by Jeff Walsh
Marcus flinched and stepped back.
“It's fine,” Alvin said. “He's Vestrussian. No one pays them any mind. Just push past him and give him no attention. They only respond to wild, outlandish reactions. Ignore him and he'll leave you alone.”
“Are you sure I can handle this?” Marcus said.
“I believe in you good buddy,” Alvin said.
Marcus calmed himself and stepped around the man and through the doorway. The man darted around him for a moment but never touched him. After it was clear Marcus wouldn't react he threw his hands wildly into the air and fell to the floor. He pushed himself up against the wall and curled up.
The handful of aliens who were in this section paid the man no attention.
Marcus looked around for a moment as he attempted to acclimate himself to his surroundings. Everyone who was bustling around the walkways were wildly different from each other. There were people he would've sworn were wearing masks and makeup like they'd just come from the set of a space movie. Others barely looked indistinguishable from humans. At one point a raccoon in a jumpsuit passed by, he was speaking to something resembling a living tree. Three large slug-like creatures slithered along. A lady with bright green hair and dull pink skin glanced at Marcus as she passed.
“Proceed to your left for about a hundred feet, then take the first right,” Alvin said. “The shop we're looking for resides within the center section. Just follow the signs leading to section TR-04. Don't speak to me, even in space people who talk to themselves are weird.”
Marcus laughed for a moment. He and the lady made eye contact as Marcus laughed, and the face she made caused him to look to the ground due to embarrassment.
Marcus stepped to his left and briskly walked the corridor. He made the first right he came to but froze for a second. Within this section were hundreds of different species. Some were wearing armor, carrying weapons, others wore elaborate clothing. All along the dull gray walls were carts and makeshift booths with various aliens yelling out what they were selling, or services they offered.
A tall, lanky, bird-like man skittered over to Marcus as he turned the corner. Marcus looked to the man, and swore he was an ostrich.
“Id, id, jystil ophen krun werenet,” Marcus heard. He paused for a moment. The reality of space suddenly came crashing down. He was hearing an alien language and had no idea what to do. He started to say something, but clamped his mouth shut, taking Alvin's advice of not talking very seriously suddenly.
“The man is offering to refuel your vessel at a discounted rate,” Alvin said. “Gesture like you want him to stop talking, shake your head no, and keep moving. At the end of this walkway you'll see signs posted leading you to our destination.”
Marcus followed Alvin's instructions and the bird man snapped forward, turned, and skittered off. Marcus pulled his hoodie over his head and strode forward.
All along the walkway were people, each wildly different from the next, but none of which resembled anything like a human; some paid him no attention while others approached. Each time Marcus just ignored them. Stealing a glance here and there Marcus saw rare gem stones, glittering coins, jewelry, devices, armor, clothing, everything and anything was being sold or traded.
Just as Alvin said, a sign with an arrow pointing the way read, “Section TR.”
He exited the area and followed the signs. As he made his way through the interior far fewer people approached him. Everyone was either focused on their own business or conversing with each other privately. Some were sitting around eating at restaurants. Others were relaxing at cafes, which were serving all kinds of different and interesting drinks. Marcus was pretty sure he passed a bar, from which came the sounds of yelling and cheering. He came across a rather large establishment that had flashing neon lights, which were quite mesmerizing. He heard laughs and sounds of glee coming from within. He paused for a second; the signage was written in a language he couldn't read, but its colorful display of light drew his attention.
“It's what you'd call a casino,” Alvin said. “There's four aboard the Qynn-9. I don't suggest we stop and play, although you may do quite well in the battle arena.”
Marcus held back a chuckle and brought his hand up to his mouth. He coughed and said, “Was that a joke?”
“Just trying to lighten the mood good sir,” Alvin said.
Marcus smiled.
After about ten minutes of walking Marcus stepped into the section marked TR-04.
“The store we're looking for is about halfway down,” Alvin said.
