“That’s an interesting question and a point of view I never considered. Our laws—”
“Laws are sometimes meant to be broken. Aren’t you a smuggler, by definition, going against the law?”
“I am, but I became one out of desperation. I do it only to survive.”
“That doesn’t change the fact you are who you are. If you can break one law, why not break another?”
“Because this law is taught to us at the youngest age. There’s even a warning attached.”
“What warning?”
“Our elders tell us that if we break the law, the universe will punish all of Droxia.”
Chase leaned forward. “Now that sounds like some cosmic propaganda if you ask me, and it doesn’t make more sense than why you get to see what you see and why it doesn’t work on your own people.”
“Perhaps...”
“Okay, let’s table this for now. Except…what about me?”
“What about you?”
“When will I die, according to you?”
She hesitated. “I’d rather not talk about it. Like I said, I can’t reveal anything to you directly.”
“Oh come on!” he cried. “We’re helping you get your son. It’s the least you can do.”
Ryonna looked down at her plate, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore. A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped it quickly away.
Chase froze. “That doesn’t look very reassuring.”
“No, it’s not about you. I…all this talk of death reminds me I don’t even know if my son is still alive.” She sobbed. “I can’t lose him!”
“I understand, and I can’t lose Sarah. It doesn’t matter what you say, I won’t let it happen!”
“I’m glad, and I hope with all my heart you will prove me wrong.”
“I would have better luck if you gave me some details…”
She smiled ruefully. “Maybe later. Let’s complete the mission first.”
“Alright, let’s get...what’s your son’s name?”
“Ronan.”
“That’s a nice name. How old is he?”
“Just over sixteen.”
“Look, Ryonna, we’ll do all we can to get him back. I give you my word.”
“Thank you, Chase. If we do, I give you my word I’ll give you all the details I can about Sarah. Maybe, as you say, it will make a difference.”
“Fair enough.”
She got up and left the mess hall without saying another word. As he stared at her tray of uneaten food, Chase couldn’t help but wonder what the universe had in store for him. He certainly hoped it had nothing to do with what he’d just heard. Even though they had only known each other for a few days, Sarah had become the center of his life. She had brought a flame and passion to his heart that he hadn’t known could exist, and he would lay down his life to protect it and defend her.
Unfortunately, he might actually have to.
And soon.
A short while later, the Iron Fire arrived in the Hathan system. Sarah entered the bridge, followed shortly by Ryonna. Chase was already sitting in the captain’s chair.
“Sergeant, status report?” he asked.
“We’ve arrived at the fifth planet of the Hathan system as instructed, Captain. There are heavy defense platforms around this world. And…incoming transmission.”
“On screen.”
An alien face appeared on the screen. It looked almost humanoid, with pale green skin and dark spots dotting the sides of its cheeks. But upon a closer look, he didn’t have any ears.
“Unknown ship, this is Sector Atrak from Hathan Security. Please identify yourselves and state your intentions.”
Chase stood up from the chair. “My name is Lieutenant Commander Chase Athanatos from the Earth Alliance. We would like to land on your planet for trade.”
“We are unaware of this Alliance. Please be advised the defense systems around this world will take deadly action in case you display the slightest sign of aggression.”
“We understand. Nothing to worry about; we come in peace.”
“Very well then, you are authorized to land on platform seventeen. We are sending navigational data as well as an escort. Please be advised, docking fees are thirty Hathan credits per day.”
“Thank you, Sector Atrak.”
“Atrak out.”
The transmission ended and the face of Sector Atrak disappeared. The second he was gone, Chase turned to Ryonna. “What now?”
“Now we go to the traders’ part of town. There’s a bar there where we must locate an individual called Grolax Trakis. He has the information I need to locate my son.”
“What about the docking fees? We don’t have their currency.”
“Not to worry, Chase, we’ll get what we need from the surface.”
“Very well. Sergeant, follow the navigational path we’ve just received.” He stood up and prepared to go to the surface. “Ryonna, Sarah, you’re with me.”
Ryonna hesitated. “I’d rather go alone.”
Chase shook his head. “My ship, my rules. We need you alive if we’re to continue this mission, and I’m not about to let you risk your life without backup.”
“Very well.”
All three left the bridge and headed toward the cargo bay. They boarded a shuttle and followed their escorts to the planet. Once landed on platform seventeen, the doors of the shuttle lowered and they took in the magnificent sight that was the city of Hathan Prime, a metropolis like no other, according to Ryonna. Chase stared appreciatively, but it took the wind out of Sarah as she stared in wonder at the dancing lights and thousands of tiny ships. They looked like phosphorescent insects, buzzing around buildings that were easily ten times higher than any skyscraper on Earth.
“This is unbelievable,” she gasped.
“It looks a lot like some of the cities from my own world. Well, how they used to look; I don’t think they still stand today,” Chase muttered.
Sarah’s eyes grew wide and she reached out to put her hand on his shoulder, but he flashed her a tight smile and turned to Ryonna.
“Lead the way.”
