Graveyard of Empires

by Lincoln Cole

  “Terrorists.”

  Chapter 25

  Sector 6 – Jaril

  Vivian Drowel

  1

  Vivian watched the equipment vendor, a heavyset man with three chins and fading hair as he disappeared into the spaceport crowd. He’d just finished setting things in order for the final goods to be loaded onto the Cudgel. He seemed nice enough; unlike Oliver, he didn’t rub her the wrong way.

  Though she had to admit that Oliver was efficient. She’d only been on the planet for a few days and already all of her deals had been settled. She looked around at the equipment filling up the hangar and was more than a little impressed. To be honest, she hadn’t really expected anything from a swindler like Oliver.

  But then again, that was her personal bias bleeding through. He was too smooth by half, and with a clear and even cadence while speaking he reminded her of an actor spewing well-rehearsed lines.

  And the way he did his trick with the coin. That irked her. He had Traq wrapped around his finger, and a more paranoid person might have assumed he was taunting her for her inability to communicate with the child effectively.

  Of course, a less paranoid person wouldn’t have given the exchange any thought at all. It was just someone trying to impress a kid with a magic trick.

  But she would have to come to terms with it if she wanted this deal to work at all. It would take days to finish loading all of the water cleansing equipment onto the Cudgel. And even then it might take multiple trips to ship it all to Mali. She couldn’t afford to stick around that long. Not with everything else going on.

  She glanced over at Traq again, glad that he was here. He was why she was about to lose the Cudgel—a ship she’d bought and held onto for over ten years—but he’d also reminded her that some things were more important than money or wealth.

  There was a beep from her communicator. She flipped it on. Jack Lane, Traq’s uncle, appeared on the projector. She heard a sharp intake of breath from beside her.

  Traq ducked behind Vivian with a squeal as the image coalesced, but gradually reemerged when he realized it wasn’t going to hurt him. “Jack?” Vivian said.

  “Don’t worry, this line should be secure. I will be arriving on planet sometime tomorrow to pick you guys up. Did Bart find you okay?”

  She nodded. “He met us at the spaceport. And he’s been rather helpful.”

  “Then did you manage to successfully…uh…” Jack scratched his head. “What was it you planned to do?”

  “Yes, we were successful.”

  Jack nodded. “And then we can head to the Ministry.”

  “Yes,” she lied. “That is our next destination.”

  She would have to figure out something to explain why she wasn’t taking his nephew home, but that was a conversation for another day.

  Traq stepped nearer to the image, gathering courage as the conversation continued.

  “Hey Jack!” he said, waving.

  “Hey, kid. Are you having fun with Vivian?”

  Traq nodded. He was grinning ear to ear now that he knew the communicator was safe, and Vivian couldn’t help but smile as well. That was something she’d come to like about the little kid: his moods were contagious, and everything excited him. She couldn’t remember the last time something as simple as a long range transceiver had excited her.

  “I’ll land around midday tomorrow and meet you both at the pond outside the spaceport. That work?”

  Vivian nodded and disconnected the call. She decided to spend the rest of the day taking Traq around to see the city. This was the capital world of his home Sector, after all. Once they left tomorrow and reentered Imperial space she didn’t know if they would ever come back. One day, she knew, these memories would be important to him.

  But for now, she just wanted to find some dinner.

  2

  Vivian was engrossed in her books when Oliver showed up at the Mys hangar late the third morning. She found that she was in a tremendously good mood. A crew had shown up early to load the water purifying equipment onto the Cudgel, and already they were halfway done.

  The equipment broke down in such a way to be space saving and she was pleased to see that they were going to be able to load it all onto the Cudgel in one trip. She might even convince Oliver to forward a message from Mali after dropping off the equipment. It would save her from worrying about it.

  Traq was curious about everything. He was starting to get less homesick and kept asking random questions. Vivian discovered that the hardest questions to answer were the ones about her own past.

  She didn’t like talking about herself, and she was frustrated when she found the chapter about being open and honest. Lying wouldn’t work, she read, and would only cause the divide between them to grow even wider. What did it matter if Traq knew what the planet she was born on?

  Apparently it mattered a lot, but she wasn’t about to start worrying about that right now. She kept her answers simple and cryptic; she could focus on his education once they made it to Terminus and she decided where they would go next. Wade told her it wouldn’t be a good idea to go back to the Core, but the galaxy was enormous. Plenty of hiding places.

  She heard the elevator coming to a stop behind her and stood to see Oliver walking into the hangar. He was wearing a bulky coat with gray pants and his hair looked like the wind had been blowing it around all morning. Compared with yesterday he looked positively disheveled.

  “You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get a transfer deed for a spaceship put together in a day,” he said. “I’ve never actually looked into it before, but apparently we have strict policies on Jaril. Who knew?”

  “It isn’t a problem, is it?” she asked. He shook his head.

  “I tracked down a few attorneys and banged on some doors at two this morning, but everything is taken care of. Rush transfer and I can take the ship off planet tonight. With luck, I’ll have your water purifiers delivered to Mali in two days.”

  “That’s impressive,” she said.

