Though the streets of the mining town on Pteraxis were empty, Keryn could feel the prying eyes of people watching her from the shuttered windows and store fronts as she and Adam entered the town. It was unnerving to feel so exposed. On the periphery of her senses, she could almost make out the inane gossip of their presence in town being spread from building to building. Their chatter was like that of mice, burrowing through a wall; scratching just beyond the realm of hearing.
“Where is everyone?” she muttered, as much to herself as to the Pilgrim who walked at her side.
Adam ran a sleeve across his brow, wiping away the dripping sweat. Even in the dry air, the warm breeze leeched the moisture out of his skin. Keryn suffered much the same, a sheen of sweat glistening across her tan skin and matting her silver hair, though she suffered in silence.
“If they were smart,” Adam replied, “they’d be hiding inside, out of this heat. I’ve been outside for less than half an hour and I’m already sweating like a fat kid.”
Keryn smiled, despite the situation. “Maybe we should follow their example. Do you see any buildings that look open for business?”
Adam shook his head. Since they’d entered the town, they’d passed a number of signs advertising general stores and different forms of entertainment, yet no signs hung claiming that the stores were open. The doors on the fronts of the stores were closed tightly, as were the shutters. Though Keryn preferred to believe that they were closed due to the heat, that the residents of the town took a form of rest during the warmest parts of the day, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were just as much closed because of their presence. They had passed so many guards near the ships who stood openly in the heat to believe that everyone on Pteraxis took a break as soon as the sun began to set and crested over the protective shading of the plateau.
Involuntarily, Keryn’s hand drifted under her coat to the pistol concealed beneath. Her nerves were on edge, both from the long flight and now from the suspicious reception on the planet. Like entering a den of predators, she felt like a prey set on the wrong path by the High Council.
“I want to get off the street,” she said, her voice pleading as much as it was ordering. Luckily, Adam seemed eager to agree.
“There’s got to be something open around here.” He pointed to the nearest storefront. A faded wooden sign hung above the door, shaded by the awning that overlooked the street from the second floor. Though worn from wind and sand, the hand painted sign still clearly read Yuchurio’s Imports. Watching the street as they walked, both turned sharply and headed toward the store.
Stepping onto the porch, Keryn kicked her boots against the wooden support beams, knocking off some of the clinging dust in a thick cloud. She could taste the dust from the back of her throat entering her nostrils, as though she were trying to breathe through a thin film of mud. Though she wanted to choke and spit the taste from the back of her throat, she refrained.
Adam raised his large hand and pounded loudly on the door. “Hello?” he called as he knocked again. “Is there anyone home?”
To their surprise, the door creaked open. The glint of metal chain told Keryn that the door wouldn’t open much wider, it being held closed by a chain lock. From within the gloom, silhouetted by a much dimmer light pouring out of the building as compared to the bright red sun, a wind-worn face peered out.
“What can I do for you strangers?” a low voice asked the pair.
“We were wondering if you were open for business,” Keryn said, her response not entirely a lie.
“No, I’m not,” the Uligart store owner replied, his head moving back and forth as he took in the sight of the unusual pair. “We’re closed down early today for… extenuating circumstances. Nor are you likely to find another store open around here.”
Keryn frowned, the Uligart’s words confirming her suspicions. The townsfolk, whether they knew Cardax or not, knew trouble was inevitable when they spotted Keryn and her team. As was often the case, the town went into hiding, hoping just to survive the pending storm.
“Listen,” Adam interjected. “We’re not here to cause trouble. All we want is to get out of this sun and ask you a few questions.”
“You just want to ask a few questions?” the store owner asked suspiciously. “I’ve heard those words spoken before, every time a lawman comes to Pteraxis. Neither of you look much like the law, but you hardly look like merchants either.”
“We’re not the law, I promise,” Keryn said. “Please, we just want to come inside for a second. We have money to make it worth your while.”
