Annihilation: The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, Book 1 Read online

  “My brother was run out of the regional militia because of those pricks.” Theo spoke in a lower tone to Garth. Now, both men made a point not to look towards the monks.

  Garth turned to Theo, and took a sip of his coffee. Genuine interest lit up his eyes. “How did that happen?”

  “He was on a post at one of the other planetoids, and voiced his displeasure at how those shaved-heads seemed to be everywhere inside the CRM. Remi, that’s his name, was on his second year, and about to finish up. He thought about re-enlisting, but never finished his tour. He spoke too much about those holy rollers. They saw to it he was terminated early. Never got the bonus, and showed up in town with his bag and discharge papers. Damn shame too, because he liked the black uniform and life. He might’ve gone career, but they kicked him out on a ‘conduct unbecoming’ spiel. I thought he was just exaggerating, but maybe there was more to it than I gave him credit for.”

  “So, what’s he doing these days?” Garth cautiously stole a glance in the direction of the monks, who were still enjoying their coffee.

  “Got an off-worlder knocked up, and married her. He’s between places, hauling junk on garbage runs. Spends most of the year going from one port to another. Long trips, but he gets paid good. Big, dangerous things they won’t let you bring through a portal. Mom’s back home, watching his children.”

  “I get the impression his marriage didn’t last.”

  “No, his wife is the one who rooked me into this job. The kids are better off with Mom, if you ask me. Are you going to give me the samples you just showed me earlier? I’m supposed to give you the envelope I’m carrying. I need to get home.” Theo was tired of chewing the fat. He still had quite a flight, to get back to Relisse. Plus, he was supposed to pick up Cierra at some coordinates she had given him.

  Garth tapped his finger on the side of his coffee mug. “Let’s wait a bit. First the watch, and now the Yasta? I don’t like this. Rule of three. Two bad things happen close to each other, you can expect a third. Let’s wait, and see if those monks leave.”

  They continued to make small talk about the weather and the price of crops, all the time keeping the Yasta monks in visual range, but not too obviously. After another fifteen minutes, the monks stood up and left the coffee house. Theo watched as Garth relaxed his massive form, in the chair. He looked relieved. Theo was surprised how massive he looked, when he was sprawled out.

  Enough was enough. Theo was running out of patience. “The rocks. Are we going to finish here so I can give you the envelope and leave, or what?”

  “I feel better about it now, but I don’t want to do it here. I don’t like the way the server keeps coming over to check on us. There’s no one else in here, and it could be a set-up.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously, at the young woman behind the bar.

  They waited a few more minutes. Finally, after a frustrated sigh from Theo, Garth jerked his head towards the exit. “Let’s get out of here. When we get outside, I’ll find a place to do the trade. Stay close. I don’t know if anyone is watching us, and I don't want to take any chances.”

  They took their empty mugs to the counter, and handed them to the young woman. She smiled at them. Theo felt her eyes trail up and down his body. “We don’t get too many customers who bring the mugs back to the counter.”

  “My mother taught me to clean up after myself.” Theo laughed as he and Garth walked out the coffee house entrance. Once they were outside, he silently reprimanded himself for flirting. His fingers went to his medallion again.

  It was dusk outside. The aisles between the booths were filled with flickering light that illuminated the souk. A few bioluminescent lights floated around on their own gasbags, but most of the market used torches to make the ground visible. It was an old custom, and the people were slow to change.

  As they proceeded down the aisle, Theo turned, and saw a booth filled with lanterns. They sent rainbow shades into the night. The vendor wasn’t ready to open shop, but he was careful to make certain his display would be perfect for the next day. The colors cast surreal patterns, along the walkway. For a brief moment, Theo thought that Mari would have loved to have seen it. A fresh pang of guilt over his flirting wormed through him.

  “So how did you become a farmer? Inherit some land from one of your family members?” Garth was casting long glances down each dark alley they passed.

