Beyond The Brink Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1 - Enter The Abyss

  Chapter 2 - The Cave

  Chapter 3 - Through The Hills

  Chapter 4 - The Fabled Ruins

  Chapter 5 - The Omnai Ship

  Chapter 6 - Departure

  Chapter 7 - The Confederation Ship

  The North Star - Chapter One

  The North Star - Chapter Two

  Contact

  BEYOND THE BRINK

  A GALACTIC SENTINEL

  STORY

  KILLIAN CARTER

  Copyright © Killian C. Carter

  First published in Great Britain by Arcane Pages, in 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

  Any person who makes any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable for criminal prosecution and civil claims and damages.

  The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

  First edition 2018 v1.0

  Published by Arcane Pages

  www.kccarter.com

  ENTER THE ABYSS

  The sticky blood drops on the rocks were several hours old. It was the same strange dark-green Taza Arkona had found at the crash site. The SIA Arcagent looked down into the valley where the Starship Allora, his pride and joy, had crashed earlier that day. She had gouged a deep channel out of the soft fields on the valley slope before hitting a rocky outcrop. Hazy tendrils of smoke still climbed into the darkening sky.

  Taza was lucky to still be alive, and so was the target he was hunting, though, going by the amount of blood Wu had lost, he’d be dead before long if he hadn’t already succumbed to his injuries somewhere in the mountains.

  The Galactic Council had sent Taza to investigate a break out at the Brink: the most secure space station penitentiary in the known galaxy. The prison’s manifest showed that a small maintenance ship had managed to flee the station before the place went into lock-down. Thinking Wu had taken the ship to the edges of Shanti space, Taza pursued with one of the Brink’s seven wardens joining the hunt. The warden, however, turned out to be a disguised member of a race long-thought extinct.

  The Omnions were an ancient race capable of shapeshifting, and the last sighting had been recorded centuries before. That was why SIA and the Brink records hadn’t mentioned anything about the escaped convict, Wu, being one. That was why Taza hadn’t suspected the Brink Warden who boarded his ship as being the very escaped convict the agency sent him to track down.

  By the time he’d figured it out, it was too late, and Wu had him at gunpoint and heading for an abandoned planet. The alien hadn’t anticipated that others would be on the surface and would attack as they approached, causing Taza to lose control and crash.

  He crawled out of the wreck to find that the convict had fled the scene, but he was severely wounded for he left a thick trail of blood in his wake.

  Taza turned back to climb the mountain and pulled himself further up the steep hill.

  Yellow codes flashed in his visor warning him that his suit’s power was dangerously low at eleven percent. His kinetic shielding had taken much of the crash impact but almost depleted his batteries in the process.

  Given that Wu wasn’t in a suit when the Allora was brought down, it was a miracle he survived at all.

  Taza crawled out of the wreckage with minor injuries, and escaped the site before the elusive enemy who brought them down with the surface to air weapons had time to arrive. He later watched from afar through his rifle scope as they scoured the debris, salvaging anything useful they could get their hands on. They were too far below to make out with his damaged field scanner, but he was pretty sure they were Kragak, which was almost unheard of so far out in Shanti space. It didn’t bode well.

  The distress beacon slung over his shoulder weighed Taza down as he hauled himself over a ridge and onto a flat shelf. He rolled onto his side, chest heaving as he fought for breath inside his helmet. He wondered how Wu had managed the climb after having sustained such a serious injury and having lost so much blood on top of that. The stories said that the Omnions was a race so powerful they once challenged the Tal’Ri. Taza was beginning to wonder what other parts of those stories were genuine.

  After recovering, he hoisted the distress beacon over his shoulder and looked at the mountain peak high above. There was still a long way to go, and darkness was falling. He checked the area and found that the shelf merged with a steep path that wound its way clockwise up the mountain. It was a more comfortable option than climbing, plus the blood trail led that way, and he would be damned before letting Wu go. At the very least, he had to confirm the convict was dead before getting off the damned planet, or the Galactic Council would hold his ass over the coals.

  Taza followed the treacherous path, hugging the mountain-face closely where he could, which wasn’t so straightforward with the heavy beacon on his back. He arrived at a section of the path that had fallen away. Whether it had caved naturally, or Wu had caused it to stop Taza from following, he couldn’t tell. Either way, the gap was at least a dozen feet wide and posed a problem.

  Taza peered over the edge and wasn’t exactly comforted by the sheer drop. He looked at the gap again and sighed, trying to decide what to do. The beacon made up at least a quarter of his weight, and without it, Taza knew he could make the jump no problem, but abandoning the device wasn’t an option. It was his only hope of getting home, even if it would take the Council forever to get a ship to him.

  The only other option was driving more power to his suit’s leg actuators, though that meant dropping his reserves below ten percent. That would give him about seven days before everything but essential systems like life-support shut down. It would be weeks if not months before a ship arrived. His suit’s moisture recycling and nutrition systems would likely see him through, and there was enough oxygen in the air for his filters to absorb, but Taza didn’t like the idea of being holed up helpless for that length of time.

