Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1) (7 page)

“I told you he’s all right!” Spaide rushed to pull the young man away.

“Stay back!” Exander waved his hand in Spaide’s direction, and an unseen force shoved the Dirsalian, forcing him to lurch back.

“How dare you!”

Vincent couldn’t believe what he saw, but nevertheless stared back into those crystallized eyes—eyes full of rage on the edge of an outburst—while his mind was pondering just what these aliens were going to do with him.

“You’re a brave man,” Exander started. “But if I find out you’re a spy…” He paused, stretching out his hand and gripping Vincent’s. “I’ll kill you,” he added, leaning closer and squeezing hard.

“Sounds fair,” Vincent answered, refusing to show any sign of the excruciating pain caused by the young man’s strong grip.

Exander then turned to the rest of the crew and said, “Come on. Let’s go to the room. We must confer in private and get to the bottom of this.”

Damocles, Gaia, and Spaide, who was still fussing about being pushed, were already halfway to the door when ten creatures surrounded Exander and Vincent. They were about five feet tall with greenish-grey skin, long pointy noses, small round ears, and eyes of a dirty olive color.

“Why you
botherin
’ this creature?” one of them gargled, pointing at Vincent.

“
Creature?
” Vincent exclaimed.

“Get out of my way if you want to live,” Exander stated boldly, staring the goblin dead in the eye.

“
Whatcha
gonna do, Xenian scum?” roared another, stepping forward with a large saber.

Exander took a step back, reached into his coat, and grabbed the handle of what seemed to be a sword. The bright metal of the blade shone through the room as he pulled it out halfway. The music stopped, and everyone turned to them. Suddenly, a large hand landed on Exander’s shoulder, halting him from completely withdrawing the weapon.

“Is there a problem?” Damocles’ deafening voice rumbled. He took off his duster coat and threw it on the ground, towering above the miniature goblins with his six-foot-plus frame. He was the biggest man that Vincent had ever seen: massive trapezius muscles connected his thick neck to his wide shoulders; his arms—perhaps over twenty-five inches in girth—were full of ripping veins; and his enormous chest, on top of the rock-hard abdominals that protruded through his black spandex shirt, was at the eye level of the horrified creatures. Loose black pants, girdled by a belt with a blaster and throwing knives, were tucked into his boots. Around his neck he wore a chain with a shimmering pendant, and attached to his back was a scabbard with a huge sword.

“Do we have a problem?” the big man repeated, looking down.

“No,” the goblin forced out just before he took a step back and ran out of the door, followed by his cowardly companions.

The music resumed and everyone went back to their business in an instant.

“You see, Ex? Violence isn’t always necessary,” the big man said, retaining his coat.

“Yeah, just another excuse to show off his muscles,” Spaide said.

“Always, ” Exander agreed. He looked around the bar at all the faces that turned away as soon as he met their gaze. “Let’s get out of here before someone else gets any smart ideas.” He then strode towards the door.

Vincent turned to the Dirsalian. “So, they’re twins, huh?”

“Yes.” Spaide frowned. “Why? Can’t you see the resemblance?”

Sebalon 2

The companions left through the back door that opened into a gloomy passage between two windowless buildings. Exander led, followed by his brother, then Spaide and Gaia abreast, with Vincent reluctantly dragging behind the group, reprimanding himself for his actions that got him into this mess in the first place.
It always happens to me,
he thought.
I guess this is one of those times when I should’ve listened to Alex.
The wonders of the new world were slowly ceasing to amaze him, and now there was only one thing on his mind—the same question that affected these aliens as well: just what was he doing there?

Their path flowed into a wide street. Unlike the rest of the dynamic
Sebalonian
underworld, the backstreets were abandoned, with no traffic or living quarters of any kind. There were no bars or the thrift shops nor any of the flashy casinos. The only sources of light were the bug-covered lamps that still functioned atop crooked poles. Eroded cars, trucks, jets, and other machines were stacked in mounds alongside the buildings, coated in inches dirt. Homeless creatures dressed in mere rags curiously stared at them, hiding behind the mountains of the abhorring waste along with odd looking animals some of which resembled cats and others giant rodents and insects. Every once in a while, one of the homeless would run up to the group begging for food, only to be roared at by Exander. It was hard to imagine that this was a part of the same city—it resembled more of an apocalyptic wasteland than the futuristic world Vincent had seen.

