Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life (8 page)

Zoren read
‘163-623-067, 163-624-067, 163-625-067,’
as they flew further into the space port.

Kalrea interrupted Zoren’s intense fascination of his surroundings.

‘Look! There’s the ship we’ve been tracking, over there, the mercenary ship. We are now passing it.’ Kalrea pointed at a large ship through the side window.

Zoren could not see it from where he was standing, so he moved to sit alongside Kalrea. He gazed out at the sandy-coloured ship, which was blackened with weapons damage.

‘It’s a lot bigger than the
Aurora
,’ he commented. ‘In fact, it could probably fit the
Aurora
in its cargo bay, going by the size of it. I wonder if Sabri and the others are there.’

‘I’ve scanned the interior. Your people are no longer onboard. The ship is a Frindul destroyer called the
Ringal
. I’ll connect into the planet’s computer systems to try and locate them.’

The shuttle came to a stop next to an empty bay, which had the reference of “AD-163-643-067” written alongside it, and then moved sideways towards a tubular umbilical gantry, which was moving in a random, jerky action, like it was frantically searching for something. The gantry seemed to sense the approaching shuttle because it immediately stopped moving and then positioned itself directly in-line with the shuttle’s door. The end of the gantry contracted and distorted its shape to match the outline of the door, just before the shuttle came into contact with it. Then it sealed itself onto the hull of the shuttle producing an intense sound of air suction.

Kalrea got to her feet. ‘Are you ready?’

‘Yes, I think so.’

‘Remember, keep your head covered with your hood, whatever anyone does or says. And make sure you don’t attract any attention. Understood?’

Zoren took a deep breath. ‘Keep my head covered. Don’t attract attention. Yes.’

His hearts started to quicken as the shuttle door opened.

A small transit took Kalrea and, an anxious, Zoren to the space port’s main arrivals hall. As he exited the transit, he was greeted by the overwhelming sound of many people coughing and spluttering. He peered out from beneath the hood of his habit to see a haze of smoke, which totally obscured his view of the room, making it impossible to understand if he was in a small waiting room or a large hanger. Those people he could see were standing smoking and talking in small groups. White lights high above were just about able to penetrate the smoke. In the floor were red lines, which all appeared to converge somewhere in the distance.

His mouth fell open when a creature with a long neck unexpectedly appeared out of the smoke. The creature towered above the other races, standing at least three metres tall. Its neck was held within a colourful banded tube and its large bulbous head looked completely out of proportion from the rest of its body.

You’re not going to lose your friends if you’re one of those,
Zoren thought, as it sauntered past him.

Its slender body made it appear top heavy, and with every step it appeared as if it was going to fall forward onto the floor. Zoren noticed it was carrying a large gun held in a strap across its waist.

As it disappeared into the curtain of smoke, he asked Kalrea, ‘What was that creature?’

‘That was a Drulfian,’ she replied.

‘Male or… fe... female?’ Zoren coughed.

‘Neither.’

‘Oh!’

The dense smoke was now making Zoren’s eyes smart and he could not help but cough again. He glanced at Kalrea, who seemed to be suppressing the need to do the same.

‘This way,’ Kalrea said, indicating to the red lines on the floor.

They followed one of the many lines until it converged with all the others, finally leading them to a tall semi-transparent doorway with ornate geometrical carvings around its border. Standing in front of the door was a security guard.

My eyes, I can hardly see,
Zoren thought, and then used the sleeve of his habit to remove the tears forming in his eyes.
I hope the rest of this place isn’t like this.
He could hardly keep his eyes open.

‘Are you all right, Zoren?’ Kalrea asked him.

‘Yes… Ye…’ He coughed. ‘I’m… I’m fine! I just can’t stand this... smoke.’

‘Enter your docking bay reference on this terminal,’ the guard ordered.

I wonder what race he is,
Zoren thought, while squinting at the plump grey-skinned guard standing in front of him. The guard had no visible eyes, yet he seemed to be able to see.

Kalrea entered the code on the terminal and then an image of the docked shuttle was displayed on a large monitor above the doorway.

‘Confirm this is your ship.’

‘Yes, that’s my ship,’ Kalrea replied.

‘Accept that you agree to this,’ the guard instructed, giving Kalrea and Zoren each an electronic tablet.

‘What… is it?’ Zoren asked Kalrea, hardly being able to see what was written on it. He wiped his eyes again, in between forced coughs.

