Nebula Risen

by Jake Bible

  “She? She who?” Ple asked.

  “No,” Roak said. “We go to the House of Teeth and see if we’re too late. Or if she’s sitting there waiting for me to show.”

  “You can’t just answer no!” Ple snapped. “Tell us who she is.”

  “No!” Roak snapped back. “Not until I know for sure she’s behind this. Hessa? Where is the House of Teeth?”

  “I have six possible locations within the system,” Hessa said. “Two I am certain would be ideal for a facility on the scale needed.”

  “You are not being rational,” Ple said. “Roak. This woman. Who is she?”

  “Drop it,” Roak said. “If you want any chance of living through this, then drop it. The less you know, the better. You could come out of this without being marked by her.”

  “Now I have to know,” Ple said. “What woman could possibly have you this scared?”

  “Not scared,” Roak said. “Experienced. I know what she’s capable of. You don’t. Drop. It.”

  Ple visibly struggled with not arguing then crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine. But you will reveal her identity before we part ways.”

  “Maybe,” Roak said and pointed at the view shield. “Bring up the possibilities, Hessa.”

  The image of the system swiveled and zoomed in, showing two distinctly different asteroid formations highlighted by red circles.

  “Which one would you put your chits on?” Roak asked.

  “If I had chits, I would place them on this location first,” Hessa said and the location on the left became more distinct. “Definite power signal.”

  “Could be a distraction,” Ple said.

  “Could be,” Roak agreed. “And the second location?”

  “It is a strange one,” Hessa said. “No power signal. But the size of the asteroid cluster would be more conducive to large-scale scientific projects.”

  “But you like the first one more?” Roak asked.

  “I do,” Hessa said. “The power signal.”

  “But not as large of a cluster?”

  “No. But close,” Hessa said.

  “How did you find this info out?” Ple asked. “The stars in this system should render most scans pointless.”

  “This is true,” Hessa said. “So I sent a signal burst out as soon as we left the wormhole portal. Think of it as echolocation. The readings I received are very basic, but basic was all I needed to complete my work.”

  “She’s efficient,” Roak said. “So we head to the first one?”

  “Yes,” Hessa said. “That is my recommendation.”

  “You have anything else you want to say?” Roak asked Ple. “Your ass is toast too if we go to the wrong asteroid cluster first.”

  “I have no more information that would be of use,” Ple said. “Not now. However, if we live, then I may have some insight into who is pursuing us. Or, at least, who is bankrolling it. But I’ll save that for later. Cannot play all my cards now despite your yo-yo attitude about whether you should kill me or not.”

  Roak grunted. “Whatever, Ple. Let’s get this over with. Hessa?”

  “Engines are powered up and we are moving to the first location,” Hessa said. “I have started the countdown.”

  “Countdown?” Roak asked.

  “Before we must leave the system or the ship will actually become derelict,” Hessa said. “The pulses from the unstable stars? That fact has not changed.”

  “Right. That,” Roak said. “Let’s avoid that.”

  23.

  “No way to dock,” Roak said. “But there is certainly something in this asteroid cluster. We’ll need to suit up.”

  “I’m not suiting up,” Ple said. “I do not do suiting up.”

  Roak frowned. “Then you’re gonna die pretty damn fast on the way from the airlock to the asteroids.”

  “I am telling you that I am not leaving this ship in a suit,” Ple said. “I do not suit up.”

  “Yeah, you keep saying that,” Roak replied. “But I’m going to keep ignoring you. You’re suiting up and coming with.”

  “Roak, I was wrong,” Hessa said. “This cannot be the facility.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right,” Roak said. “But my gut is telling me we want to go have a look.”

  “Why?” Ple exclaimed.

  “I don’t know,” Roak said. “Instinct? It’s something I’ve learned to trust. Suit. Up.”

  “This is insane,” Ple said as Roak walked away.

  “Probably,” Roak replied.

