Void Star (14 page)

     "Yup."  She smiled back and winked.

     "Well, buckle in. We have places to go."

     The
Wrath's
engines burst back into life, and they were off once again.

Chapter 14

     The crew aboard the
Wrath
watched the Elysians jump into hyperspace, one by one, until they were alone in space. A string of comets followed in their wake, quietly disappearing through the system. According to their star map, they were somewhere between the Outer Rim and unexplored space in Sector 32-J. The anomaly at its rate of speed and direction of travel was a day away.

     "Where to?" Trevor opened the NAV display. He brought up known repair facilities in red with guidance to each. The drinks from the night before were doing a number on his head, but he hadn't felt a tremor attack in hours, the longest it had been since Aquaria.  He knew better than to think he was getting better.

     Kaida pointed to a dark planet, arching an eyebrow in question.

     "Crystalis?" Trev asked, recognizing all too well what it was. "Never again. No."

     Nathan looked back at her, conflicting emotions washing together on his face. The edge of his mouth turned down. "Too dangerous."

     "They have the best ship engineers around," she pressed. "It's the closest, and my cousin Oran owns his own shop there. It used to be my home a long time ago, so I know it's not bad."

     "That place is a blight to the universe. It's overrun with the worst kind of scum. We swore we would never return there." Nathan turned back to Trevor to look at other worlds. Unfortunately, he could see by the NAV system that the nearest one beyond Crystalis would take another twelve hours or more and was equally disreputable.

     Kaida was quiet for a long moment and then added, "I also have a book with similar algorithms that can help break the last cipher.  It’s not guaranteed though."

     "I apologize, but we lost a good friend there. And people like Kendrick Plath don't forget."

     "You're worried about Kendrick? Word is he died two years ago."

     Nathan thought it over and turned to Trevor. They were wasting too much time in just thinking about what to do next. "Your cousin can fix our force drive?"

     "Yes."

     "Punch it in."  Nathan decided.

     Trevor did. The NAV routed them with an expected arrival time. It would take several hours without their force drive.

     "I have one rule since we're doing this: make sure you don't meddle with the wrong people, including those you trust. Those who create small footsteps rarely get caught."

     Kaida nodded. She saw Trev wasn't looking and motioned with her head for Nathan to follow.

     Nathan stood motionless for a moment, also taking his nephew into account, and then shook his head no.

     A flash of hurt crossed Kaida's face. Nathan indicated his controls.  He was the pilot.

     She got up and climbed down the ladder.

     Trevor did his best to pretend he couldn't see their reflections. He watched Nathan go back to his controls, frustrated with himself. Trev could tell he wouldn't be much for conversation.

     "Mind if I catch a nap?" Trevor asked.

     Nathan merely shrugged.

     Trev took it as permission and left his uncle to his own grumbly silence. He climbed down the stairs. When he reached the pax compartment, he didn't see Kaida, but he could hear her. She was blowing her nose in the bathroom.  He thought about telling her he was out of the way now, but thought better than getting involved.  They were adults.

     Boost was charging himself, power bars going from three red to four yellow.

     A thwacking sound piqued his interest before he committed to going to sleep. After each twang came a deep thump. He followed the sound down into the cargo hold where Glade was practicing archery.

     Two large crates belonging to the Asterion were open and a variety of weapons out. A crudely built target sat on one side with Glade on the other.

     Glade let another arrow fly and struck the target a good hundred feet away.

     "You have to stay sharp," he explained to Trevor. "And I have to keep my mind off space travel. I hate it so much."

     Trevor walked down and checked the target. He had hit dead center. "Impressive."

     Glade shrugged it off. "This is one of the first things you learn to use as an Asterion. The other is that." He pointed to the sword on Trevor's hip. "And then a fork." Glade laughed at his own joke.

     "Can you teach me?" Trev asked.

     Glade mulled it over for a moment. "It is only fair. You are helping me find a way to atone. I shall help you atone as well. Revenge and redemption, right?"