Marcus turned and casually walked around; there were even fewer people in this section, only dozens as compared to the hundreds prior. Marcus allowed himself to peer into window displays and through doorways, taking in the marvel of all that was for sale. Everything on display was a piece of machinery or technology. One establishment had large standing metal containers with multiple attached touchscreens. In another were ready made terminals, a few of which looked similar to the pod's command console. Another shop had two separate window displays. In one it displayed small wrist units with dials and buttons, and in the other were hand held machines with lights and displays. The entire section was a technophile's dream, Marcus thought to himself.
“Just up ahead,” Alvin said. “Third doorway on your left.”
Marcus covered his mouth again, this time pretending to yawn. “How are you able to see?”
“I'm performing a ping to track you using the ear piece,” Alvin said. “Every store has a freenet broadcast of their current supply and prices, as well as their location.”
Marcus raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed, and walked toward the store.
Just before he entered the shop, a reptilian looking gentleman stepped from a darkened corner. Marcus watched as the creature's scales shimmered. He wore a brown coat with no sleeves. It had a hood pulled up and over his head. A dark cloth covered the man's lower section, held in place by metal cable.
“Kalla amal juisnit fi sen drama shnna,” the man said. He pointed back toward where Marcus had just come. He reached out and grabbed Marcus' hand and tapped his palm.
“I'm sorry sir,” Alvin said. “I wasn't able to load this language into the program.”
Marcus pulled his hand away and the reptile man peered at him. Marcus reached to push open the door to the shop and the reptilian man stepped in front of him.
“Jaba shen corsan jet,” the man said. He tapped Marcus on the chest with his finger.
“Look,” Marcus said. “I don't know what you're--”
“Run.” Alvin said.
Chapter 14
Anthony curled in tight as he ducked down in the corner. He'd barely reacted in time after hearing Taam scream for him to get down. A moment later blasts of energy blew a hole in the wall just behind him. Shards of debris struck him across his back and side. Anthony forced himself to steal a glance back. Taam and Bartl were standing in some sort of walkway behind the wall. The two soldiers posted in Anthony's room had been knocked off their feet by the blast. They recovered quickly and took positions to return fire.
Anthony scurried along the floor, attempting to find a safe place to take cover.
Taam and Bartl ducked in and out from behind the wall, taking shots when they could.
“Grab him,” Taam called out.
Bartl stepped through the hole and took hold of Anthony's arm before he could get too far.
One of the soldiers saw his opportunity and took aim.
Taam ripped off three shots before the soldier had a chance to fire. Blasts of electrical energy slammed into the soldier. As the energy dissipated little electrical arcs crackled along the floor and up the wall. The second soldier remained uninjured as he manged to duck out of the way behind a large piece a furniture.
“C'mon,” Bartl said to Anthony.
Anthony turned to look, then jumped to his feet.
“Send all available units to S7-A,” the soldier yelled into his comm. “The Heezarians are
here. They've taken control of one of the assets.”
“Assets?” Anthony spun and paused for a moment.
Bartl pushed him forward through the hole in the wall.
“Who's he calling an asset?” Anthony demanded.
“You're nothing more than property to these people,” Taam answered. “You're only alive in case they need a backup.”
“A backup, to who, Genny?” Anthony asked.
The three sped down the maintenance walkway for a short time. Bartl stopped, turned, and raised his pistol toward the ceiling. He pulled the trigger and held it. The pistol began to hum as energy built up within. He released the trigger and pulse of dark-matter energy ripped through the deck above. Debris and metal structures collapsed down, caving in and covering most of the walkway.
“There,” Bartl said. “They'll have to make their own hole if they want to follow us now. I never understood why the living sections of these ships don't have energy displacers installed. Maybe its the weird hum you can hear when it's quiet.”
He turned and motioned for Anthony to follow Taam. After a few moments Anthony stopped. He turned to Bartl and asked, “Where is Genny? Why isn't she here with you?”
