by Josh Kilen
"However, this is a much larger task than you have ever undertaken, and I don't have faith that you will survive, much less rescue my father. What do you think?" She challenged him with cold, probing eyes.
"Well, your majesty, I have no doubt in my mind that I'm gonna find your father. I’ll bring him home safe and sound. No scratches, I promise."
The Princess tried to hold back a smile, but her face quickly returned to its normal cold expression. "In that case, I will let your confidence be your undoing. Go, find my father if you can, and bring him back. Just know that you are not the only one looking, and space can be dangerous place. You are dismissed." The princess waved her arm in the way that Royalty does when they’re annoyed.
As the guards abruptly turned Ryanis and Shaker around, Shaker leaned over, "What was that? That was the weirdest audience I've ever had with royalty, not that I've had many, but still."
"I know what you mean, but do you really want to try to figure out rich and powerful folk? Doesn't matter anyway, we got the job. That counts for something."
"Ryanis, we are one of possibly hundreds of others looking for this King. We didn't exactly get the job."
"Close enough for me," Ryanis said with a confident smile. Once they left the throne room, they headed immediately for the Tiberius. Inside they completed their launch checklists and quickly took off into space.
As they prepared for the hyperjump, Shaker asked, "So, any ideas about where you want to go?"
Ryanis' mouth tightened, "We need to go to Flaxis 9."
Shaker's mood immediately turned sour, "No way. There's got to be somewhere else. Do you know what’ll happen if we go back there? I'm not in the mood for an unsuited space walk!"
"I know, I know. But it's the first place that she's likely to be, and we definitely need her to do this job."
Shaker got really upset now, "You want to bring HER on board! After that business with the mustard and camels? Come on Ryanis, there has to be someone else."
"You know there isn't a better tracker in the galaxy, and we need ourselves a great tracker to catch that fleet. Now no more arguing, my mind's made up." and he punched in the coordinates. The Tiberius lurched into hyperspace.
Just then they both heard a loud thump in the back compartments.
Shaker sprung from his seat to go check it out, Ryanis followed right behind with his weapon drawn. They made their way back to the waste recycling system.
Ryanis’ face twisted, "I really hope the recycler isn't on the fritz. Remember last time?" Shaker shuddered at the thought. Still cautious, Ryanis walked around and checked the back. He quickly drew his weapon and commanded, "Get up slowly and turn around."
The shadowy figure behind the recycler complied, but when the person turned to face them, Ryanis and Shaker’s mouths dropped in bewilderment.
It was the Princess!
Episode 5
Ryanis looked at the Princess in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
She moved slowly from behind the waste recycler, out in front of the two men. Her fingers were holding her nose, "Please, can we go somewhere else? The smell is really starting to get to me."
Ryanis shook his head, "No. Tell me why you're here, and more importantly how did you get here?"
"Look, I'm so sorry about how I treated you in the throne room but I had to act like that because you're basically a bounty hunter, and not very well respected. But I do think you are the best chance for finding my father. No one else had the confidence you do."
Ryanis was getting impatient, "But why are you here? I'm not exactly a royal babysitter."
The Princess pleaded, "I just want to find my father. Please, let me come with you. I won't get in the way. There are things I know that can help you."
"Okay, we’ll get to that in a bit. Once again, how did you get on my ship? Nobody can sneak on, I've made sure of that, and there wasn't any extra cargo. So how’d you get on board?"
The Princess pulled out a small device that looked like a pendant, "I have a personal transporter, it allows me to teleport from one place to another. I've never had to use it before."
Ryanis briefly allowed himself to be impressed, but his scowl returned as he quickly headed back to the cockpit. Shaker and the Princess followed.
He plopped down in his captain's chair with a sigh, the Princess standing across from him. He stared at her using his most serious expression, "Talk." he said.
"I know I shouldn't be here but the Chief of Staff wouldn't let me tell anyone the most important information. He said that if it got out, there would be panic in the Kingdom. You see, my father was infested by the leader of the Malogans."
"Wait, he was infested? By what?" asked Ryanis.
