, peering down at her.

  "Not that." Razia sighed. "My...my reputation."

  "Oh...well," Harms hedged. "You did get beat up."

  She made a face.

  "Aaaand Sage did come to save you—"

  "He did not!"

  "I've heard it from two of the three people who were there, and I hardly consider you an impartial party." Harms winked. "Hey, at least Relleck didn't turn you in, huh? Then you'd be right back to where you started with Dissident."

  She swallowed nervously. "He hasn't said anything...has he?"

  "Well...I mean, he wasn't happy, of course. To be honest, he's not been too pleased with Sage recently. He wants him to focus more on bounty hunting, so he sort of blamed you for distracting him—"

  "I have nothing to do with what Teon does with his time," Razia huffed. "And I did not ask him to show up."

  "You don't have to," Harms said with a smile. "You know Tauron made him promise to take care of you."

  Razia deflated, wondering what Tauron would've done if he were still alive. Begrudgingly, she knew it was probably something very similar to what Sage had said, and she started to feel even stupider for putting herself in such a position. If only Vel hadn't thrown her off her game.

  "Oh buck up, kiddo. We all make mistakes. You just gotta lay low for a little while—"

  "I can't lie low!" Razia exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? I have to get back out there. I have to find someone really good to—"

  "Take a week," Harms repeated. "Let the story die down. People have short memories. And it'll give those bruises some time to heal—ego included."

  Razia sat back and frowned.

  "Quit pouting." Harms chuckled. "Just a week. You'll be back in the game in no time. And next time—find a bounty that plays to your strengths, okay?"

  The call went dark, but Razia didn't move for a few moments. She knew what she needed to do, but she really, really didn't want to.

  After a few minutes, and with great anguish, she pushed herself to stand and started charting a course to the farthest reaches of the known universe.

  ***

  "I can't believe we're actually excavating a planet," Vel said, before taking a deep breath in the green forest air.

  Lyssa ignored him, focused on lacing up her running shoes. She was still angry with him for being party to Sage's unwelcome intrusion, and was even angrier that she was actually excavating a planet with him. He was acting like nothing was amiss, happily cheering when he realized where they were going, and having one-sided conversations with her.

  Her mini-computer buzzed at her hip, and that familiar anxious dread filled her chest. She unhooked it slowly, nervously hoping it wasn't Dissident calling her or sending her a message. She was sure it was only a matter of time before he called to berate her—or worse.

  The message, thankfully, was just a marketing pitch.

  Adjusting her running shorts over a painful bruise on her stomach, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She stretched her arms over her head, the tension in her shoulders knotting painfully. Her hamstrings were tense, so she bent over to touch her toes before beginning her run.

  Looking between her legs, she saw Vel wearing shorts and running shoes.

  "Uh, no," Lyssa said, snapping upright.

  "Oh good, you’re talking to me again."

  Instead of responding, she turned on her heel and sprinted out into the jungle. She was running fast—faster than she normally did—and after a few moments felt a stitch in her side and the bruise on her stomach. Eager to break free from Vel, she pushed through it, until finally she could no longer keep the pace.

  She coughed a bit, leaning over and trying to catch her breath.

  To her dismay, she heard footfalls behind her.

  "Really, you have to quit doing that." Vel rolled his eyes, coming into the clearing and handing her his bottle. "You know I run faster than you do anyway."

  "Go away," Lyssa growled, not taking the bottle.

  "No," Vel replied, shrugging and taking a swig.

  "Argh!" Lyssa said, standing upright and starting to jog. The pain in her bruise was barking at her again, so she had to stop.

  "What’s wrong?"

  "Nothing," she mumbled, trying to focus all her angry energy into getting as far away from Vel as she could.

  Vel, however, was having other thoughts, as he easily jogged beside her, his gaze focused on the uneven ground ahead, but his attention on her. "You should slow down. There's no way you can keep this pace," Vel said, sounding only slightly winded.

  "I’m not talking to you."

  "Sage actually called looking for you," Vel said, matter-of-factly, "and I just saw who you had been searching—the transaction records—and I told him."

  "Stupid Teon," Lyssa grumbled. "He’s always ruins everything."

  "How is saving your ass ruining everything?" Vel asked, as they leaped over a fallen tree. "I would think you would be thanking him—"

  "They already don’t respect me. I don’t need them to think I can’t fight my own fights."

  "Well, don't get into fights
you can't win then," Vel said, looking over to her for a second before turning back to watch where he was running. "Isn't that was Sage was trying to say?"