  They took the lift down to the main airlock and suited up in the antechamber. Roak triple-checked Ple’s work and was glad he had since the Spilfleck obviously was no good at securing seals for space walks.

  “Now you won’t die,” Roak said.

  “Wonderful,” Ple replied.

  They entered the airlock, and Roak sealed the inner door before initiating the mandatory countdown to open the outer door. The air whooshed out of the airlock then all was silent and still.

  Roak pointed at the cluster of asteroids only a few meters away then launched himself from the airlock and out into open space.

  “Roak,” Ple called over the comm. “Why are we wasting time on this cluster if neither you nor Hessa believe it to be the House of Teeth?”

  “I want to check something,” Roak said.

  “Which is?”

  “If there’s a message for me,” Roak said.

  “A message for you?” Ple asked. “Why in Eight Million Gods’ names would there be a message for you here?”

  “Because that is how she works,” Roak said.

  “Who?” Ple snapped.

  Roak initiated small thrusters in his suit and spun his legs towards the asteroid. He hit boots first, the soles gripping the rough surface. Looking back, he saw Ple still in the airlock.

  “Not coming until you tell me who she is,” Ple said.

  “I can have Hessa eject you,” Roak said.

  “Why do you want me with you at all?” Ple asked. “If the message is for you, then there’s no need for me.”

  “I have my reasons,” Roak said.

  “Which you won’t tell me,” Ple said.

  “No,” Roak replied.

  “How did I end up here?” Ple said to himself as he shoved away from the ship. “I’m the one that puts the pressure on people. I’m the one that gives orders and ultimatums. Shava Stemn Shava sent me with you to steer you towards the goal. Now I barely know what the goal is.”

  “That’s one reason I want you here,” Roak said. “You’re about to find out.”

  Ple landed next to Roak, but his boots did not grip immediately and he started to bounce off. Roak grabbed his arm then clipped a cable to their belts to keep them connected.

  “Follow me,” Roak said.

  Roak hiked them up and over the side surface until they were upright again. Not that upright meant much in space, but their bodies were oriented to the position of the ship which gave the illusion of being upright. They hiked for a long while before they reached a hatch that was semi-hidden as a small crater.

  “Here we go,” Roak said as he began to search the edge of the crater. “Look for a manual release. There won’t be enough power to open it automatically.”

  “Hessa said there was power here,” Ple said.

  “It’s for something else,” Roak said.

  The two men searched the edge of the crater until Ple found a small depression. He shoved his gloved hand inside the depression and yanked up, revealing a panel with a hand crank.

  “You weren’t kidding about manual,” he said.

  Roak grabbed the hand crank and gave it a hard turn. It moved slightly then froze. He tried over and over then stood up and put his hands on his hips.

  “Giving up?” Ple asked.

  Roak pulled a pistol from his belt and fired at the hand crank until it was a melted hunk of slag. Then he gave it a hard kick and the hatch in the crater popped open a crack.

  “Hessa? What’s our
time?” Roak asked.

  “You can afford ten minutes of exposure outside the facility,” Hessa replied. “No more. Radiation from the stars will lead to irreparable bodily harm after twenty minutes. I would advise getting inside as fast as possible and not staying more than forty minutes.”

  “We’ll be done before that,” Roak said. “But bring the ship up and over this hatch for me, will you? Have a line ready to grab us if we come out hot.”

  “Come out hot? What do you expect will happen in there?” Ple asked.

  “I’m never sure with her,” Roak said.

  Ple muttered several curses under his breath as Roak lifted the hatch and climbed down inside the asteroid. They found themselves in a small airlock that looked like it hadn’t been used in a very long time. They were faced with another hand crank, but it was less stubborn than the exterior one and Roak muscled the inner airlock hatch open.

  Once inside, and the hatch secured manually, Roak cracked a light stick and held it high above his head. The corridor they were in was coated in dirt and dust. The air hadn’t been ventilated or filtered in a long while and a thick haze hung before them as they walked towards what looked like a lift.