Now the princess looked impatient, "He was infested by the Malogans. I saw everything from a secret compartment in the back of the Throne room. The Malogan’s true form resembles a blob of green goo, but somehow they can get inside your head and control you. That's what they did to my father." Tears streamed down the Princess's cheeks. "After he infested my father, the leader had a conversation with his lieutenants. The whole reason for invading Martosis was to infest my father, and then he mentioned that my father was the key to everything. I don't understand any of this though, because the council already knows about my father’s infestation. The Malogans can't control the council that way, so what do they need my father for?" She looked at Ryanis with hopeful eyes.
Ryanis put his hand over his mouth, thinking hard about the new information. It didn't make any sense, and this job just got much more complicated than he originally thought. If the Malogans could infest people, who might be a Malogan...?
Ryanis asked, "How did you know he was infested by the Malogan?"
"I saw the blob attach to my Father's head and dissolve into it, but worst of all, his eye's became pitch black."
Ryanis looked over at Shaker, "So just avoid people with black eyes from now on," which made Shaker chuckle, "Princess, many thanks for the info, might even come in useful sometime soon, but you can't stay on the ship. As soon as we're finished with our business at the station at Flaxis 9, we'll have to take you back."
The Princess started to complain but Ryanis held up a finger, "No complaining, this is my ship. Now I'm sure there are plenty of royal chiefs and whatnot looking for you already. I won't play harbor to a royal fugitive, no matter how pretty she is. Now sit there and mind your tongue."
The Princess blushed, and did as she was told.
The Tiberius came out of hyperspace and the space station came in full view. Ships were flying everywhere.
The princess gasped, "That place looks like a piece of junk. Is it safe?"
Ryanis turned to look at her, "Safe's a matter of opinion really. Will it fall out of the sky? Probably not. Are you likely to be shot, kidnapped, or otherwise bothered? More than likely." The Princesses astonished reaction made him smile as he piloted the ship into space dock.
The Tiberius found its berth easily and settled down.
"Now, we can't leave you here all by yourself, who knows what manner of trouble you'll find yourself in. But you can't go out like that either, don't want anyone discovering who you really are." Ryanis opened a closet filled with dirty rags and ill fitting clothing. "Welcome to the disguise closet, your Highness."
They all picked out suitable disguises and made their way onto the station.
There were people everywhere, more than the Princess had ever seen in one place. Ryanis made his way towards a particularly crowded bar, with brightly colored lights and very loud music.
Once they entered, Shaker pushed his way up to the bar and started asking the barkeep some questions. The Princess gave Ryanis a questioning look. "Shaker's better with people than I am, they seem to trust him more." While Shaker got some information, Ryanis kept a look out for trouble.
Eventually Shaker got what he wanted and pointed over to a dark corner. The bright lights didn't seem to reach the table, or its lone occupant. The th
ree went over and sat down.
"Hello Sophia." Ryanis said as he took off his hood.
"Ryanis! What are you doing here?" Sophia asked as she scanned the crowded bar, immediately looking for more trouble.
"I'm in dire need of a tracker, and you're the best darlin'. And don’t worry, I’ve forgiven you for that time in the library with the goats."
Shaker looked confused, "I thought it was camels and mustard?"
Ryanis grimaced, "That was another time."
"What? She's betrayed you more than once?"
"Not going to happen again, right Soph?"
Sophia pleaded with him, "Ryanis, you have to get out of here, the Boss is still looking for you. He's even got a small bounty out."
"We're not overly concerned with the Boss. I got a big job and I need your help. No one else can help me. I need you."
A gruff voice came from above them, "The Boss is real concerned with you, and any jobs that go down need to be run through him, you know that Ryanis."
Four large men stood in front of the table with guns pointed. There was nowhere to go.
"Now get up, we're going to pay a little visit to the Boss."
Episode 6
"Down the hall, move it." The Boss's thugs shove Ryanis, Shaker, the Princess, and Sophia down a long dark hall. A large forbidding red door stood at the end.
"Go on in," said the biggest thug, "The boss is waiting."