  “No, I saved the money, and bought my plot. After I did my tour with the militia, I found a small place near where my parents had their farm, and began to raise sheep. I managed to get a local girl in the family way, so we ended up married. She’s holding things down with the farm, until I get back.”

  Garth let out a slightly amused snort. “Seems to be a common problem. Maybe you have more in common with your brother than you care to admit. Still, you two aren’t the first to end up with families sooner than you expected.”

  “Nor will we be the last. Can we do this trade so I can get out of here?” The last fingers of light were curling beyond the horizon. Theo had stuck around Carristoux much longer than he was comfortable with. The hairs on the back of his neck were starting to stand up.

  The large, bald man stopped walking so suddenly that Theo almost bumped into one of his beefy arms. His eyes had landed on a dark gap between two booths. “That should do. I don’t see anyone watching, and it’s tucked away nicely enough. We can do the exchange, and be on our way.”

  “Yeah, sure. Sounds great.” Theo nodded but followed Garth hesitantly. If something went wrong, would he be able to overpower someone Garth’s size? His hand to hand combat was a little rusty, but he might be able to outrun him, if he needed to. He had to be lighter on his feet, didn’t he?

  The ground was still muddy in parts, from a recent downpour. It squelched around Theo’s boots, and forced them to step over several puddles. The two of them picked their way between the booths. The small alcove was well away from prying eyes. Theo reached into his robes, and found the envelope Remi gave him before he left. The yellowed parchment was crinkled around the edges, but it was in decent enough condition.

  Garth took out the pieces of slivery, black metal from his pouch, and wrapped them in cloth. He tied a brown string around them, and tossed the bundle to Theo. Fumbling to catch the package, Theo managed to hook it in the crook of his elbow. He shoved the envelope towards Garth, in frustration.

  “Anything I need to tell them?” Theo asked the older man through gritted teeth.

  Garth held up the envelope to the moons passing overhead, to make sure something was inside. Satisfied, he slipped it inside his tunic. “Not really. Just tell them it was all I could spare. They’ll know what I’m talking about.”

  The sound of laughter made Garth and Theo retreat deeper into the alley. A group of local souk workers were meandering past. Judging by the sway in their steps, they had come from a nearby ale house. The men in front sang a bawdy song about the emperor and all his children, as they wandered past. Even Theo blushed as four or five of those in the rear chimed in, with a nasty chorus.

  “They couldn’t get away with that behavior if we were closer to Pollux.” Garth let out a low whistle as the sounds of the group faded, into the distance. “The emperor’s people wouldn’t put up with it.”

  “The emperor is great. The further away he is, the better I think of him.” Theo smirked to himself.

  “It may not stay that way. The empire is always growing.” Garth moved out of the safety of the shadows, and into the light of the torches. Suddenly, he threw one massive arm behind himself. His wide palm signaled for Theo to stay back. Garth shuffled back into the shadows, making Theo backpedal further into the alley.

  Theo’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What’s wrong? There’s just a few people out there milling around. What are you afraid of?”

  “Look at that man in the robes. That’s the same man who came by almost an hour ago, in the uniform of a watch commander. They’re looking for us.” Garth hurriedly shuffled further into the alle
y, and pushed Theo along in front of him.

  On the other side of the tents and booths, supplies were stacked up for the souk. Most of the merchants slept in their booths, during the fair. It was one way to cut down on thieves stealing goods after hours. Theo quickly realized that he could either hurry along out the back of the alley on his own, or Garth was going to shove him out. Avoiding any trouble with the law would be to both of their benefits, so he didn’t put up a fight.

  They emerged next to a stack of coffee beans. No one was around this time of night. The rear of the booths consisted mostly of water barrels and supply crates. No torches were lit. The bio-lights floated around on the other side of the tent line, casting their soft glow on the front of the stalls. It was dark, but Carristoux’s moons provided them with enough light to see the ground, in front of them.

  “Appears we’ve avoided our watchman. I plan to leave. I suggest you do the same.” Garth threw on his cloak, and gave Theo a small nod. His eyes were still scanning the area.