The Uligart paused before nodding. “Show me.”
Adam fumbled under his coat for the bills that they had been given before departing. The store owner hissed slightly as the red sun glinted off the metal barrel of Adam’s rifle, which was exposed as he moved aside his long jacket.
“We’re not here to cause you trouble,” Adam reiterated, holding up a wad of money for the Uligart to see. “We just want some information.”
Hesitating a moment longer, the store owner closed the door. From behind the thick wood, Keryn could hear a chain being moved aside. As quickly as it had closed, the Uligart opened the door once more and invited them both in. As Adam stepped into the blessedly cool interior of the store, Keryn keyed the throat microphone.
“Talon One, this is Talon Six.”
“This is Talon One,” Rombard called back, his thick voice rumbling even more in her earpiece than what it does in person. “Go ahead.”
“We’re heading inside a store to get some information. Keep your eyes peeled for Cardax but be careful. I think he already knows we’re here.”
“Roger that.”
Taking one last glance up and down the main road, Keryn stepped into the darkness and let the Uligart close the door behind her.
As far as Rombard was concerned, Keryn’s words were unnecessary. He and Keeling had felt the same unease that she and Adam experience as they walked down the parallel road. The Oterian could see his Uligart partner fidgeting, his eyes darting from side to side. Though Rombard’s weapon was clearly visible, he was sure that Keeling would be the first to draw his pistols and fire should they run into trouble.
“Settle down, Keeling,” Rombard grumbled, looking down on the significantly shorter man. “You’re making me uneasy.”
“I don’t think it’s me,” Keeling quickly answered. “It’s this damn town. It’s this damn heat. It’s… well, it’s something I can’t quite figure out.”
Rombard nodded. His thick fur was soaked with sweat from the heat and each breath huffed loudly through his flared nostrils.
“It’s like the town is alive,” the Uligart continued. “The whole place is one living, breathing organism. And we’re its prey, being led right into the its maw before large teeth rise up from the sand and rock to close in around us.”
“I don’t think I’m going to let you read any more mission reports from the edges of known space,” Rombard joked. “They’re piquing your imagination a little too much.”
Keeling stopped walking and turned to the Oterian, though he only came up to Rombard’s muscular chest. “Laugh all you want to, but you feel it too. I know you do.”
Rombard nodded. “I do. There is something wrong here.”
Reaching under the thick fur of his neck, Rombard activated his microphone. “Talon Three, this is Talon One.”
Cerise responded almost immediately, though her voice carried a musical discord of impatience. “Go ahead.”
“Do you see anything from up there?”
Cerise peered over the lip of the wooden scaffolding on which she was lying. From her vantage point, she could look down on most of the town and, if need be, fly to either team’s aid. She had been watching the town since both groups entered, but had yet to see any movement on the streets or roofs.
“Negative,” she answered. “All is quiet.”
“And that doesn’t strike you as strange?” Rombard responded.
&
nbsp; “No stranger than any of you.”
“Keep your eyes open,” the Oterian said. “Let me know the second you see something.”
Frustrated, both with the situation and the Avalon, Rombard turned off his microphone. He turned to speak with Keeling, but saw the Uligart standing in a guarded stance. Following his gaze, Rombard looked into one of the heavily shadowed alleys that separated the dirty clay buildings. He saw nothing moving.
“What is it?”
Keeling shook his head slightly, his eyes never leaving the alley. “I saw something in the alley. Something big.”
Rombard strained again to see anything in the alleyway. “I don’t see…”
He was interrupted by a loud crack, like wood splintering or a box being torn open. The sound, he was certain, came from the alley.
The pair looked at one another.
“Shall we check it out?” Keeling asked, nervously.
Rombard nodded. “Let’s go.”