Exander turned left to a narrow trail that ran amid the piles of scrap, where he smell was repulsive to such an extent that the party had to cover their noses. Most of the lights were left behind, and darkness loomed ahead, which meant more ambushing by the extraterrestrial bums.

But apparently, the homeless were far more afraid of them as Exander resolutely stormed the empty streets, grunting, cursing and simultaneously shouting at Spaide and his brother. From the point of view of someone who didn’t know any better, one would assume that he were the eldest of the brothers—that is if one would cope with the fact that the two were related in the first place despite the significant differences in their size and manner.

“Damn it!” Exander swore bitterly. “We were supposed to convene here! Galadan will be making his appeal all by himself!”

“He’s going to have to,” Gaia said. Her thoughts veered to the Urtan King, the poor man who was at the mercy of that conniving Council. “My enemies made sure I wouldn’t be there.” She then squared her shoulders and added, “For now, finding Oryon and Duell is our top priority.”

“First, we must find out what happened,” Damocles said. “Maybe they’re holding them captive? We’re—”

“Who do you mean by
they
?” Exander asked, turning to his brother.

“The Imperials, of course. It’s up to us. We’re going to have to find them—”

“Well, where do we look, genius? All we have is that… that human!” Exander stuck his thumb to the back of the group. “And he won’t talk!”

“I don’t think he’s lying.” Damocles shook his head. “I sense confusion and fear, yet not an ounce of deceit… but—”

“But your senses could be lying as always? What of the maiden on Tariador that turned out to be a killer android?”

Damocles bit his lip. “That was years ago, brother.”

“This is so confusing, Damocles.” Exander looked down. “There’s a traitor—or traitors—that always seem to be ahead of us. At first, it’s Gaia, and now Duell and Oryon. And on top of that, we got a caveman on our necks that could be a spy, but
noooo
,” he scornfully said under his breath, “he’s just an innocent, lost man.”

“The main question is
why
would Oryon end up on his system?” Spaide said, jerking his head to the back.

“I’ve no clue!” Exander responded with his ever-enraged tone. “But I hope the data disk will give us some information.”

“The Imperials must be
scoutin
’ the entire city by now.”

“Yeah, because of you. Now we have to walk these slums!”

“It’s an odd turn our path is takin’ us on,” Spaide said, ignoring Exander’s complaints. “Remember, the enemy strikes when you least suspect it. I sense bloodshed… but this time—”

“We’ve little time,” Damocles interrupted. “If they are held prisoner, we
must
get them out.”

“I know that!” Exander whirled around. “Why don’t you use your muscles to get us out of this mess, huh? Talking to you is like talking to a wall!” After those harsh words, he walked upfront and isolated himself from the rest of the group.

“Let him cool off,” Spaide said.

Damocles sighed and lowered his head. The big man, unlike his hotheaded twin, seemed completely calm, although he eagerly wanted to get to the bottom of this as well.

“Is he always like that?” Gaia asked the big guy.

“No, not really,” he answered. “He just always had trouble controlling his emotions. He’s very diverse from Oryon or Duell.”

“But, of course. You must realize the current situation.”

“I cannot believe this myself: Duell and Oryon
both
missing. I can only imagine how that’s tormenting him…”

She nodded, then asked, “Yet you remain calm?”

Damocles looked away. “I try to be a bit more optimistic.”

“‘A warrior must always be patient. Patience is a virtue and is the most essential tool to triumph over evil, both within and out,’” she quoted.

“You’re familiar with the
Philosophy of the Warrior Sage
?” Damocles asked, his distraught face fading away for a moment.

“I know my share,” she said. “Mostly from stories told to me by my father, who had a great zeal for the
Tel Kasar
and their—your—way of life.”

“Forgive me,” Damocles apologized. “I didn’t mean to react with surprise. I should’ve known that someone of your eminence is familiar with numerous fields of study… It’s just many have forgotten about us and the
Kasar Delia
. We’re just a legend… “

She didn’t respond and became quiet as she did often when she remembered her father.

“Galadan,” she then whispered, changing the topic, “I hope he’s alive, at least.”

“They’ll probably try to kill him on Xenon, but he’ll have to make his statement alone. I’m sorry. It looks like Damien has won this round.”

“They’ll eat him alive without me. I’ve struggled so hard to get him up there...”

“I’m positive that Zeth is behind this.”