  “How will we…?” Ple asked as Roak jimmied the lift doors apart. “Oh.”

  Roak had already stepped into the lift shaft before Ple had finished speaking. He grabbed onto the ladder and climbed down. Ple followed close behind.

  They passed deck after deck, closed doors with large numbers painted on them to tell maintenance crews where they were working. After about fifteen levels, they found a set of doors wide open. The faintest of lights could be seen flickering from somewhere down the corridor.

  And there was a voice.

  “Someone’s here,” Ple said.

  “No,” Roak said. “Someone was here, but not anymore. Come on.”

  They walked down the corridor, their boots clanging against the metal deck, making whirring noises as the mag-locks engaged and disengaged automatically with each step. The corridor was made up of offices, but obviously not designed for bipedal or humanoid beings.

  “Klav,” Ple said. “See the furniture? Web meshing since their bodies are covered in eyes.”

  “Yeah,” Roak said, his eyes focused on the light that was growing brighter as they approached the last set of doors at the far end of the corridor.

  The voice was much louder and obviously female.

  Roak paused outside the doors then took a deep breath and walked inside.

  “–you will have made your choice,” the holo of a woman dressed entirely in black said. Literally entirely in black. From the top of her head down to the tips of her boots, she looked to be encased in a second skin of a material that moved like it was compressing her body. Yet there was a grace to the movements she made with her hands and arms as she spoke. “Then we will know where we stand finally. I’d wish you luck, but you know it would be a lie. Happy hunting, Roak.”

  The holo flickered then went out, but came right back to life in less than a second.

  “Who is she?” Ple asked. “Why is she in black from head to toe? Is that some sort of special suit?”

  “Yes,” Roak said. “Shut up.”

  “Roak,” the holo said, the recording beginning from the start. “Did either of us think we would be in this place? I think not. Yet, here we are. I have ignored your antics across the galaxy. I have let you play as bounty hunter, taking jobs no one else dares to take or wants. You have built quite the reputation. You are respected and feared within the galactic underworld.”

  The woman in black sighed and shook her head. There was a shifting of her facial features, but it was impossible to tell exactly what her expression was underneath the black material. Only the outlines of her eye sockets, her chin, her cheekbones, her jawline could be seen. She was a phantom.

  “As much as you have always fought that ego, in the end, it has consumed you. As I said it would. Off the grid. Out of sight. The bounty hunter to call when no other hunter can be called. Roak. It is a myth you have built for yourself and one that will be broken soon. You should have followed in my footsteps. You should have taken the path I have taken and then you would truly be outside the system.”

  “Hardly,” Roak grumbled. “You are the system.”

  “I am sure you just argued with me,” the woman in black said. “If I know you as I do. But your opinions do not matter. They never have. You have crafted a reality instead of living in one. You know where your reality truly lies, Roak. You have a place. A space to fill. We are all pieces of a greater whole. You will never be free outside the whole, Roak. You know that. You feel it right now.”

  The holo flickered and wavered for a second then came back together.

  “We can’t stay,” Ple said. “Radiation, Roak.”

  “I know,” Roak said.

  “This is what I propose: come back to the fold and all will be forgiven,” the woman in black said.

  Roak stiffened.

  “This is a promise I will abide by,” the woman in black stated. “Despite how I feel to the contrary. Come back to the fold and you will be allowed to take your rightful place. However, if you remain a rogue element, if you continue to feed that ego, then there is nothing to be done. Consider this your final warning. Ignore the warning, continue on with this job, and no quarter will be given. You will be treated the same as anyone that gets in the fold’s way deserves to be treated.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Ple said.

  “By the time you have finished watching this, you will have made your choice,” the woman in black continued and they were back to the part of the holo where they came in. “Then we will know where we stand finally. I’d wish you luck, but you know it would be a lie. Happy hunting, Roak.”

  Roak turned and looked at Ple, the pistol aimed at the Spilfleck’s belly.