They exited the landing pad and took an elevator all the way down to street level. The streets were as impressive as the sky view of the town. Colorful, holographic billboards, blinking ads, and multi-color-coded sectors of town made the world look a bit mesmerizing, especially for Sarah, who had never seen such things. She turned at almost every corner to check out all the different aliens. Hathan Prime was a known hub for commerce, so there were plenty to choose from. Reptilians, insectoids. Humanoids with tentacles, horns, implants, augmentations… If it existed somewhere in the galaxy, it was probably here.
“All good?” Chase asked Sarah.
“I’m fine. This is just really overwhelming. In my wildest dreams I never thought there were so many different life-forms in the universe.”
“I’m surprised. That movie we saw pictured a similar variety.” He laughed.
“Yes, but that’s a movie, Chase. The first physically different alien I saw was yesterday when we met Ryonna. Come to think of it, how come your ships don’t have other species? I thought the Alliance included many different worlds?”
“It does, but most of us have similar genetic backgrounds to humans. Heck, from what the docs have ascertained so far, we have almost the exact same DNA.”
“So none of these species here are on any of the Alliance ships?”
“There are some; we also have a few onboard our ships on Earth.”
“Really? I never saw any.”
“We didn’t know how humanity would react to seeing radically different species on the planet. We thought it best to introduce only humans for contact situations.”
She frowned. “I find that odd.”
“I guess it is, but look, in the beginning, we didn’t know if you’d even welcome us.”
“You saved our world, why wouldn’t we?”
“Because it might be our presence that attracted them
to you in the first place.”
Sarah’s head jerked up. “Are you serious?”
“Right… I was supposed to keep that to myself.”
She rolled her eyes. “Good job!” He cringed and she chuckled. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to my superiors. I don’t care whether or not you accidently brought them to Earth. I care that you risked your life to save us. That says a lot about someone.”
Chase smiled half-heartedly and reached for her hand, but Ryonna sighed deeply and turned toward them, interrupting the moment.
“Whether you did or didn’t bring the Zarlacks to Earth is irrelevant. The Obsidian want to rule the entire universe. After they took out their biggest opponent, the Alliance, it was only a matter of time before they started taking out smaller worlds, one by one. It was going to happen sooner or later, so Earth is just lucky some friendly battleships were nearby.”
Sarah turned to him brightly. “See, Chase, it might actually have been a good thing it happened this way.”
“Let’s hope so,” he murmured, but he felt like a weight had been lifted. Somehow it was a relief to hear it from another species, that what they did was the right thing.
Ryonna nodded once, but then held up her hand. “We’re here. This shop will give us credit—if we can find something to trade, that is.”
It looked like any pawn shop on Earth, with the exception of the wide array of mysterious objects placed neatly on separate cushions, some of them levitating. Ryonna approached the store’s owner and began speaking in a deep, throaty language.
Sarah leaned over to Chase. “Do you know what she’s saying?”
“No, I think she’s speaking Droxian.”
“How come so many races understand English?”
“It’s Universum too, remember? I know it sounds similar, but it’s not exactly English.”
“Well, what Sector Atrak said sounded English to me.”
“That was the computer translating Hathanese to Universum in real time.”
“Oh... Kinda like a universal translator, cool!”
Ryonna turned to Chase. “This one isn’t very interested in my jewelry. Apparently Droxian craft isn’t selling well on this planet. Any of you have anything of value you could part with?”
“I plum forgot to pack when we were attacked and driven away from our part of space,” Chase said sarcastically.
Ryonna shot him a look and turned to Sarah. “You?”
“All I have is my watch and it was a gift from my dad… Oh, what the heck. If the fate of our planet is hanging in the balance, I think he would have understood.” She took it off and handed it to the shopkeeper.
He made a snorting sound that might or might not have been a language.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“That he doesn’t know what it is.”
“It’s a watch. It tells the hour of the day; surely they measure time here.”
Ryonna translated the information to the shopkeeper, who answered her with something that sounded like a question.
“He asks why there are twelve separations.”
“Because there are twenty four hours in a day.”
“On your planet perhaps; Hathan rotation is thirty cycles.”
She bit her lip. “Oh crap, let me guess: each world has a different way of numbering hours and days?”
“Oh yes. Minutes too. Each galaxy and each planet has their own rotation.”
“I should know that. Alright…Tell him maybe a collector will be interested in it. It’s real gold.”
Ryonna and Chase exchanged a glance, and Ryonna asked, “So?”
“It’s a precious metal.”
“…Not so much on Hathan.”
“Or most worlds,” added Chase.
Sarah looked between them. “Don’t tell me it’s worthless?”
Ryonna shrugged. “On Droxia it’s used for making pipes.”
Sarah frowned. “That’s…a disturbing image. Well, okay, what materials are considered valuable here?”
Chase looked at her sympathetically. “I don’t think you have them on your planet.”
She jutted out her chin. “I’m sure I have something. Let me just look.” She frantically searched her pockets, emptying them on the counter. The shopkeeper looked on in disgust, but when she dropped her keys he screeched something that sounded positively festive.