  Then again, an extra two percent in his batteries wasn’t going to make much of a difference.

  He took several steps back, assigned the extra power to his legs, and ran. As his right foot left the path, it gave way under him, and he stumbled, arms flailing as he crossed the gap.

  His body slammed into the rocks ahead as he grappled for the lip. One hand got purchase as the other clutched a rock that dislodged, throwing him off balance and causing the beacon’s strap to slide off his shoulder. He caught it on his fingertips just in time and clung to the path above with one hand.

  Stones and dirt fell to the foot of the cliff below, the sounds of their landing too distant to be heard.

  An orange light flashed in his visor warning him that battery reserves were at nine percent, and he swore.

  Taza pulled the beacon with everything he had and gradually worked the strap back over his shoulder, being cautious not to lose his hold on the path while doing so. With his freed hand, he grappled with the stones above and pulled himself up as slowly and carefully as he could manage, his muscles shaking under the power suit’s armor.

  After what felt like an age, he was back on the relative safety of the path’s narrow surface, chest heaving and sweat running down his face.

  I’ll be damned if I take an assignment this far out again.

  ***

  The SIA standard issue exo-tool on Taza’s left arm picked up a faint life signature somewhere up ahead. It could have been wildlife, but it was weak, possibly injured, and Taza suspected it was Wu. He slowly made his way around
the next curve, pistol at the ready. In such a confined space, it was either that or his knife, and he wasn’t eager for hand-to-hand combat. The only way off the mountain was down.

  As he rounded the bend, the narrow pathway opened up onto a shelf about ten feet wide. It was a relief not feeling like he could fall to his death at any second.

  The problem was, the shelf ended in a sheer drop. To his right was a crevice leading to complete darkness. His exo-tool told him the life-sign was coming from inside. Given there was no way up from there, Taza knew he would have to double back and continue the climb upward from the east side of the mountain. It was just as steep there, but the east face was pitted with holes and rocks for purchase.

  But first things first.

  He set the cumbersome beacon on the ledge and, readying his blaster, squeezed into the hole. His visor automatically switched to night-vision mode, giving the cramped shaft an ominous green glow.

  The tunnel eventually turned back on itself, cutting much deeper into the mountainside than Taza thought it might. He pushed forward, and it suddenly widened into an abyssal-black chamber, where his suit’s vision could only penetrate to a point. He adjusted the sensors, and the green glow spread over every surface, those closest appearing overexposed.

  Stalactites and stalagmites, millions of years in the making, met to form thick, lumpy pillars about the cavern, providing plenty of opportunities to hide.

  Taza narrowed his eyes against the blinding white spots created by the magnified night sensors. It was less than ideal, but he didn’t want anything hiding in the shadows to surprise him.

  He did his best to approach quietly, but the cave amplified even the smallest sound. He clenched his teeth every time a foot-fall or scuffle echoed about him. The life-sign was still weak, but it got closer the deeper into the cavern he traveled. The exo-tool didn’t pick up anything else inside the cave, but Taza checked behind every rock to be on the safe side. He finally came to a broad wall created by several melding rock formations and braced himself. Whatever was giving off the signal was behind that wall, and as weak as it was, there was no telling what kind of danger it posed.

  Taza turned into the wall opening, gun first, to find a small smoothed chamber with nothing in it.

  Something dropped on his helmet and ran down his visor.

  It was a rookie mistake, but wariness had caused him to walk into an obvious trap.

  By the time he lifted his gun, the figure was already upon him, bringing them both crashing to the ground and sending Taza’s gun scuttling across the cave floor.

  He fought and wrestled, but everything was a bright green blur, and he may as well have been blind. Taza ended up on his back with Wu straddling him. He tried to break free, but an immense weight pressed down on him with a lot of strength for someone so gravely wounded.

  “What the hell are you?”

  A growl answered, and the back of his helmet smashed against the floor, jarring him.

  Finding the knife at his side, Taza drew the weapon and blindly plunged it into Wu, hoping it would drive home. The weight holding him down eased off, telling him it had.

  Wu let out an animal-like shriek as Taza scrambled out from under his weight and readjusted his vision. He dove for his blaster and rolled on his back in time to see a giant lion-like beast on all fours charging at him.

  Taza opened fire, and the animal tumbled back into a shadow, leaving splashes of fresh blood behind.

  A gurgling howl tore through the cave before dying away to silence.

  Taza approached cautiously, finger on the trigger, and the beast’s form slowly appeared in his field of vision again.

  The creature lay on its side, curled up in a protective pose, its fangs bared at Taza. Apart from its side rising and falling in shallow bursts as it struggled to breathe, the animal lay still. Dark green liquid oozed from a gaping hole in its ribs, exposing bloody sinew and muscle. His knife handle jutted from its left foreleg. It didn’t seem to have any fight left in it, but he didn’t let his guard down. He’d already made that mistake, and it almost cost him his life.