     He selected two light blades from his array and handed one to Trevor.

     "We will take breaks if you feel one of your attacks coming."

     Trevor stopped short. No one had been able to figure out his secret since Epherus. "What do you mean?"

     "Asterions can smell out many things—fear, dread, love, but more than anything, sickness. I can smell the parasite below the surface of your skin. I also know you keep this a secret."

     Trevor didn't like people calling him out, and he especially didn't like being discovered so easily. "So you won't say anything?"

     "I won't have to. Your sickness is very advanced. You will reveal it yourself soon enough."

     Trev clutched the practice sword in his hands till his knuckles turned white.

     "Good. Use that rage. If you are going to learn how to fight, you must learn how to channel your anger." Glade motioned for him to attack. "Now let's see what you got."

     In a blind fury, Trevor came at him.

-o-

     Finally spent after a few hours of swordplay, Trevor took a quick shower and crawled into bed. He put his own sword away unused, still refusing to wield it until the right moment came. For a while, he just looked at the ceiling and wondered how much longer he had. His best chance at getting revenge was going after the Void Star. If Ruvera wanted it, Velkas would send his most trusted person after it, his assassin. And then Trevor would get his chance.  He would see Render again soon enough.

     Just when he thought he wasn't going to be able to sleep, his eyes closed…and he found himself in the middle of a busy spaceport. It took him a moment to recognize it and gather his focus. How did he get back here?

     He was at Bastion Aerial Port. This was the meeting spot for countless refugees from the recently destroyed planet Earth. People were meandering around, crying, hurt, lost. Kids were looking for parents and parents for kids. It was mayhem with thousands frantic to find answers.

     Trevor had just arrived on one of the main trams from the moon world of Io, where he had lived with Nya and where his father had worked. He had arrived without either of them, the pain of their loss still fresh in his mind. He pushed that out of his mind.

     Trevor searched and searched. Bastion had been a fledgling spaceport, until millions of refugees appeared. It had been the closest place to Earth when the unthinkable had happened. He tried to find anyone who looked remotely familiar. Pictures with notes were written on walls. Where were his grandparents? Where were his cousins? His friends? He hoped he would at least find his Aunt Maura and his cousin Arilyn.

     In real life, he had stumbled upon his uncle Nathan. He was just sitting on a bench staring out. For a while, he didn't say anything. He was adjusting a robotic leg, something he had never had before.  When Trev shook him, he looked up and said with a drugged slur, "It's just you and me now."

     But in this dream, things were different. There was no Nathan waiting for him. Instead, he looked back to the shipyard and saw something he'd never seen before in this memory.

     A blood-red ship sat menacingly. The top opened, and out came a figure he didn't recognize. Dressed in black-and-red flight gear, it walked toward him.

     "Render," he said to himself, and for some reason, it felt right.

     The figure walked up to him with the sword he carried, the one still splashed with his father's blood.

     "I'm coming for you," the figure told him in a robotic voice.

     This wasn't how it was supposed to play out. He said the threatening words in his imagination. He stood up to the phantom.  But seeing his adversary at last filled him with dread. What if this person found him and killed him? He never really thought out what would happen if he did catch the killer. Finding the assassin had always been an unattainable goal.

     "I am the truth you can't let your mind accept." The dark figure pulled the diamond blade from its sheath. "I will be your end."

     Trevor was frozen in place, unable to speak.

     "You know who I am. You always have," the figure taunted. "But now it's too late."

     Suddenly, Trevor saw the darkness swallowing the sky behind Render. It streaked across the sky and enveloped all. Both Render and the blackness came for him.

     In a cold sweat, Trev jumped up from his cot. He dabbed the sides of his face. He changed shirts and tried his best not to think of what he'd just seen.

     What truth was his mind hiding from him?

     Just when he thought things couldn't get worse, his hands and arms contorted, and he dropped to the ground in agony. An overwhelming wave of pain forced him to black out.