Taam stopped and turned. “We believe she's still with Halen,” he said.
“Sir Halen,” Anthony responded sarcastically.
Bartl chuckled.
“I scouted around the ship,” Taam said. “Halen was giving her a tour.”
“This is bad,” Anthony said.
“What happened after they drug me out of there?” Bartl asked.
“Halen offered us anything we wanted. He basically offered us Earth if we'd just cooperate,” he answered. “I declined because his offer was transparent, but Genny....she didn't care. She's worried. Not for herself, Genny's tough, and Halen didn't intimidate her one bit. But Marcus, well...” Anthony paused a second. “Wait, if you're here,” he said to Taam. “Where's Marcus?”
“He's fine,” Taam said. “I sent him with Alvin.”
“Alvin?” Anthony blurted out. “Didn't he like power down, or get some virus thing?”
“He did,” Taam said. “He's fine now. He flash jumped me onto the back of your pod as you boarded the Imperium. Alvin and Marcus took the other pod and escaped to a safe place. The plan is that we all meet-up again real soon. But for now, trust me, he's fine.”
Anthony shook his head in disbelief, but resolved himself to not argue. “If you say so,” he said. “But Genny isn't so confident. As far as she knows, you and Marcus took off to who knows where.”
“I told her Taam would come for us,” Bartl said.
“Yeah,” Anthony said. “And Marcus is, or was, with him. Marcus is smart, like smarter than anyone I know, but he's not a fighter. The minute you told us Taam was coming, I know Genny, all she thought about from that moment on was protecting Marcus.”
Taam looked to Bartl, who in return shrugged.
“You know it's really annoying when you two do that,” Anthony said.
“We've no real way to track Genny at the moment,” Taam said. “The thing keeping us from being located on this ship is also keeping Genny's location from us.”
“I'm guessing you can put a stop to it,” Anthony said.
“The moment I do every drone and guard on this ship will be all over us.”
Anthony paused for a moment. He looked to Taam and then to Bartl. “You want to leave her,” he said.
“If we have both you and Marcus, Genny's safe here,” Bartl said.
“No way!” Anthony screamed. “You brought us out here.” He stepped toward Taam aggressively. “We're only here in this mess because of you two.” He spun back toward Bartl. “Now we just leave her with these people?”
“We can't get to her,” Taam said. “If she made a deal with Halen, he'll have her locked down. That's probably why so few guards are even chasing us. He has one of you, and one is all he needs.”
“Halen's smart,” Bartl said. “He knows that we can't locate Genny while we're jamming their scanners.”
“Heck, that's probably why he walked around with her for as long as he did,” Taam said. “He knew Bartl broke free from the soldiers. He was probably taking every precaution he could in case Bartl tried to follow after them.”
“The only option we have at this point is to make our way back to the Platnium in the docking bay,” Bartl said. “We get out of here, grab Marcus and Alvin, and figure out how to rescue Genny before Prime Command reaches Volja.”
“I can't believe you want to leave her,” Anthony said.
Taam started coughing violently. He steadied himself and spat out more black blood.
“It's not that want to leave her,” Taam said. “But you said it, she's focused on Marcus. What if we get to her and she refuses to come with us. She's smart. If she sees me, she'll know Marcus is out there alone.”
“Is black blood normal?” Anthony asked coldly. “You don't look so good in fact.”
“I'll be fine,” Taam responded.
“He'll be fine if we can get back to the Platnium soon enough,” Bartl said. “It's one of the reasons why we need to get going. You know Genny best,” Bartl paused. “If we go back and risk it for her, will she come?”
“I know the look I saw in her eyes,” Anthony said. He sighed for a moment. “She doesn't trust these people, but she believes working with them will, at the very least, keep Marcus safe. If she sees you, she'll think you abandoned Marcus.”
“Well--” Bartl said.
He was interrupted by a series of energy blasts colliding into the debris behind them.