  "Sage is a moron."

  "Are you really trying to tell me you'd rather get beat up than have somebody come help you?"

  "Comes with the territory."

  "Why would anyone want to be a pirate?" Vel asked, looking at the sky through the tree leaves. "All you do is get beat up. Or beat other people up."

  "It’s not all about that," Lyssa said, the euphoria from running starting to loosen her attitude. "It’s the thrill of the chase, finding someone who can’t be found. That other stuff—the physical stuff—is just secondary."

  "So why did you go after someone like Relleck?" Vel asked. "Even I knew he was always going to have those big guys with him, and I'm not even a bounty hunter!"

  "Because I thought he got lazy," Lyssa said, after a few moments.

  "Or you got cocky," Vel retorted. "And you wanted to get him back for taking your bounty last week."

  Lyssa snorted, but didn’t respond, breathing evenly as they continued to run side-by-side.

  "I knew you knew that alias, and he was trying to get you to bite."

  "How would he…" She did actually tell him that she knew that alias. Before the whole U-POL incident, when she saw him at the bounty office, and he'd pissed her off. She’d all but broadcast that she was onto him.

  "That’s your problem," Vel said, continuing in the absence of her retort. "You’re too easy to read."

  "I am not easy to read!" Lyssa barked back at him.

  Vel gave her a knowing look.

  "Whatever."

  "Look, I watch you go through these bank accounts," Vel said, looking forward again. "You’re incredible. I don’t know how you keep all those minute details straight in your head—who’s got what alias and how much they’re worth and what they last stole. And I definitely don’t know half of what goes on in that brain of yours."

  "So?" Lyssa snapped, uncomfortable with the praise.

  "So, you should play to that," Vel replied. "Go after the guys who come out of nowhere and can’t be found. Nobody else is going to spend four days pouring through a transaction history."

  "Instead of what, then?" Lyssa raised her eyebrow.

  "Instead of going after guys like Dal Jamus. Unless you want to hire an actual crew, like Sage."

  Lyssa frowned. "I don't like how close you two are getting. It's like you're ganging up on me or something."

  "Right, because your little brother and your closest friend are plotting to destroy you by saving your ass when you're an idiot."

  She didn't respond, but the smallest smile appeared in the corner of her mouth.

  ***

  The next morning, Lyssa awoke sore but refreshed. Vel was still sleeping on the floor, so she tiptoed to the light, then flipped it on without warning.

  "Time to get up, intern," she announced, loudly, leaving him moaning and blinking in the bright light of the bedroom. "We have a planet to excavate."

  "Uuugh. Why are you awake right now?"

  She returned to the bedroom with a box in her hand, her spare DSE equipment, and began pawing through the sensors and machines, throwing the useful ones to Vel.

  "Ow, what..." He picked up the sensor that had thudded next to him. "Great Creator in Leveman's Vortex, are you actually teaching me how to be a DSE?"

  "Not if you don't move your ass and get dressed."

  Vel didn't have to be told twice, grabbing a clean shirt and some pants and hurrying after her.

  They set out in the forest they had run in the evening before, the early morning sunlight streaming through the thick canopy above. Their feet crunched on the decaying leaves underfoot, and the occasional breeze rustled the tree leaves. Every so often, Lyssa would stop and break off a twig or a leaf and stuff it in one of the machines around her hip, looking at her mini-computer.

  "So…what are you doing?"

  "Excavating," Lyssa replied, walking to the next tree.

  "Ah," Vel said with a small nod. "How?"

  "I'm doing carbon analysis. Don't you know anything?"

  "Yeah, that normally involves taking samples of the leaves back to a laboratory and using a series of complex and time-consuming chemical experiments to determine the pH balance, the composition of plant cell walls, and testing for known toxins. And I don't think stuffing them into a machine is—"

  "The pH balance is 6.7, the cell wall is a polysaccharide-based, and it is safe to touch by…" Lyssa scrunched up her nose as she thought. "Ninety-two of all known life in the universe."

  "And how did you find that out?" Vel asked, folding his arms over his chest.

  "This." Lyssa unhooked the sensor from her belt and tossed it to him. "Carbon analyzer."

  "W-what?"

  "Carbon analyzer," Lyssa repeated, as if it wasn't a big deal. "Scans and analyzes the carbon material for chemical signatures."