The store was blissfully cool, but it took some time for Keryn’s eyes to fully adjust to the dimmer light. Blue lights danced in her eyes; artifacts from too much time outside under the imposing, setting sun. As her vision cleared, she took a look around the cluttered store. A multitude of items sat on shelves and on tables placed chaotically around the room. Many items she recognized, having seen similar craftsmanship in the stores in Farimas Space Station. Other items were foreign to her. Her fingers slid across a number of items as she walked around the room, her eyes moving to take in all the oddities within the store.
“We’re a border planet,” the store owner explained as Keryn looked at a strange electronic scanner. “We get traders in from both the Alliance side and the Empire side. You’re looking at some of the very best in Terran biological research equipment.”
Keryn dropped the scanner as though it had suddenly become hot, or that it suddenly carried an unseen contagion. She could hear the Uligart hiss in displeasure behind her as the object clattered loudly onto the wooden table.
“You said you came for information only,” the store owner said impatiently. “So how about you leave my wares alone and ask your questions. I’d like to get this done quickly so that you can leave me in peace.”
Though her back was too him, Keryn still frowned in displeasure. Something had the Uligart on edge. Whatever it was, she intended to get the information from the store owner, one way or another. Luckily for her, Adam’s cooler head continued to intercede before she had the opportunity to play the damning inquisitor.
“Have you seen anyone unusual here in town?” Adam asked, leaning heavily on the wooden table behind which the Uligart stood.
“Everyone here in town is unusual,” the store owner answered, while avoiding the question at hand.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Adam said, his voice taking on a threatening edge.
“Then perhaps you should have started by asking the question you actually wanted answered,” the store owner taunted.
Keryn snarled as she turned, drawing her pistol in one smooth motion. Pulling back the hammer on the pistol, she pointed it directly at the Uligart’s face. “I don’t have time for your games. We’re here looking for an Oterian named Cardax. Do you know where he is or don’t you?”
The Uligart’s posture never changed; he still stood defiantly with his arms crossing his chest and an eyebrow raised in defiance. “First of all, girl, let me tell you that this is not the first time I’ve had a pistol pointed at my face, nor will it be the last. Do us all a favor and put that toy away.” His cold eyes stared straight through her as he spoke. In the silence that ensued, Keryn realized that the Uligart had been serious. Realizing the pistol had little effect, she holstered her pistol under her jacket.
“Secondly,” the store owner continued as soon as the pistol was away, “let me offer you a word of warning. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You go around town, waving your guns like you have some authority here. But you don’t. No one has authority in this town except for the miners and the people that work here. And we take care of our own. This Cardax you’re looking for, he comes here often. He brings good money into town. If you go around thinking you can strong arm him into coming with you, you’re going to be sadly, sadly mistaken. Do us all a favor and turn around. Take your friends, get back on your ship, and fly home. Leave Pteraxis and never think of it again.”
“Sorry,” Keryn snarled, “but I don’t take advice from cowards who hide behind closed doors every time a stranger walks into town. If Cardax is here, we’re going to find him, and the Gods can damn any man who stands in our way.”
As they stared at one another, Keryn’s transmitter in her ear crackled to life. “Talon Six, this is Talon One. We’ve spotted the target. He’s moving through an alleyway, heading your direction.”
Keryn keyed her microphone. “Talon Three, can you confirm?”
“Roger,” Cerise replied. “Talon One is in pursuit.”
“Any other movement?” Keryn asked, her eyes never leaving the Uligart.
“Negative, it is still a ghost town.”
“Roger that. Talon One, stay in pursuit. We’ll corner the target in the middle of the street, where he has the least chance of running.”
Keryn turned off her microphone and sneered at the Uligart. “I guess we won’t need your services after all. And you can take all your advice and shove it!”
Turning away, Keryn opened the front door to the store and she and Adam stepped out into the glaring Pteraxis sun.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The Cair Thewlis fell through the sky like a comet, hurtling toward Earth’s surface. Their escape from the Terran defensive fleet had bought them enough time to enter the atmosphere over one of the planet’s many oceans.