  Theo’s sense of unease still lingered. He would be only too happy to get away from Garth, and this whole mess that Cierra had gotten him into. “Don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to. I’ll let Remi know that—”

  Theo’s words were cut off, as a cold blade pressed against the hollow of his throat. Two men held his arms behind his back. The tip of the blade nicked his neck. A trickle of blood snaked across his skin. Theo tasted bile in his mouth. There was no use struggling.

  “And a very good evening to you, young man. Now, if you will give us your purse, we can all be on our way. Don’t try to tell us you don’t have anything. We saw the whole exchange between you two.” Theo heard a raspy voice behind him, close to his ear.

  Garth was held by two more thugs. Theo couldn’t get a look at their faces. Both men had their heads wrapped, with dark scarfs. Damn, this was not good. He could smell rotten breath behind him. They were probably career criminals, trying to get in some easy pickings before the watchmen were out in full force for the festival. Theo had no doubt these guys would have no qualms about gutting them both, and leaving them for dead.

  One of the thugs holding Garth jerked him roughly. “You too, fatty. I see a key to a cargo ship, on your belt. Hand it over, and we’ll let you go. Don’t do anything stupid. My friends and I haven’t had to wet our blades in a while. I would hate to lose our streak because you wanted to play hero.”

  “Please don’t hurt me. I just want to go home. Take whatever you want.” Garth was trembling. Theo saw the fear in his eyes. Theo cringed at the man’s cowardice, and to think he had been worried about what would have happened if Garth had tried to overpower him.

  The lead thug released his hold on Theo and sauntered over to Garth. The man with the blade continued to keep it on Theo’s throat. Theo watched as the leader of the robbers held out his hand, and gave his fingers a wiggle. He motioned for one of the men holding Garth to let go of his arm, so the bald man could reach the key. “Hand it over, fat ass. Don’t make me wait.”

  “Here. Here it is.” Garth fumbled with his belt. His hands were hidden by his cloak.

  The thug boss held his free hand held out, laughing at the man in front of him. He turned to see if the man behind Theo was enjoying the show just as much as he was. In that moment, Garth flipped over the concealed knife he was now holding, and buried it deep in the leader’s throat. The bandit went down with a gurgle. Blood sputtered from his wound, and sprayed over the ground.

  Two things happened so quickly that to Theo they seemed to happen simultaneously. Garth jerked his knife out of the leader’s neck, and sliced the throat of the man still holding him. The older man also pulled out a short sword he had concealed inside his cloak. In one fluid sweep, Garth chopped down with his short sword on the arm holding the knife to Theo’s throat. The knife clattered to the ground, as the man behind him screamed and fell to his knees.

  The man looked from his severed arm to his two dead comrades. The thug who had initially let go of Garth stumbled backwards in shock. They obviously weren’t used to their victims fighting back. The man with the bloody stump pressed his fingertips against the wound, as if that would stem the bleeding. His glossy eyes looked up just in time to see Garth power down on him, with another mighty swing. The thief’s head was thrown from the rest of his body. The remainder of him fell to the ground. Raring his sword back, Garth threw the blade with startling accuracy, into the chest of the final living thief. The man fell over dead, as the blade shredded his heart.

  The entire sequence didn’t last thirty seconds. Garth cleaned his blades on the clothes of the dead men. He then slid them into the sheaths he wore, inside his cloak. “I’m getting slow. Should’ve taken that punk down with one strike, not two. What’s wrong, kid? I thought you did a tour of duty with the militia?”

  “Never saw any real action.” Theo stammered out the words in bewilderment. The blood was still pooling on the ground in sticky, crimson puddles.

  “Best get your wits about you. Party time’s over. You see those container ships in the distance? That blue one on the left is mine. I don’t know where you’ve parked, but we need to get the hell out of here, before someone finds these bodies. You’re welcome to come with me.” Garth turned and walked away with slow determination. He didn’t look to see if Theo was following him or not.