  “Necessary, actually. I already picked up a shipping job next week, so I’ll need to get a move on.” He hesitated. “I suppose I should have asked earlier, but it slipped my mind…what are you planning to do now? You weren’t expecting me to give you a ride…or…?”

  She shook her head. “It’s already been taken care of. You have the deed?”

  He nodded and pulled a data pad out of his pocket. She signed her name and input a few codes for the ship, and then he handed her the contract that obligated him to drop off the equipment for her.

  She knew it was nothing more than fluff. There was nothing in the deal to force Oliver to uphold his end of the bargain, but she did appreciate it. It was better than nothing.

  She signed her name, and he signed his. He looked relieved and his face opened into a wide grin. “Well, ma’am, it’s been a tremendous pleasure doing business with you. Let me buy you both lunch.”

  “That’s not necessary,” she said.

  “I insist,” he countered, turning to Traq. “Hey little man, what do you want to eat?”

  Traq bounced up. “How about Nom and Korrin?”

  Vivian had no idea what that could be, but Oliver seemed to light up at the suggestion. “Absolutely. I know a little kiosk that makes great Nom.”

  Oliver started toward the elevator and Traq fell into step beside him, leaving Vivian no choice but to follow. Traq rambled on about the planet, the weather, the smell, and a variety of other things as they walked. He seemed invigorated, and Oliver talked to him smoothly, as though the child’s inane ramblings made sense.

  As they walked, Vivian began to realize that this was the happiest Traq had been since he left his home. Why was Oliver so easily able to elicit a response from him? What did he do that she didn’t?

  She watched them talk for a few minutes as they walked through the space station, and by the end of the conversation she was even more confused. Evidently Oliver just had some way of dealing with people she
would never understand.

  Oh well. Her job was to take care of Traq, not be his friend. They exited the spaceport and wandered into a nearby market, enjoying the weather. It was a sunny but cool day, making it very comfortable. She checked her watch and figured they had about an hour before they should go meet Jack Lane at the pond in the park.

  They walked past the line of granite statues for another few minutes before stopping in a food court. It was filled to the brim with groups, each engaged in their own conversations. The smells emanating from the various stalls ran the gamut from enticing to disgusting. Oliver turned to her and pulled out a credit stick. “Ever had Nom before?”

  She shook her head. “Haven’t even heard of it.”

  “It’s a special holiday dish on Geid, but it’s too popular to only be served once a year. It’s a kind of bread with dipping sauce and Korrin is a sharp cheese. But I would say have the cheese served separately if you aren’t used to it. It’s an acquired taste.”

  She nodded and followed him to one of the counters. The line was long but moved quickly, and within moments, they were seated. Traq dug right into his food as though he was starving, and she was glad for Oliver’s recommendation.

  The cheese was terrible. When she nibbled on a piece she decided it tasted like mold. The bread, though, was soft and warm and covered with some sort of seeds that added a spicy flavor and strange texture. The dipping sauce was oil based and sweet.

  It was delicious, maybe the best bread she’d ever tasted, and she made a note to see if it had spread to the mishmash culture of Terminus yet. Something this good, if it could be made with non-local ingredients, would inevitably become quite popular elsewhere.

  Once Traq was finished, she saw he was eyeing her cheese, and she gratefully passed it over. He devoured it as well and leaned back in his chair, yawning. Oliver chuckled and glanced at her. There was just a slight note of apprehension in his eyes, and she felt a pinch of worry.

  He glanced around, as though looking for someone. But when he looked back, he seemed to have collected himself and appeared calm.

  “So when are you two leaving?” he asked.

  “Later today,” she said, eyeing him carefully. What is he looking for?

  “Then I wish you the best in all of your future travels.”

  “Would you be all right with my contacting you in a few days to verify the equipment was delivered?”

  “Oh, absolutely,” he said. “That will save me a lot of worries as well. Excuse me,” he added, grabbing up all of the trays and disappearing into the crowd.

  “Are you ready to go?” she asked Traq, suddenly in a hurry to leave. Traq nodded.

  “Are we going to see my uncle?”

  “Yes. He’s taking us off the planet. I’m sure he’s landed by now.”

  Traq spun. “Aren’t we going to wait for Oliver?”

  “I’d rather not…” Vivian started to say. Her voice trailed off when she saw Oliver walking back with three drinks in a carrier. He set the container on the table and handed a drink to Traq.

  “We ate some food from your world, and now it’s time you tried something native to mine,” he said to Traq, then smiled and handed a second drink to Vivian. She looked at it skeptically. Did he drug it?

  Why would he drug it?

  Hadn’t he made out like a bandit already? What more could he want?

  She thought she was being paranoid but knew she wasn’t. His eyes told her everything. Something was wrong.

  “This is a local drink called Parles. We use three different kinds of fruit and the milk from a—”

  “Hey Traq!” a voice called. They turned to see Jack across the food court, waving his hand in the air and pushing through the crowd. Traq jumped up and looked around, then took off at a sprint when he spotted his uncle. Vivian tried to catch him, not wanting him to get far away, but he was already gone.