The crew walked into a dank smelling room lit with dim red lights and containing no furniture. A rather large, unpleasant man was standing opposite from them with his arms crossed, a stern look plastered on his face. He was staring straight at Sean Ryanis.
"Ryanis, you thought you'd just breeze through this station without saying hello at least. I'm hurt, and you even disguised yourself, as if that would work. You should put some more thought into it next time. Now, let's talk about the next job you're going to do for me."
"Next job?!" Ryanis exclaimed, "You've got to be kidding me, you still haven't paid me for the last job. I told you before, I don't like the way you do business. So while we're here you can just pay the money you owe me and we'll be on our way."
The Boss laughed, "You're not going anywhere. I told you, I have a job and you're the only one who can do it. Besides, kidnapping royalty isn't bad business, ransoms pay out pretty well."
Ryanis glanced nervously at the Princess.
The Boss walked over to Ryanis and put his arm around him, "Come on, can't we put all of that bad blood behind us, we should be working together. What do you say?" Then the Boss looked over at the Princess. "I have to say Ryanis, you got yourself some better looking company, never known you to work with such clean folk before." Sophia scowled at him.
Something about the Princess looked familiar to the Boss and he stepped closer. "You know who you look like... that's interesting..."
Suddenly a runner burst into the room, "BOSS, BOSS, King Jupiter's been kidnapped and there's a huge bounty on his return!"
As soon as he came in shouting the Boss and the guards looked up, which was just the chance Ryanis, Shaker, and Sophia had been waiting for. They shoved their captors into the walls and knocked them out with a punch. The Boss backed up slowly into a corner of the room, he was trapped. "Heheh, come on Ryanis, you know I was just joking about that whole making you do the job thing, come on. Remember my sense of humor? Wasn't funny, I admit but come on." and his eyes got wide as Ryanis took his pistol back from the thug who'd been guarding him.
Ryanis flipped a switch on the weapon, "No deal, I told you before that I'm not workin' for you anymore and I meant it," Ryanis leveled the gun at the Boss's chest and fired. A blue energy beam shot out and hit the Boss square in the chest, knocking him back three feet. Ryanis smiled and proceeded to shoot each of their former guards in the chest as well.
The Princess was beside herself. "What are you doing? Stop it!"
Ryanis, Shaker, and Sophia looked at her like she was nuts, "If we don't they'll just wake up and come after us, what else could we do?" Shaker asked.
"Anything else, just stop killing these men in cold blood!" She screamed out, tears pouring down her face. The other three started to laugh so hard they were doubling over.
Through the laughter Ryanis said, "Really? What kind of monster you think I am? This gun's set to stun, not kill. I don't want him dead, that's all manner of trouble we don't need right now. He's just out for a little while." Still chuckling Ryanis walked over to the Boss and began checking his pockets. The Boss really did owe him for his last job and this was probably the only way Ryanis was going to get paid. He made a mental note to stop working with dishonest lowlifes.
The Boss didn't carry any money on him, the only things he had were the clothes on his back and a simple looking belt with a very round, shiny buckle. Even though it didn't look like it was worth much, he took the belt figuring it was better than nothing. And maybe the Boss's pants would fall down for good measure.
Ryanis and his crew sprinted back to the Tiberius, taking off as quickly as possible. The Stun setting works pretty well but the effects differ from person to person.
Ryanis sat Sophia down after the ship was well away from the Station, "Sophia, we need your help tracking a fleet."
"Okay, which fleet? Who we talking about here?" she said suspiciously.
"A Malogan fleet attacked Martosis recently and kidnapped Jupiter, their King. Now there’s a decent sized bounty on his head, which we’ll cut you in on if you can help us find where they went."
Sophia leaned back in her chair, "A Malogan fleet huh? Difficult, but not impossible. I mean, no one’s actually built a Malogan tracker because no one in their right mind actually wants to follow a Malogan fleet. But I’ll give it a shot. Unfortunately all my equipment’s back on the station. What you got round here?"
"So you’ll do it?" Ryanis asked.
"You know me, I love a challenge. I’m going to need Shaker’s help though. And maybe some bits and pieces off your ship."
