Kalon

Chapter One-Hundred-Forty-Two: Akah - Part One

Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant

Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation

Solar System: D-447

Planet: Ora

Location: Above the planet's surface, low orbit.

Light stirs from between my eyelashes as they move open. The smell of unwashed bodies greets my nose.

"You've fucking killed him!" one yells, "We don't have any stims to even balance him out."

"You told me to tranq him."

"I didn't say give him enough to kill a fucking behemoth, you fucktard."

"Sorry, bossman."

Another voice speaks, "Fucks sake, let's just toss him overboard and say we never picked him up."

"No, then we only get paid half, gotta deliver 'em."

My ears are ringing, I don't stir, my body still feels sluggish from the darts. From their demeanor and equipment, they seem like amateurs. I feel a circular object in the folds of my clothes, they didn't even search me for weapons. Definitely amateurs. They work for my sponsor, but to what end? How do I proceed? Perhaps I should continue to pretend to be incapacitated. Then I can glean more from them.

"We should ditch this planet and head for the Free States and lay low for a bit."

The one that is in charge speaks again, "No, we should be direct with the client and let them know what happened. Besides, the job was commissioned and sanctioned through the Drelak syndicate. They'd find us before the end of the month."

There's worried breathing from the others.

"You sure, bossman?"

The man grunts. I hear indelicate commands being punched into a comm panel. It gives the same chimes as the ones Betran's ship did. Must be a similar model. A few moments later and a woman's voice enters the cabin of the shuttle. There's a lot of static over it.

"Do you have him?"

"Er, there was a complication."

A pause, the tone shifts, "Complication?"

"He was combative. We um… we killed him, accidentally."

"I find that hard to believe. How?"

"Too many tranqs, ma'am."

"Bring me closer to him."

A few shuffled steps and he speaks, "Sorry, ma'am. He was… and we uh… well, yeah."

The woman speaks next, but it surprises me, "Kalon, if you're planning to kill them and take over the shuttle, please don't. It will only delay our meeting. Time is of the essence."

How does she know I am awake? She must know that I have broken boundaries, which is why the tranquilizers did not kill me. Who is this woman?

"Kalon, I'm sure you have questions, which I will answer, but I need you to trust me."

Trust. Such an elusive word.

My eyes slide open slowly as I move to my feet, my body feels ready to fight again.

"Holy fucking shit…" one of them says, stumbling back.

"Ye should be de-dead," another stutters.

The one in charge, his eyes are not trustworthy, they search me as his hand moves toward his energy weapon.

"I wouldn't suggest that," the woman says.

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"You heard her, stand down," the one in charge says.

The woman sighs, "I was talking to you, Finch. He'll kill all of you if you give him reason to."

The man in charge, Finch, he swallows deeply. Raising his hand slowly from his side.

"Don't want any trouble, just doing a job."

I nod, my eyes taking them all in. Even without having passed the boundaries, I am sure on a normal day I could have slain them if needed. It begs the question, why did she send people so unskilled to retrieve me? Because they are expendable? What is her game? I look at the holo display, but her face is shrouded in a white helmet with red etchings drawn across it. I can't see anything defining about her physically, even her voice is hard to place with the static around it.

"Thank you, Kalon, I will see you soon."

The holo disappears. Leaving us all in the low hum of the Etheric engines.

"We're good, right?" Finch asks, still cautious in his stance.

"Where are we going?"

"Uh, a Drelak ship in orbit around one of the moons of Ora."

"Why?"

He shifts uncomfortably, "We don't get paid to ask why… sir."

"Interesting."

***

The rest of the shuttle ride was mostly silent besides the questions I asked them. Nearly a day spent flying to the far-off moon. Apparently, there is some kind of electronic interference here. One of the men said it is why the moons were never colonized, even though the surface has many of the ships of my people's once bountiful empire. Like a tomb, they stay trapped in time, barely changing in the sterile conditions.

Only ships with Etherium drives can pass the interference. Creating a shell around us. Even with it, the panels are flickering wildly. The pilot has been steering manually for more than an hour.

I wonder what secrets these moons hold. As children, Arrum and I would ask the Sage Artemius about them. He always told us that they held a great secret. That they were the real reason so many of our people's ships were here during the fall. A secret swallowed by time, and a thousand years of suffering.