‘It’s a legal document,’ Kalrea replied. ‘Basically if you’re maimed or killed whilst here, they accept no responsibility. Also, they expect payment from you to have your body disposed of or stored for relatives to take.’

‘Great! Not… that… I’d be… too worried… if I was… dead,’ Zoren coughed the words out.

‘If you can’t pay, then they will sell your ship or expect payment from the crew before it’s allowed to leave.’

Zoren quickly pressed the confirmation button on the pad and handed it back to the guard.

‘Have a good stay,’ the guard said, as the transparent door opened.

If I hear another, ‘have a good stay’, I may be tempted to put my hands around their neck and kill them myself,
Zoren thought.

Through the doorway the smoke appeared to be a lot thinner. He rushed through and instantly bent over, staring down at the floor and placing his hands against his knees. He coughed violently and spluttered, almost making himself sick. His eyes were streaming with tears. He did not care what anyone might think, he had to get the smoke out from his lungs.

‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Kalrea asked. ‘You don’t look too good.’

Zoren raised a hand in acknowledgement because he was unable to say anything.

After a minute of coughing, he managed to compose himself. He was now able to keep his eyes open for more than three seconds at a time.

‘Wow! Look at all those shops,’ Zoren said, now glancing around a massive entrance lobby, which stretched like a long wide corridor into the distance. High above was a colourful ceiling painted with landscapes from exotic worlds, which looked in need of repair and redecoration. Balconies split the two sides of the lobby in half, with walkways crossing at regular intervals between them.

He hurried over to the balcony railing and peered down at the many shopping floors beneath them. He counted sixteen floors, before a haze prevented him from seeing any further. In fact, the shops covered an area of fifty floors beneath them.

‘Right, now you’re fully recovered from that little bit of smoke…’

While Kalrea spoke, Zoren thought,
Little bit of smoke! What’s a lot of smoke then?
He glanced to Kalrea.
To me, it looks like you actually enjoyed it
.

‘…we need to get to level 5676, area 128. I’ve not been able to find any signs of your people, but I’ve located some of the crew from the
Ringal
who seem to be spending a lot of money on women. And one of those purchased a brand new ship less than ten minutes ago.’

‘How do you know all this?’

‘I’ve now gained access to all the security systems on Xim’gu. It looks like they monitor everyone. It’s supposed to cut down the number of deaths.’ With her head and eyes, Kalrea indicated towards one of the numerous cameras.

‘Kalrea, all the shops on this floor are selling the same thing. Just guns!’ Zoren remarked, as they wandered past the endless shops’ entrances. ‘Are you sure we don’t need any weapons? They seem to cater very well for those who may have forgotten them.’

‘Don’t worry, Zoren, you’re safe. Just keep with me, ok?’

Seeing that Kalrea was unarmed, a Gullin man approached her from the entrance of one of the shops.

That man physically looks very similar to me, except he has this hair stuff like Kalrea,
Zoren thought.

He noticed something resembling an animal was clinging to the outside of the man’s leg. The animal’s eyes attracted his attention. They were large orange discs constantly looking around, moving from person to person, almost like they were searching for someone.

‘What’s that?’ Zoren asked Kalrea, pointing towards the animal.

‘It’s called a doump. It’s a pet. Going by the length of the spines on its head and back, I’d say it’s a female. And don’t point, to some races it’s an insult.’

‘Oh, right!’ Zoren replied. ‘I’ve read about and seen pictures of pets in some of the old books we had, but I’ve never seen one for real. The ones from our books look a lot different to that, far more attractive with a nice fur coat and definitely more cuddly.’

‘Depends on your point-of-view. To a Gullin, something with fur would be weak and they would probably eat it. Whereas they believe the spines on the doump are a sign of strength and respect.’

I wouldn’t want to stand too close to him. Those spines look dangerous,
Zoren thought.

‘For today only we’re doing a Hegol range special,’ the Gullin said to Kalrea. ‘Only 560 yek will buy you this Hegol railgun and a riffle.’ He showed the handgun to her, while holding the riffle out in his other hand.

‘I’m not interested,’ Kalrea said to him.

‘It fires ninety rounds a minute and has the new thousand-round magazine. You won’t find a finer example on the planet.’

As they walked, he continued to follow them.

‘A lady like you will need something to protect herself around here. Just 540 yek will buy you this handgun and rifle.’ He stopped. ‘Come on! 500 yek and they’re yours.’