“He likes that,” said Ryonna.
“What? My keys?”
“No, that little totem attached to them.”
“He likes...Pikachu?”
“What’s Pi-kat-chou?” Chase asked curiously.
“It’s a character from an animated television show on Earth. It’s for kids.” She looked down at the charm. “My nephew gave it to me for luck…” The other two stared at her impatiently and she quickly unlooped it from the keys. “…And this situation obviously needs a little.”
“Ryonna, how much will he give us for it?” Chase inquired.
Ryonna turned to the shopkeeper and they negotiated for a good long while. After a few minutes, she turned back to Sarah.
“Well, he wants the keys too. He says the whole thing is something he’s never seen before. He’s okay to give us twenty credits for the ‘pi-kat-chou’ thing, but is willing to go to three hundred for the whole set.”
Sarah shook her head with a smile. “So basically, if I sell him just Pikachu we’re still short for paying the landing fee, and if I sell him everything I’m homeless.”
Chase turned to her in alarm. “Can’t they be replaced?”
She grinned. “I was trying to make a joke. I have doubles, take the three hundred!”
“He’s also willing to give you a symbolic credit for the watch.”
She twisted it around her wrist. “I’ll pass. Tell him thanks for the offer though.”
While Ryonna made the final exchange, Sarah started browsing the various items in the shop. Chase joined her.
“All good?” he double-checked. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Are you kidding? Unless we give him the address of my flat, those keys are pretty worthless. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost them in the last few years.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want you to part with anything you didn’t want to.”
“Nothing to worry about here. This is an interesting pawn shop, but I don’t even know what most of these items do.”
“What’s a pawn shop?”
“It’s this type of store. You leave an item and the shop gives you money. You have thirty days to come back with the money again or he can sell your stuff.”
“Then this is not a pawn shop; it’s more like your tourist shops on Earth.”
“Oh, that’s just a regular shop, and I’m sure I saw weapons in that area back there.”
“Yes, he sells weapons too.”
“Anything interesting? I mean, well, I suppose two hundred and seventy credits won’t buy me much.”
“Landing fees in Hathan are particularly high, especially for unknown vessels. Traders and people that come here often don’t pay thirty credits for a day of landing.”
“How much do they pay then?”
“Probably one hundred or two for the year.”
She whirled around indignantly. “So we’ve been taken for suckers.”
“Well, we didn’t have much choice.”
“How much is the change worth then? Enough for me to buy something nice?”
“Actually yes. Fairly good second-hand weapons are found for about a hundred credits. There are some more expensive options, depending on quality, build, state, charge…that sort of thing.”
“So…where’s the weapon aisle again?” Sarah said with a huge smile.
Chase grinned. “That way. Let’s go get you a souvenir.”
“You read my mind.”
Chase laughed shortly. “That would be Ryonna’s job.”
“What?”
His face darkened. “Never mind.”
> Fortunately, Sarah seemed to dismiss this as a failed attempt at humor and, the next moment, it was forgotten as she descended upon the weapons like a kid in a candy store.
“Any light-sabers?” She giggled with delight.
Chase turned toward the shelves. “Let me see.”
She stopped cold. “You’re shitting me, right?”
“Not at all. Such weapons exist, only you don’t need the ‘force’ to operate them.” He thumbed through the different options before stopping. “Hmm, this is pretty similar.” He handed her something that looked more like a gun than a light-saber.
“I didn’t ask for a…pisto-laser, Chase.”
“Actually, this is both.”
Her mouth fell open. “Get out of town!”
He glanced back at her. “Later maybe, when the mission is over.”
She chuckled and he raised an eyebrow. “It’s an expression,” she explained.
His face cleared. “Oh. I hoped ‘you’re shitting me’ to be one as well, but I kept it to myself…”
“It means I’m very surprised.”
“See, I told you Universum and English are different. At least on how we use the words.”
“That’s because you ‘advanced’ species aren’t used to slang.”
“Slang?”
“It’s a way of using normal or odd words with a different meaning.”
Chase shook his head. “I still have plenty to learn about Earth culture.”
“That’s okay. I have plenty to learn about your culture as well. Though I must say, I’m unimpressed with the lack of entertainment and poor choice in variety of food.”
“Centuries of war will do that to a civilization. We once had extremely talented artists, and maybe something reminiscent of what you call entertainment. But constant warfare in the universe forced us to adjust our priorities.”
She looked down at her gun. “I guess I can understand that. During times of war, entertainment and good food wasn’t a priority for us either. But our world wars never lasted longer than a few years.”
Chase gestured to the weapon. “Come on—let me show you how this works.”
He briefly took her through the three settings; stun, kill, and something that could disintegrate most life-forms. Not Zarlacks, he explained. Their strong almost metal-like reptilian scales would prevent heavy damage, but he hoped that repeated shots could mortally wound one. When he was finished, he showed her the thumb-activated laser blade. When he pressed down, a bright white column of light sprang into the air in front of them.
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 27