  There was a moment of hesitation before Theo swore under his breath, and jogged to catch up to the man who had just saved his life. He tried hard to keep up with the Garth, but the man moved with surprising swiftness for a person of his size. A few times, Theo tried to talk to him, but Garth wasn’t interested in carrying on a conversation. The only thing he cared about was the blue cargo ship ahead.

  Theo spotted his own green lift vehicle, 500 yards to the right. Almost every manner of small ship was parked there. The local watch had been deployed to keep people away. He wondered how Garth expected to get through their security. Theo noted their path took them between two watchmen who were moving in opposite directions. Each had a radio to one ear, and was yammering about something important. It almost seemed like the watchmen had been given an order to move away from their destination the moment that both he and Garth entered the landing field.

  In his hurry to keep up with the older man, Theo failed to notice the red lights on the warning cones positioned around Garth’s blue cargo ship. The electric security field dimmed momentarily to allow Garth to enter safely, because of the RFID pass he carried. Theo wasn’t so lucky. He walked right into the field. An electrical jolt hit Theo with the force of ten hammers. He was knocked unconscious, and thrown backwards from the ship. Garth heard him fall. He turned around, and looked at Theo’s unconscious form. If the kid was dumb enough to walk headfirst into a security field, then he was going to be more trouble than he was worth. Besides, the effects of the shock would only last an hour or two. Their business was done. The kid was someone else’s problem now. Garth turned on his heel, and kept walking towards the cargo ship.

  Two

  Theo blinked to clear his head. His teeth felt fuzzy. Judging by the position of the moons in the sky, several hours had passed. His hands frantically reached for his pocket where he had stuffed the rocks. They were still there, thank goodness. Theo sat up, and looked around.

  There was an empty spot in front of him, where the blue cargo ship had once rested. Theo pounded his fist into the ground. He turned and noted the red warning markers no longer had their lights activated. How could he have been that stupid? By some miracle, the shock from the security field had knocked him behind another ship, and out of view from the prying eyes of the watch. His lift delivery ship wasn’t that far away. Maybe he could still get there without arousing too much suspicion.

  Theo stood up, and dusted off his clothing. Judging the timing as best he could, he darted from ship to ship while avoiding the watch. Eventually, he managed to make it to his rental ship. A sigh of relief left his lips, as he staggered into the cockpit of the shi
p. Theo tried to rationalize the situation, to calm his nerves. There shouldn’t be anything that could tie him or Garth to the deaths of the thugs who had jumped them. He expected the watch would find them, and decide they had messed with the wrong targets. The bandits would be cremated on some potter’s field, and no one would remember them. Really, when he thought about it, Garth killing those criminals could be seen as doing the watch a favor. Unfortunately, the watch would not have seen it that way.

  Theo tossed the wrapped-up package of the rocks into a small cubby in the cockpit. The ship’s rotors whirled to life, and the lights illuminated the space around the craft. Theo looked through the port in front of him, and swore under his breath. A mob of very angry men were rushing towards his ship’s launch pad. There were five of them, and each one was armed.

  Theo flipped the switch to funnel electricity into his hull. It would be like a bug zapper compared to the security field he had been hit with earlier, but it was better than nothing. If the mob tried to board his ship, it would buy him at least a little time. Theo snatched the radio from its resting dock. “This is TK-69. I need permission to get the hell out of here. Someone’s on the ground trying to attack my ship!”

  A rather bored tower responder’s voice crackled over the airwaves. “TK-69, you do not have permission to leave. A warrant for your arrest was issued by the watch commander. You are ordered to stand your ground until they arrive!”

  A bullet pinged off the forward cupola, as Theo switched off his radio. He doubted the local air control had anything powerful enough to ground him, but he’d been wrong before. If he had to take his chances with the men shooting at him or with the air control, Theo was going to choose the air control. He slammed the throttle pedal down with his foot, and pulled back on the sticks. The delivery ship lunged upwards, at the same moment a laser beam deflected off of the hull. Judging by the mob’s determination to take him in dead or alive, it seemed like he had made the right decision. He needed to get airborne, and out of range as quickly as he could.