"Done. Try not to take anything vital though. SHAKER!" Ryanis yelled.
Shaker walked into the engineering room and looked suspiciously at Sophia and Ryanis. "Let me guess, she’ll help but I need to help her."
Ryanis pointed at both of them, "Play nice you two, without this we have no leads. Dead in the water, you hear?" Shaker nodded and reluctantly went to work.
Turning to the Princess, Ryanis said, “And while we’re at it, we can take you back to Martosis safe and sound.”
The Princess shook her head, “No, you can’t. Please, I have to find my father.”
Ryanis didn’t look sympathetic, “Sorry, you can’t come with us, it’s too dangerous. It’s especially dangerous for a Princess like yourself. Can’t take that kinda chance.”
Tears flowed freely down the Princess's face, “If you take me back, they’ll just stick me in a room. Please, I’m begging you, don’t make me go back.”
Ryanis paused and considered, “Not sure there’s much I can do for you Princess. We’ll just have to wait and see what the tracker says.”
As the Princess left the room dejected, Ryanis smiled to himself. He knew keeping the Princess on board wasn’t a good idea, but he couldn’t help himself. Ryanis liked her. Against his better judgment he was willing to let her stay.
Ten hours later, after much shouting and yelling at each other, they threw together a makeshift tracking system.
"Turn it on and let’s see where she takes us," Ryanis said.
Shaker flipped the switch, "Here goes nothing..." he said.
The machine jumped, whirred, and whistled, but eventually showed them what they needed to know. On the monitor, the trail led to the planet Frigias.
"Why in space would the Malogans go to the homeworld of the Ice Bandits? Doesn’t make any sense." Shaker said.
Ryanis smiled, "True ‘nough, but this job just got a lot more interesting."
Episode 7
The Tiberius shot out of hyperspace ne
xt to the planet Frigias, home of the Ice Bandits.
"Watch yourselves when we get to the planet side. The Ice Bandits aren't known for their hospitality.” Ryanis turned to the Princess, “And whatever you do Princess, don't let anyone know who you are. You'll be kidnapped in minutes if they figure out you're royalty. In fact, just stay on the ship and out of the way.” Ryanis warned.
The Princess Nodded her understanding.
Shaker monitored the approach, "No ships coming to greet us, looks like they're not looking for trouble. And we just got our landing clearance. Smooth sailing so far."
Ryanis wasn't as optimistic, "Just keep watch, you never know."
The Tiberius flew down to the planet's surface, docking in one of the fancier downtown docking stations. As they readied to leave for the city, Ryanis made sure they knew that this was a dangerous place. "Remember, be on your guard, don't trust anyone. We just need to find someone who knows where the Malogan fleet went. But these are Bandits, just one step up from pirates, don't trust 'em."
The three of them went to the local bars and hangouts, places that are likely to have the information the needed. They asked around but they couldn't get anything out of the Bandits, who were as tight lipped as they come.
As they headed to the last bar on their list, a group of large, burly, unhappy looking men stood in their way. There were 5 of them and they were nearly foot and a half taller than Ryanis. This didn't look good.
"The King heard you were looking for something," The Biggest, Gruffest Thug said, "he wants to help you out."
"Out of the kindness of his heart I'm sure. What's he want for his help?" Ryanis asked.
"Dunno, King just says to come get you guys so he can help you and so we do. Rest is his business."
"And if we refuse?"
The Thug pulled open his jacket, revealing a shiny pistol, three knives, a grenade, and some throwing stars, "Don't refuse."
Ryanis, Shaker, and Sophie got his point.
They were taken to the Bandit King's Palace, a gigantic building in the middle of the city that resembled a cross between a Church cathedral and a fortress. It was impressive, but then it had to be. The Ice Bandits were an interesting people in that their King but could only be King so long as he or she had the most loot. If someone got hold of the King's loot, the law was clear that person would then be King. This law led to several messy and bloody conflicts throughout their history. Now they were on their way to meet the most ruthless and reputedly bloody Bandit King in their history.