“Yes,” she said, “and I think I’ve been made an enemy to the Republic as we speak.”

Vincent strutted along with Spaide behind Gaia and the big guy. All the talk, the names, and the locations made no sense to him, like the “Imperial Republic” oxymoron. He wanted to know the answers, and there was no one to give them. They were as puzzled about the whole situation as he was; that much he understood.

He slumped down his head that continued to throb in pain and quietly followed. Out of boredom—and by stupid habit—he began rummaging through his pockets. First, he produced his cell phone, doubting if it would ever work again. He chuckled and nearly tossed it into the piles of rubble until he realized this for a bad idea, considering his unusual companions would definitely think he was up to something. He then dug in his other pocket and pulled out a wallet and a set of keys with a peculiar silver charm depicting planet Saturn and its rings.

Susan
. His mind went to his ex who gave it to him as a gift, whom he hadn’t seen in years. Perhaps she’d finally met someone who’d
settle down
... “You’re a dreamer, Vincent Saturn,” were her last words to him. He clasped the keys, reminiscing.
If you could only see what dreams may come, Sue
.

He then opened his wallet and looked at its contents: forty dollars (not that it would be any good now), his badge, receipts for recent purchases, and several credit cards. He sighed and put it all away, realizing he mustn’t let his worries cloud his vision in the world where death seemed to creep around every corner—a strange world where he wasn’t welcome.

The pain in his head was so excruciating by then that he began wondering what the equivalent of aspirin was on this faraway planet.

“Is there a star map of sorts?” he asked Spaide all of a sudden.

“Sure, there’s a map of the known galaxy,” the Dirsalian answered. “Why? You
expectin
’ to find your home on it?”

A spark of hope appeared in Vincent’s face. “Is that a possibility?”

“If you can find your star amongst millions of others.”

Vincent began thinking about astronomy, trying to recall the location of the sun, and then asked, “How many systems are there? I remember you mentioning that there are thousands of civilized planets, but how many systems have actually been visited and charted?”

“Billions.” Spaide shrugged and raised his hands, signifying that the true number escaped him. “The majority of the stars on the map all have dead satellites: planets with no breathable atmosphere, barren deserts, ice worlds, or those composed of pure gas. Yet there are others that have enough air but no advanced beings, hence are mere colonies. Even with modern technology, we can’t fly to every star system in search of life. That process takes years. Even so, they keep
findin
’ new ones—systems where some nations haven’t even reached the Stone Age. Back in the days of the Federation, association with such planets wasn’t legal. Now… well…” He chortled.

“So, you’re saying there’s no way I can find my planet?”

“No, I’m not. But I think your best bet would be the data disk from Oryon’s ship.”

Vincent nodded, picturing himself returning to Earth.
Who’d believe me?
he thought.
Well, Alex would… but others? They’d probably lock me up in a loony bin…
He straightened, trying to rinse away the crazy notions.
No, I have to get back.

“I forgot to mention the crazy thing,” Spaide said. “Most of the planets the Republic finds are
puttin
’ themselves on the map.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Imperials intercept signals the systems send out to space and
bam
! It’s that easy.”

Spaide’s ribald humor did not appease to Vincent, who was gripped with fear for our world.

“We’re here!” Exander stopped and turned around to face the rest of the company.

The alley came to a dead end before a fifteen-foot high base of a skyscraper that disappeared into the blurry sky.

“Damocles, get the Princess!” Exander said and leapt up. With that one swift jump, he was on top. The big man wrapped his huge arm around Gaia’s waist, jumped, and landed beside his brother.

“Amazing,” Vincent whispered, staring in awe and trying to grasp the unimaginable.

“What’s
amazin
’ is we gotta climb,” Spaide muttered as he grabbed the first rung of the rusty ladder that led to the top of the foundation.

Vincent didn’t respond. He stood there, mouth agape, deciding whether he should pinch himself or not. The trick Exander pulled at the tavern was nothing compared to the inhuman stunts he just witnessed.
But what about Spaide and Gaia
? he pondered.
They seem to be normal.

“
Well?
” Exander called out, awaking Vincent. “Come on, caveman.”

Vincent quickly climbed the ladder, eager for an answer. “How did you do that?” he asked the very second he reached the top. “How did you jump like that?”

The brothers exchanged looks. “Once you earn our trust, human, we’ll tell you,” the big man said.