  She turned around, but Oliver was gone as well, having disappeared in the other direction. She scanned for him, didn’t see him, and cursed. Jack came up to the table, wearing a civilian outfit and carrying Traq with one arm. Traq looked thrilled, but Jack’s face tightened when he saw Vivian’s expression.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Did you see which way he went?” she asked.

  “Who, the guy you were with?”

  “Yes.”

  “What? Why? Who is he?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to leave. Now.”

  3

  Oliver rubbed the sweat off his forehead. Why haven’t they started shooting yet? He wondered. He’d done his job perfectly, getting the woman to the food court and surrounded by a crowd. They should have opened fire already.

  Vivian was beginning to get suspicious, and when Jack showed up he knew he was in trouble. He’d made his exit, figuring he’d done enough.

  He heard a persistent beeping sound and realized it was his comm. It had probably been going off for a while now, but he was too frustrated to care.

  “What?” he mumbled, answering it.

  “They are moving,” Jim said. “Following you.”

  “Me?”

  ‘Yes, you.”

  “Why aren’t the brothers shooting yet?”

  “They never showed,” Jim said. He sounded calm, which baffled Oliver, who was sweating bullets.

  “All right, then we’ll scrap the plan and think of—”

  “They are gaining ground, speed up.”

  Oliver started walking faster, pushing his way through the crowd. “How far—”

  “You wore armor today right?”

  “Just the vest but—”

  Oliver didn’t get to finish. He felt something hit his chest, hard and then pain arced up his body. A split second later, he heard thunder. He felt all the air rush out of his lungs and was suddenly on the ground, staring up at the sky.

  Vaguely he was aware that the crowd was panicking around him. He mildly hoped they didn’t trample him.

  Luckily they seemed to be scattering away from his position. Someone was shouting in his ear but he couldn’t make out the words. The world was spinning. There must be a storm coming because he could hear thunder. He saw the flash of a figure standing overtop him for a few seconds, casting him in shadow, and then that too was gone.

  Slowly the world reoriented itself, and he could breathe again. He dragged in a few breaths of air and then forced himself to sit up. The food court was mostly empty, but he could see the occasional patron hiding under a table.

  The ground and walls were torn apart from gunshots and blasters. The smell of burnt gunpowder and ozone hung in the air. Apparently, a lot had happened in the last few seconds.

  He picked up his communicator and realized it was still connected. “Jim?” he said, but the word sounded like a whisper. He cleared his throat. “Jim? You still there? What the hell is going on?” A long moment passed with no response.

  He slowly stood, wincing as pain raced down his chest. His shirt had a giant hole burnt into it and his body armor was dented and smoldering. Luckily, the shot hadn’t passed through. “Hey, Jim. Come on. Tell me something. What is happening?”

  There was still no response. Off in the distance, he heard the screeching siren of security officials, and farther away he heard the sound of gunfire. He heard a whirring sound and saw a hovering war robot with six mounted rifles pass by. It swept along a road perpendicular to his position about twenty meters south, oblivious to his presence.

  The robot was on a beeline for the space station. Cursing, Oliver stuffed the communicator back into his pocket and hobbled down the avenue in pursuit, wanting to find out what was happening and groaning with every step.

  4

  Vivian ducked down another side street, Vibro-blade in her right hand and pistol in the left. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out what could have gone wrong, but kept drawing a blank. Jack kept pace beside her, a pistol in hand. His arms wrapped around his terrified nephew.

  Traq was clutching h
is uncle with his face buried in Jack’s shoulder, lost to the world. The street was clear before her, which was lucky for pedestrians and stray fire, but it also meant that the authorities would be on her much faster.

  “Which way?” Vivian asked. She spun and lashed out through her implant. The security official rounding the corner behind was thrown backward by a blast of energy. He thudded against the wall several meters away, hitting heavily against the cement wall. It wasn’t hard enough to break bones. Or at least, she hoped not. At this point, she wasn’t sure how much she cared.

  “This way,” Jack said. “I picked up your TM walker and put him on my ship before looking for you. Can you call him?”

  Vivian pulled the communicator unit out of her pocket and flipped it on, then tossed it to Jack. Another two guards in a green car rounded the corner ahead of them, rifles already firing in their direction.

  She shoved Jack out of the way and raised her pistol, squeezing the trigger. The right guard dropped back into the car with a hole in his arm. The other managed to duck aside, but the car kept coming.

  Vivian rushed forward and leapt into the air, landing on the front of the car as it barreled down the street. She slashed down with her blade. The curved tip sliced into flesh, cutting a tendon and disabling the man’s arm.

  The rapidly vibrating weapon dug deep into his flesh, shredding everything in its path. The poor security officer screamed in agony and tried to raise his gun at her. His arm was shaking.

  She didn’t want to kill him, only wound him badly enough that he couldn’t pursue

  “TM, you there?” Jack asked. There was an affirmative click from the other end. “I need you to get the ship prepped for launch. Get ready to hack their network if you have to. We’re going to need a clean escape.”

  They were only about a quarter mile from the spaceport now, but the sirens in the air around them made it seem a lot farther. Security was gaining on them quickly, but at least the bystanders were out of sight. “Go faster, Jack, we need to get out of here,” she asserted.