Chapter 15

     Trevor and Nathan were both back at the controls when the computer announced they were nearing Crystalis. Nathan's mind was too preoccupied with Kaida. Since rejecting her shy advance right out of the gate, he hadn't seen her. Apparently with women, you get one random chance to do what they want you to do. Or is it: to do what they want you to want to do? There is nothing more frustrating than the simple difference between boys and girls. Losing hope on solving one of life’s greatest mysteries, he let his thoughts linger instead on the night they’d spent together.

     Trevor was still shaky from his last episode but kept focused. So much felt like it was shifting with Glade figuring him out so quickly, Nathan's being distracted, and now going back to where Epherus had been shot. What if Kaida was wrong and Plath was still alive and well? Perhaps even waiting for them?

     Crystalis opened up before them. Thousands of cities were alight on the dark side of the planet. Trade ships and cruisers were coming to and fro. As they descended into its orbit, the cities of glass, as they were known, appeared. As beautiful and magnificent as ever, towers made of crystalline materials shot up into spires. The great cities of Crystalis were orderly, safe, and structured. They weren't going to any of those places.

     The
Wrath
tore across a few smaller towns and the town where Plath got the lucky shot that killed Epherus. On any other day, Nathan would stop and pay his respects. But just like the last time they were topside, they just couldn't. There wasn’t time. Though he knew it was just an excuse.

     Nathan followed Kaida's directions toward a small shanty town built in levels on top of the crumbling mountains.

     They landed in what appeared to be a junkyard. Crushed cars were stacked on smeared space ships.  Bags of indiscernible garbage were wedged between the stripped vehicles. What could be called a landing pad was big enough for only one ship, among the trash.

     "This is my cousin Oran's place," Kaida explained. She appeared to be a little surprised herself at the disrepair of the place.

     Nathan killed the engines, ultimately deciding they would see how this played out. The instruments spun down until they were as quiet as the night outside.

     Kaida led the way out of the shipyard toward the small shop entrance. Cardboard taped over broken windows ran along the side facing the street. It didn't look like it had ever stood as a great place, but indicators showed that most of the damage was new; torn housing panels, blaster discharges, and walls that appeared to have taken a hit from a sledgehammer

     "Oran lives above the shop. Wait here." Kaida disappeared up the side stairs. She had to climb over a missing one. After a few minutes, she reappeared with a red-eyed, disheveled younger man.

     Oran yawned, ignored the odd assortment of strangers before him, and took one look at the ship. "A Tiger-37, eh? I can do it, but it will cost you." His shirt was dirty; his reddish-brown hair was matted, and he smelled even from a distance. He obviously could use the money.

     Kaida nodded. "Of course," she whispered something into his ear to which he nodded gladly.

     "I'll get working on her right away." Oran unlocked the shop door and disappeared inside. Tools started clanking and papers rustling moments later.

     Kaida caught Nathan's questioning look. She was still upset from earlier, but it was smoothing out. "I'm going to go see some people. Want to meet up in a few?" she asked.

     Nathan shrugged. He was still angry that she had been mad at him. 
Man that sounds stupid
.  But Nathan backed his gut instinct like the teenager he was acting like.

     Kaida searched his indifferent eyes and spun off like a thunderstorm. Nathan saw her wipe her arm across her face a few times before she disappeared.

     "You always have a way with the ladies." Trevor laughed.

     Nathan gave him a dark look and then turned his attention to Glade. "I need a drink."

     "I'll join you," Glade answered. "But before we do…" He reached into a large bag and showed off the assortment of weapons held within. Trevor watched them each pick one out like they were going on a date with it, and off the four of them went.

-o-

     The Salty Dog sat crouched between two old, dilapidated apartment buildings. It appeared to have been a seaworthy ship or at least boat-shaped. The sign for the cavern had rusted to great effect and had lost most of the hinges connecting it to the front entrance. Off-white paint chipped in splotches throughout or showed off stains.