by Lindsay Peet
VALKYRIES of ANDROMEDA
OR
Two Balls for the Money
BY
LINDSAY PEET
Published by Lindsay Peet
AT
Copyright 2015, Lindsay Peet
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Table of Contents
Part One
Treasure and Terror
Part Two
Lost and Found
Part Three
Sex, Drugs and Torture
Part Four
The Battles of Caliuga
Epilogue
Revelations and Confusions
Teaser for The Sequel; About the Author
PART ONE
Treasure and Terror
CHAPTER ONE
“You had to open your yap about the treasure!” I bellowed at Jedub as we dodged the blaster beams, bullets and bric-a-brac all hurtling in our general directions.
“Boss, how was I to know they took this crap seriously?!” he whined just as a sizable rock between us exploded in a cloud of dust and stones.
“We’re taking it seriously, aren’t we, you asshole?” I barked, but he’d zagged out of earshot by then.
No matter – just like the rest of life, right then and there it was each man for himself, and if Jedub and Lordano and Drishter didn’t make it through this kerfuffle, well, there were more where they came from.
My feet kept moving, dancing, scurrying to safety. That’s the thing about deserts, there’s everywhere to run, but nowhere to hide. Kinda like space that way.
Well outside town limits we separately came to a ravine. It would be slow going for us in the soft sand, scrub and shingles, but there would be plenty of cover and shadows, maybe even water. We went for it, and in time, after a few more beam-sizzles and small explosions, the townspeople seemed to grow bored and all became quiet.
I judged that one of my crew would poke his head out soon, thinking calm meant safety. I’d let him find out for me just how safe things truly were.
Suddenly a sizzle and a shriek pierced the peace. I poked my head out and saw Drishter was down, his red shirt glistening with his own blood around the stump where his arm had filled the sleeve.
Great. Now that the townspeople had ‘tasted blood’ they’d hang around even longer. Then a voice came from somewhere above -- I was pretty sure it didn’t have divine origins, though. “Just give us the map. That’s all we want. Then you can all go on with your lives, and we’ll go on with ours. ‘Ceptin’ we’ll be rich, and you’ll all still be poor space tramps!” and then disembodied cackling.
There was no point in answering. Whoever was talking, I was pretty he sure had no intention of honoring the promise, and even if he did, it wasn’t like we were being chased by an organized committee, with spokesmen and a hierarchy and rules and all. No, the speaker might hold his fire, but just to be sure we understood the realities some more blood would have to spill before any deal was finalized.
So, we waited. At least my people had shade, and maybe access to some water, depending on how deep underground the water flowed hereabouts. Myself, I had my canteen anyway, although I was a little concerned about what nasty critters might creep out from nearby stones and stumps once they’d decided things had settled down enough to chance surfacing. I didn’t know exactly what-all animals called Mobahey home, but I was sure there were a few that weren’t considered cuddly by the residents.
And those residents weren’t all that cuddly themselves.
It wasn’t until after dark had well and truly settled in that I chanced straightening up and taking a gander. It was devilish difficult to make sense of my surroundings, what with Mobahey having a chain of moonlets speeding around her, each one giving a little kiss of light, and a little glance of shadow where the light doesn’t go. So, when I raised my head up it looked to me that everything was shifting, so I ducked down again double-quick, bringing my knees up to my chin double-fast, and then when my feet hit the ground my chin and knee connected solidly, and I damn-near knocked myself out.
Once the grogginess passed and the circling stars faded I tried again, sorted out what I was seeing and what I wasn’t, and took a proper look-around. All clear. I called out to my crew and we gathered round, as it happened right near Drishter’s remains. He’d bled out down there in the gully, his blood flowing into the sand and then mixing with whatever water flowed there. That reminded me that I’d emptied my canteen, but I wasn’t about to fill it just then and there.
“Alright, boys, let’s take this as a tough lesson, to keep our mouths shut. Let’s bury Drishter and move on to our next town. It’s called Sandy Aggo, and since we don’t have any horses, we’ll have to walk. It’ll take us a day from here I reckon.”
“Boss, doesn’t it make more sense to leave now, at night, since our water’s low, and not waste time planting Drishter?” asked Jedub.
“Yes, Drishter’s body to leave here sense makes. His spirit leave of it taken has. Now it just slack meat puppet is. Buzzards eat must, worms too. Let us be food for them soon ourselves not, then, okay?” continued Lordano.
It’s rare I come in second on the ‘heartless bastard’ front, but these two were giving me stiff competition.
“Just trying to do the right thing by our buddy, but if you all want to head out, that works for me. Okay, then, it’s off to Sandy Aggo. We’ll get us some horses, some gear, and maybe be gone before somebody from the town we just ran from gets to the town we’re running to, and spills the good news that there are treasure hunters on Mobahey.” I tried to make Jedub feel a little guilty about opening his yap and ruining things, getting Drishter killed, but I don’t think he had it in him to feel guilt – a trait I envied him for sometimes.
I shrugged; what did I expect on this kind of job, on this kind of planet, with this kind of man?
We three moved out, leaving the elements and organisms in Drishter’s mortal remains to recombine in other living things.