Kalrea ignored him.

‘Suite yourself! Don’t come back here when you get killed.’

‘There’s a transit stop over there which will take us to level 5676, section 127,’ Kalrea said.

They approach a small and neglected looking transit station, which was set back between two of the shops. The platform area was only six metres wide and there was a single door set into a far wall. It must once have been a very impressive station because there were the remains of flamboyant architecture and elaborate lights. However, there was now rubbish everywhere and what was left was covered in mould and plant-life.

Something stinks of rotten vegetables,
Zoren thought, as he glanced at a tall muscular well-dressed man standing behind Kalrea who was also waiting for the transit.
He looks like another Gullin. In fact, there seems to be a lot of that race here by the looks of it.

Zoren noticed the Gullin had two guns on his belt.

Where’s that smell coming from?
he thought, sniffed the air searching for the source of the odour.
It’s him!

The well-dressed man reached out and deliberately pinched Kalrea on her back-side.

Did he just… He did!
Zoren was taken totally by surprise, but Kalrea seemed to ignore it.

The transit station door started to vibrate and a rush of air exited from small gaps in its frame, causing some of the rubbish nearby to lift into the air. Then, a few seconds later, the transit arrived. With a screech of discomfort, the door slid open and a wall of smoke pushed outwards from the interior of the transit.

Not more smoke,
Zoren thought.

They stepped inside.

The grubby transit had no windows and was about twelve metres long, with a long bench positioned against the longest wall, opposite the doorway. The bench was packed with people, scrunched uncomfortably together, so Zoren and Kalrea had no option but to stand. There were many people smoking, while others coughed and spluttered alongside them. Some of the people were talking in languages Zoren could not understand. The well-dressed man had followed them onboard.

The door closed behind them, cutting off the smoke’s escape. The transit shuddered forward a few metres, and everyone had to steady themselves, before it accelerated away.

Now there’s another smell,
Zoren thought.

He turned to see a short yellow-skinned man who had the face of a baby. He was wearing a face mask covering his mouth and nose.

Why has he got a mask? He smells disgusting.

Zoren grimaced. He looked to Kalrea, who shook her head and smiled back at him.

‘I can see you don’t like the Honrt’s aroma,’ Kalrea said. ‘I think it’s rather pleasant.’

‘Are you serious, Kalrea?’ Zoren replied quietly in case the Honrt could hear him. ‘I’m sorry, but I need to move.’

Zoren shuffled away from the Honrt, then glanced back to Kalrea, who was moving to join him. He noticed that the well-dress man seemed to be staring at her.

‘The Honrt wears a mask because he has a very sensitive nose,’ Kalrea said. ‘Your smell would be very unpleasant to him.’

‘Is that so? Then, maybe I need to get a mask.’

The well-dressed man approached Kalrea. ‘Hello gorgeous, haven’t seen you around here before. Are you lost?’

Kalrea ignored him, but Zoren momentarily made eye contact with him.

He turned to Zoren and asked, ‘Are you two together?’

Zoren nodded.

‘Is this your boyfriend?’ the man said to Kalrea, but she did not reply. ‘He looks a bit weird in that costume. Is it supposed to make him look tough?’

He unexpectedly moved towards Zoren, pretending to reach for one of his guns. Zoren instinctively took a step backwards, stepping on the foot of another passenger.

‘Oy! Watch where you’re standing, fool!’ the annoyed passenger replied. He pushed Zoren away.

The well-dressed man laughed and then turned to Kalrea and said, ‘He’s a wimp!’

Zoren knew that Kalrea was starting to get annoyed from the way she tensed up.

‘A girl like you needs someone like me to protect her, not this boy! Do you want me to get rid of him?’

Boy! I’m not a boy!

Zoren felt intimidated by the man and was unsure how to respond to his goading. He was about to say something, when Kalrea turned towards the man and said,

‘What’s your problem? Why don’t you go and bother someone else. I don’t need any protection, all right! And leave him alone!’ She turned away from the man.

‘I love a strong willed woman. I’ll protect you from the weirdoes. I know all the good places in this sector. Loose him and we can spend some time together, then if you’d like we could go back to my place.’

He pinched Kalrea’s back-side again.

That must have tipped her over the edge because she turned and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him up against the wall of the transit and lifting him from the floor with just one hand.