  As Taza pointed his blaster at its head, the beast let out a low growl and looked him in the eyes. It was an almost-intelligent stare; pleading, begging.

  Does it want me to let it live? Or put it out of its misery?

  His finger squeezed on the trigger as another sound emanated from the creature’s throat.

  Taza released the trigger in shock but kept the weapon pointed.

  It had just spoken… or at least that’s what it had sounded like.

  “Wu?” Taza could barely believe he was asking the question. “Is that you?”

  “Yes,” the creature hissed before coughing and growling in pain.

  “What the hell—”

  “Mesin.” The words were barely audible.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Its whiskers vibrated as its nostrils sniffed the air and its eyes looked at his utility belt.

  “Mesin…” it curled up tighter and let out another low howl.

  Taza quickly glanced at his utility belt and remembered the strange substance he had found in Wu’s otherwise empty cell. Then it dawned on him.

  “Do you mean medicine?” He opened the pouch on his waist and pulled out the glass vial he had stored there.

  The beast-form of Wu blinked once and rolled out its tongue as if it was no longer able to speak.

  “You want me to put this on your tongue?” Taza held up the vial. “Are you crazy? You just tried to kill me!”

  It looked up at him like a begging dog again.

  “Alright,” Taza swore. “But if you pull anything, I’m putting a hole in your head.”

  He opened the vial and slowly knelt in front of Wu, blaster aimed point-blank at his forehead. Taza emptied the receptacle’s contents into Wu’s opened maw.

  The creature sucked on its tongue before curling into an even tighter ball.

  Taza’s questions were met with quick, ragged breaths as the Omnion slept, or pretended to sleep.

  He backed up against the cave wall, far enough to be away from immediate danger yet close enough to keep an eye on Wu, and waited.

  THE CAVE

  Taza heard a loud click, quickly followed by another. He suddenly started awake and raised his gun as another pebble bounced off his visor. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

  Shit!

  “Hold it there, cowboy!” Instead of a ferocious beast curled up on the cave floor, there was a humanoid with pale white skin. In fact, save for pink slits on his cheeks and chin, Wu could have passed for a sickly human.

  Taza was relieved to see the alien was still resting where he’d left him.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Taza flicked his gun to drive home that he was serious.

  “I thought it best to wake you. We’ve been in here for hours and the Kragak out there could be looking for us.”

  “What was that monster?”

  “As you’ve already worked out, I’m a shapeshifter,” Wu said, his voice weak. “Suffice to say that we sometimes take a beast-like form when under physical distress. It’s complicated.”

  “That’s why you tried to kill me?” Taza spat. “Because it’s complicated?”

  “Look, when we take the beast form, our basic survival instincts can take over sometimes, especially when we’re weak. I could smell the nectoplasm on you, and it drove me mad. I simply needed to have it. So, sorry about that.” Wu gestured with one hand while holding his ribs with the other.

  “Nectoplasm?”

  “The medicine you administered. It helps our bodies regenerate and improves our morphing capabilities. It’s the reason I look relatively normal again. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to shift back.”

  “That was some wound you had.” Taza noticed that Wu’s injuries were almost gone. “How did you survive the crash?”

  “I guess you could say that our bodies are more elastic and malleable than most. We can take a grea
t deal of physical trauma.”

  “Is that thing what Omnions really look like?”

  “Omnions?” Wu laughed, though it obviously hurt him to do so. “I forgot that’s what we were once called. Like I said, we only look like that when we’re injured or near death. Our bodies take on a form of their choosing. It’s simply self-preservation. Speaking of which, we should probably move along before the Kragak get wind of our location. You know how stubborn they can be.”

  “I’m still trying to figure out what to do with you,” Taza said, gesturing with his blaster. “Maybe it’ll be safer to take you in cold.”

  “My injury—” Wu doubled over and moaned. “It’s causing me some difficulty to control myself. I did not intend to attack you, and it won’t happen again. In fact, we need each other.”

  Taza stifled a mock laugh. “What makes you think I need you?”

  “If you want to board my ship…” Wu’s words trailed off.

  “What do you mean your ship?”

  “I have a ship nearby.”

  “That old chestnut.” Taza snickered. “You expect me to believe you conveniently have a ship here in the mountains?”

  “Not in the mountains. Among the ruins on the other side of the mountains.” Wu coughed and winced in pain. “I had to find shelter here to heal. I also hoped you would track me down. I suspected you would want to get to higher ground so you could use your beacon. This seemed like the most likely route.”

  “Why wait for me here, though? You know my mission.”

  Wu looked at him in silence for a moment. “I need you to help me.”

  “Help you? After the shit you pulled. Why would I want to do that?”

  “Because we share a common enemy, and we stand a better chance of reaching my ship if we work together.”

  “It looks like those Kragak are scavenging everything they can get their hands on. If you had a ship waiting for you here, it’s most likely long gone.”

  Wu slowly shook his head. “It’s hidden. But I doubt I could get to it alone, especially in this state.”