Yen careened his head in an attempt to look at the world below as Pelasi angled the ship in a steep dive, but the world below was obscured. The innocuous clouds that Yen had seen from orbit had turned dark before his eyes. They boiled with an inner anger, punctuated by sharp flashes of lightning arcing from one swollen cloud to another. Thunder crashed loudly, jarring the ship as they grew closer to the storm clouds. Yen frowned at the sight. Earth was gone, replaced by a swirling mass of black clouds which roared out in challenge, daring the Cair Thewlis to pass into their bellies. The landing on Earth would be difficult with nature herself seeming to rise up in protest to the Alliance invasion.
Their ship seemed infinitesimally small as it was swallowed by the storm. Slipping beneath the clouds’ surface, Yen could hear the gentle patter of rain start almost immediately, though it was hard to see anything beyond the windows of the ship. Droplets of water pelted the window before rolling toward the rear of the descending transport. The deeper they flew toward the heart of Earth, the denser the rain became until it was pouring in sheets that coated the front viewports.
Yen tried to block out the storm brewing outside the ship and, instead, focused on the storm brewing within him. The storm clouds were indicative of their entire mission. Innocent mechanisms, like the warp technology, became deathtraps when placed in the hands of the Alliance. Yen had lost so much during the conflicts, beginning with his time in covert operations and continuing as he took his position aboard the Revolution. It seemed that every fiber of the universe itself rallied against him and now that he had finally reached Earth, even the planet itself staged a violent protest. Sneering at the dark clouds around him, Yen knew that the planet would have to rupture and vaporize him where he sat before he would stop. He had the opportunity to lead the Alliance to the greatest victory ever recorded. More importantly, Yen was quickly becoming the figurehead who would be ushering in a new era of peace. Soon, Yen would be king among the Alliance. No, he corrected himself, he would be a God!
A brilliant flash of lightning wrenched Yen from his musings. He blinked away the spots of light that danced in his vision. The lightning strike had passed dangerously close to the ship and Yen was suddenly reminded of h
ow much the Cair Thewlis was acting like a giant lightning rod, passing through the heart of a storm.
“Is that lightning going to be a problem?” Yen asked as he turned toward Warrant Pelasi.
The Uligart looked strained. His eyes darted back and forth between the controls and the radar, since Pelasi was flying completely on sensors as they passed through the blinding storm. “Gods, I hope not,” he whispered.
“Anything I can do?”
Pelasi shook his head. “Not unless you can part the clouds and give me a tunnel to fly through. We’re pretty much running blind right now. I’ve got some sensor telemetry, but the ionized air is bouncing back a lot of false signals. I can’t tell if we’re one mile or a hundred above the surface. I’m just hoping I can figure it out before we hit the water.”
Yen shivered at the thought of crashing into one of Earth’s oceans. As much as he felt helpless, Pelasi had touched on something that Yen might just be able to help with. Shrugging, Yen turned to his Uligart pilot. “I can’t help with the sensors, but I might be able to do something about the weather.”
Closing his eyes, Yen began to concentrate. The air around him shimmered, causing the walls of the cockpit to appear as though they were malleable; the walls danced in the flickering mirage. Blue light emanated from his body and suffused the dancing waves of psychic energy. Ahead of the Cair Thewlis, the dark clouds ignited in blue flame, the wisps of the clouds burning away like fuses leading to a powder keg. The entire storm cloud began to unravel faster and faster until, through the darkness, they could see the dark, rolling ocean below.
Dropping below the bottom ceiling of the clouds, the Cair Thewlis was engulfed in a torrential downpour. Sheets of heavy rain washed over the ship as it began leveling out just above the churning ocean waves. Swollen by the sudden storm, the ocean swells grazed the bottom of the transport as it flew above the frothing waters. White crests sprayed the hull before dissolving into steam on the surface of the ship still heated from its entry through the atmosphere.
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