"We're almost there, bossman."

"Good," Finch sighs, he looks nervous. I heard some of his men speaking about this Drelak Syndicate, I had heard little to nothing about them before now. Only a few words in passing from Fennec when we stayed with him in Tarvashal.

There is much that I do not know, much I must learn if I am to break them all someday…

***

We have arrived at the large vessel they spoke of, Finch and his crew stayed with their shuttle. Soldiers with red armor escort me now. There isn't a single scratch on either of them, they must not see much fighting. The gravity here feels weaker than my world's. Perhaps they come from a world with less. It takes some adjusting to measure my stride so it feels normal. With the lower gravity and my body's strength rising, my legs almost don't feel like my own anymore.

Long banners hang in the massive shuttle bay of the ship, a crest I don't recognize, but assume is the Dredak's. Three swords hold up a scale of some kind. Red and other colors drip from one side, I think to symbolize blood. On the other are Deca coins, the coins look heavier than blood, I think this is to show that they value money above all, even their own blood. One of the men with Finch had prayed to a god he called Yama. Apparently, she is the Patron Goddess of space bandits and pirates. I see a mural of her on one of the back walls, a small shrine with it. It would appear the Dredak also worship her. So much to learn.

They lead me through halls that stretch farther than they should. This ship's design seems ornamental and not tactical. It would be better to compartmentalize and shape it in a hard-to-follow pattern in case it were breached. Perhaps they do not worry about such things. I am unfamiliar with the ways of space warfare. Another thing I must study. Fennec told me the various governments of the galaxy have countless warships that can blot out the skies of a planet and turn it to ash. Some can even destroy the cores of planets themselves.

Such destruction, I have seen it before, in the visions that Zarae showed me. The ones where the Golden Eyes destroyed everything. I shake it from my mind, instead focusing on spinning the abundant Etheric Maka that floats freely in the air, trying to wrap it in coils on my body. If I had runes, I could hold it easier. There must be a way for me to hold more.

"Here," one of the red-painted soldiers says.

An ornate door with strange flowing patterns of a mountain with a stream and trees opens. I enter slowly, taking in the surroundings. Across from me, on the other side of the room is the frame of a fit woman. Her arms are crossed behind her back, she looks out at the landscape beneath, a sea of derelict starships, long abandoned.

The door closes behind me. Are they not worried I will kill the woman? No one has frisked me, no one has checked me for weapons. I almost feel insulted, yet it is good. Having what I have gives me some options, should I need them. Still, I sense something in the Maka around her. It shapes in a familiar way, similar to how Dargo shapes it, like a veil to hide the truth beneath. She is not simple. What boundary has she passed I wonder…

"You're finally here," she says, punching in a command on her holopad. I feel a strange hum go over the air, like when I was in Adona's office. She does not want anyone to hear us.

Her helmet slowly opens and folds to compact just behind her neck, under the collar of her suit. It reminds me of some kind of tactical outfit, like the suits that Kotina and Luna wore. Black with red accents. Her hair falls slowly as she unravels a bun on her head, red hair, like it was dipped in Netherium.

She turns slowly as I approach slower. She is beautiful, almost rivaling Luna. Her eyes though… deep crimson, like she is past the change from Netherium sickness, but she is not. I can feel that she is not. A strange color for one to possess, one I have seldom seen.

She looks me up and down slowly, walking toward me, brushing past me as she examines every part of me.

"I am glad to see you are recovering."

Does she know why I am withered?

"I did not know that you had been taken, else I would have come for you sooner."

"Who are you?"

She comes to stand in front of me, "I understand that you have been kept in the dark before. I will never do that to you. Truth is the foundation of trust after all."

These very words I have heard before, spoken by the Sage. Perhaps he took it from a common saying, or perhaps she knew him. I study her face, searching it for answers. She looks to be around Luna's age, barely older than me. Who is she really?

"To prove that, I will tell you who I am, even though it may make you doubt me."

I study her, but she gives little, her face is calm, very calm.

"I am the Heir Apparent of House Draconis," she tilts her head back slightly, "My name is Solara."

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