  "Wait," Vel said, looking down at the machine and back at her. "So…a machine that basically does three hours’ worth of DSE analysis and documentation in—"

  "Five seconds," Lyssa said, showing him the screen on her mini-computer. "Cuts the excavation time from a week to two days. I also have a water analyzer, and one to test animal life, but I rarely use that one—"

  "Hold on a second," Vel said, still stuck on the carbon analyzer. "So you're telling me that you have a machine that can basically revolutionize the entire process of planet excavation—not to mention the entire science of Deep Space Exploration…"

  She looked at him, unimpressed.

  "Why haven't you sold these and made a billion credits yet?" Vel continued. "Forget being a pirate, forget being a DSE—if you sold these designs, you wouldn't have to work another day in your life!"

  "Not my design."

  "Well whose design was it?" Vel blinked. "And why didn't they… Wait a second, these are Father's?"

  "Well, he designed them. All his stuff went with him when he…left. Except his journals." She paused to pull off a leaf from an odd looking vine and handed it to him.

  "Journals?" Vel asked curiously, taking the leaf from her and sticking it in the analyzer.

  "Yeah." Lyssa continued to walk. "Mostly scribbles, but a few of them had the designs in them. They're all back at the Manor."

  "Why didn't he patent these?" Vel asked, his voice noticeably subdued.

  "Oh, he just built these so I could do his work for him. He thought it woefully beneath him to spend even a moment doing a planet excavation. But he needed to stay in the Academy to get access to the library for his research, so he had to bring in least three or four planets a quarter. He'd send me off with these things strapped around my waist for a few hours."

  "You?" Vel said, doing the math in his head. "But you couldn't have been more than—"

  "Four? Five?" Lyssa stared intently at a leaf she had just pulled.

  "That's terrible."

  "Sometimes he forgot about me," Lyssa said with a small laugh. "I remember once, I was wandering around for two days before I found him again. He didn't even realize I'd been gone. Barked at me for being so messy and tracking too much dirt onto the ship."

  "So he'd just let you wander around on planets while he did...what?"

  Lyssa was saved from answering him, as they'd come to the edge of the forest. Or rather, they came to the edge of a rather steep cliff. The valley was covered in lush trees for as far as the eye could see, cut in two by a deep blue river that flowed all the way to the horizon.

  She looked down at the valley below, and felt her heartbeat in her chest. In her mind's eye, she saw the ground crumbling beneath her feet, a river of fire—and she could almost smell sulfur…

  Instinctively, she reached out to the nearest tree.

  "I don't think we brought rappelling equipment, did we?" Vel asked, peering calmly over the edge. "There's a river down there...don't see the source of the water though. We should probably test it to see
if it's potable."

  "I'm okay up here," Lyssa whispered, her arms tightening around the tree.

  "I think it would be—" Vel blinked when he saw her. "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," she lied.

  "Are you...are you scared of heights?" Vel asked, a small smile appearing on his face.

  "Don't be ridiculous."

  "You sure look scared of something," Vel said, standing and grinning. "That or you really like that tree."

  She had to admit that she was, in fact, holding onto the tree for dear life. She forced herself to let go and try to look unfazed.

  It obviously didn't work, as Vel began laughing at her, gleefully.

  "I can't believe it." Vel shook his head. "The great and powerful Dr. Lyssandra Peate—Razia—is afraid of heights."

  "I am not afraid of heights."

  "Prove it," Vel said, clearly enjoying this way too much. "Come over here and look over this ledge."

  "Fine," she said, not moving.

  "Well?"

  "I'm coming." She took two small steps toward the ledge.

  "Come on!" Vel teased. "Don't make me-make you!"

  He lunged at her, and she let out the most uncharacteristically girlish squeal of terror, running back toward the thick forest, as fast as her legs could carry her.

  Clinging to a tree, she heard Vel's amused laughter and it enraged her. "That's not funny!"

  "Not afraid of heights, hm?"

  "I'm not," she insisted, hugging the tree tighter. "I don't like falling."

  "I just can't get over this," Vel said. "You, of all people, afraid of—"

  Then, the ground shook slightly.

  "Really?"

  "I didn't do that," Vel swallowed, looking at her with wide eyes.

  The ground shook again, this time with more intensity.

  "Har har," she mumbled, still holding onto the tree. "You got me, I'm af—"

  The ground shook again, so violently that Vel fell to his knees.

  "Earthquake?" Vel asked, looking up at her.

  Before she could answer, another violent tremor shook the ground and a crack appeared—right between them.

  They looked at each other for a moment, unsure what to do next.

  Without warning, the world shook again, and the crack turned into a gap.