  “Whoa! What’s this?” Ple asked, his hands going up. “Roak?”

  “Tell me everything,” Roak said.

  “I think I should be ordering that of you,” Ple snapped, his eyes flicking to the pistol. “Whoever this woman is, she is messing with your game.”

  “Tell me everything,” Roak said. “Or I put a hole in your suit and your gut and leave you to die of either exposure or radiation poisoning, whichever comes first.”

  “Roak, think this through. You can’t be–”

  Roak switched his aim and fired. The holo unit set on the floor sparked and sputtered, killing the looped holo vid and plunging the room into darkness except for the small lights on Roak’s and Ple’s helmets.

  “Tell me everything,” Roak said. “Or you’re no good to me.”

  “Damn,” Ple said and gave a harsh bark of a laugh. “I knew this was all going way too smoothly. I see you were only keeping me for as long as you needed to. I don’t blame you. I’d do the same. But, now that the job has turned in a direction you seem to be more familiar with, you’re going to pump me for information then leave me to die here.”

  “Not if you talk,” Roak said. “I don’t kill unless I have to. Do I have to, Ple? Are you worth more alive or dead? Will Shava Stemn Shava hold your death against me or thank me for it? How much of a role did you have in all this?”

  Roak nodded his helmet at the slagged piece of holo tech on the floor.

  “Is she your backup plan? Your way of getting your hands on Shava Stemn Shava’s empire? Or is she the way you bring the empire down so you can build your own up in its place?”

  “The radiation has gotten to you, Roak,” Ple said. “I am doing my job. Shava Stemn Shava sent me to keep an eye on you because the target, the job you were hired to complete, is key to his empire’s survival. The only thing you can be mad at me about is that it is one hundred percent true that I had orders to take you out at the end of this. Tie up that loose end, as we’ve already talked about. Other than that, I don’t know a damn thing about this woman, this fold you come from, or any other plan to take Shava Stemn Shava down.”

>   Roak held the pistol on Ple for a good minute then quickly put it back on his belt.

  “Alright,” Roak said. “No one can hide working with her that well. You’d have cracked for sure. Which means, Shava Stemn Shava has some serious competition that is willing to spend several fortunes to displace him. Tell me why.”

  “Can we go back to the ship first?” Ple asked. He waved his hands around. “Radiation.”

  “Sure,” Roak said. “Good idea.”

  “Great,” Ple said. “We get back to the ship, Hessa gets us out of this system, and I’ll tell you everything while we’re in trans-space.”

  “Trans-space?” Roak replied. “We aren’t leaving yet. We have the other facility to go to.”

  “We what?” Ple exclaimed.

  “We have the other facility to go to,” Roak said. “Job’s not complete. The trail will start there.”

  “The trail? What trail?” Ple asked then looked at the destroyed holo unit. “Oh, no. No, no, no. We need to return to Jafla Base and admit defeat, Roak. Let Shava Stemn Shava prepare for whatever is coming next.”

  “Job’s not done,” Roak said and left the room.

  “It’s a trap, Roak!” Ple cried, following right after him. “You see that, right?”

  “Of course,” Roak replied. “It always has been. That’s why I needed to see the holo message I knew she’d leave. She can’t help herself. Now I know how to finish this job and get paid.”

  “Get paid? Chits mean nothing if you’re dead,” Ple said. “Don’t be a fool.”

  “Not gonna die,” Roak said. “Come on. Back to the ship so you can tell me everything as we go to the next facility. The real facility.”

  24.

  “Leave the suit on,” Roak said as he sat down in the pilot’s seat. “We’ll want it.”

  Ple sighed and set his helmet on the control console as he sat in the co-pilot’s seat.

  “Tell me the whole story,” Roak said.

  “Clones,” Ple said without argument. “Jahpah L’Ex was a clone. Each one of Jonny Nebula’s fights was fought by a new clone. Freshly made, but with the training and experience of the previous versions loaded into his brain.”