“Drones!” Taam blurted out.
҉
“Okay Alvin,” Marcus said.
He was out of breath. He'd sped back to the main promenade in an attempt to lose the reptilian. After pushing his way through the large crowd he ducked down, pushed himself toward the wall, and knelt down next to a cart selling what looked like leather bags and pouches.
“I don't see him,” he said. “Can you tell me why I'm hiding now?”
“I'm sorry good sir,” Alvin said. “I believe he was attempting to negotiate for your hands.”
“What,” Marcus said. “My hands? How'd you know he was interested in my hands?”
“Due to the fact that I was unable to translate,” Alvin responded. “I decided to risk a short-range hack of the shop's security system. I was able to view the situation from within the shop using their cameras.”
Marcus swallowed hard. The whimsy of the station had whisked his fear away for a short while. It had returned with a fury. Everywhere he looked danger appeared to loom. Everything and everyone appeared menacing.
“Okay,” Marcus said. “I think I need to come back to the pod. I can't tell if I'm still being followed. How can I even know if some group hasn't spotted me and is about to snatch me up?”
“I believe all is well good sir,” Alvin said. “I've done a sweep of the other shops here on the station. I located a bio-mech merchant and I believe the creature you were dealing with was attempting to sell you some new hands.”
“Are you listening to me Alvin?” Marcus blurted out. “I'm not interested in getting new hands,” Marcus said. “I think we need to abort our current course.”
“I don't believe that to be in your best interest,” Alvin replied. “Without knowing when we'll be able to meet up with the others, I'm afraid this is best course, even with the risks. Also, with my limited capabilities at the moment, I was discovered within the stations security. I won't be able to help you in that way again.”
Marcus stayed put for a few more moments. He peered around looking for any sign of danger.
“Alvin,” Marcus said. “I'm freaking out here. Everyone looks like there staring at me.”
“Mir es tu bein commod?” Said a yellow, furry creature.
Marcus jumped and reeled back.
“It's okay sir,” Alvin said. “He's asking if you're speaking to him. Remember, talking to yourself
, even in space, is weird. That's why people are looking at you.”
Marcus attempted a smile and shook his head “no” to the creature. He stood and took a breath. He looked around once more and began to move through the crowd.
He covered his mouth and faked a cough, “I'm heading back to the shop. Let's get this over with.”
“I'm sure the reptalian gentleman is gone,” Alvin said. “But just in case, keep your head on a swivel.”
Marcus nodded, then chuckled.
“Everything okay?” Alvin asked.
“I just realized I'm nodding to an earpiece,” Marcus replied under his breath.
He made his way to the end of the main corridor and followed the signs once more. He turned back toward the shop selling the translator and walked his prior course. As he approached the shop he peered into the dark corner where he'd encountered the reptilian. Nothing shimmered. Nothing moved. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Looks all clear,” he said to Alvin.
“Once inside I'll need you to give me a key word indicating you're interacting with the shop keeper,” Alvin said.
Marcus approached the door and said, “Kneesie.”
“Kneesie?” Alvin said.
Marcus paused at the door and said, “It's a nickname I used to call Genny.”
“Used to?” Alvin asked.
“Long story,” Marcus responded. “It was before I did something stupid.”
Marcus pushed the door open, stepped inside, and looked around.
There were three different people inside and none of which payed any attention to Marcus. They were handling business of their own and someone entering the shop wasn't odd enough to garner attention.
A short blue fellow with long pointed ears and a rather fat nose stepped through a doorway and walked behind the counter.
“Gi, gi, em sooin gablesin dren tri,” the man said.
“Kneesie,” Marcus said as he approached the gentleman.
“Kneesie?” The man said, his tone puzzled.
Marcus gave a dismissive wave.
“He can understand you,” Alvin said. “His translator is functional. Simply tell him you need a new trans-comm. Say yours is on the fritz.”
