Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Seven Part Two}

In the future, where man has traveled to the stars and beyond, there exists guilds with special abilities. Two such guilds are the guild of assassins and the guild of mages. Their laws prevent them from working together. Reaper is the story of two members of the guilds, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

 

 

“This?” The warrior gestured. “Is only a minor convenience. Had he not blocked my shot earlier, I would have destroyed your holographic matrix.”

Bomba huffed.

“What is your name Bakashi warrior?”

“My code name is Foreman.”

“Your target is the witch?”

“Yes, why are you helping her.”

“As a favor to Kiyah, do you remember him?”

Foreman looked down and to the right. “The old master. Yes, retired with full honors. It is rumored that he joined the resistance.”

“Yes. He died for their cause.”

“Then I do not fault you for your actions, but I accepted the mission to kill the girl.”

“Yet you know that this version was a hologram…. You were going to send a feedback through the hologram and find her unconscious body later.”

“Yes.”

“Brilliant.”

“Who is your employer,” Bomba asked.

“He won’t tell you that,” Zion said. “But the fact that he is working with a Kainian who is obviously not a Bakashi, says volume. He is a soldier. A high-level one at that.” Zion turned to the Kainian. “What does the Kainian empire want with her?”

The Kainian scoffed. “She hasn’t told you? You, my dear assassin have no idea what you are getting into. They are waiting for you at the Pein.” He took his undamaged hand and placed it in his pocket. He pulled out a data drive. “Take it, everything is legitimate.”

Bomba picked up the data drive. Her holographic body stiffened and pulsated with energy. “The data has been transferred.”

“So did you guys blow up my farm?” Zion asked.

“Farm? What farm?” The Kainian asked.

“Never mind.” Zion jumped over the bar.

“Sir,” Foreman said. “Where is the legendary Thunder and Lightning?”

“You have a fan,” Bomba said.

“Not a fan,” Zion said. “We are all taught the importance of history. We do not live in the past, but we do honor the past. I remember you, Foreman.”

“You remember me?”

“You were among the first year students when Kiyah brought me to the academy. ”

“You were so advanced at age ten that they put you among the seniors at the academy. When they said that you were dead. I knew that it wasn’t true.”

“Yes. By the way, I am going to steal your ship.”

“Understood. But I must stop you.”

“You will try. Also, you are honor bound to tell the guild what happened here. Tell them that I have decided on a new occupation.” Zion walked toward the floating foreman. “I don’t kill for money anymore. My current job is to protect the girl. Outside of that, I will not interfere with their business.”

“Yes. I am ready.”

Zion stopped just in front of Foreman. “Drop the shield.”

“What?”

“We should fight on equal ground,” Zion said.

“It would only be equal if you had your twin guns.”

“Lightning and thunder are safely tucked away. A warrior has to fight with what he has.”

“Then I will only fight with my hands.”

“But he has four of them!” Bomba said.

“Please drop the shield.”

“Fine, suit yourself. Maybe this will lower the testosterone in here.” She waved her hand and Foreman came down with all four fists. Zion dodged. Foreman swung, his swing sending a fresh breeze over Zion.

“Reaper. Your marksman skills are legendary. But even with Bakashi training, you could never beat me in hand to hand combat. My people are legendary.”

“No doubt,” Zion said as he dodged another swing. “But The Lightning, started my mental training before I could walk. The Light—Dad, taught me that the most powerful weapon is the mind. I developed my sixth sense when I seven.” He jabbed Foreman in the shoulder with a knife hand.

Foreman grabbed his upper left arm. It lay limp at his side.  “What did you do?”

“Nothing that you can’t do with the right teacher and plenty of training,” Zion said. “But I will let you know a little secret.” Zion moved in quickly and jabbed Foreman with three more strikes. All four of his arms were now limp. “The sixth sense can be trained to sense weak point in virtually anything.” Zion slid forward, twisted and uppercut  Foreman in the jaw. The big man lay on the floor unconscious. “And you probably shouldn’t engage you opponent in conversation. He will probably try to throw you off your game.” Zion reached down into Forman’s utility belt and pulled out a ship’s key.

“Why do we need another ship?” Bomba asked.

“A guild ship is big enough to fit a small squad inside of it. I should be able to put your ship in the cargo bay. Since the ship belongs to them, they have no doubt travelled to Kainian space. We could use it for cover.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.” She pointed to the Kainian. “But you probably shouldn’t have said all of that in front of him.”

The Kainian smiled. “Look, I have a family to go to. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Do you trust him?” Zion asked.

“No.”

“Good. His body language says that he is lying,” Zion said. “We will have to come up with a new plan.”

“No,” Bomba said. “I like your plan. I have a spell for this. Just stay here and make sure these two don’t go anywhere. I have to switch to my normal body.”

“All right,” Zion said as Bomba’s clones faded out of existence leaving a small metal sphere behind. The metal sphere’s then dropped to the ground and turned to metal fillings.

End of Chapter 7 Part 2

Author's note: My newest novel

  

"Supreme Tiger Princess Dragon" is available at

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Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Six Part One}

In the future, where man has traveled to the stars and beyond, there exists guilds with special abilities. Two such guilds are the guild of assassins and the guild of mages. Their laws prevent them from working together. Reaper is the story of two members of the guilds, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

 

Bomba sat in the bathroom trying to decide what to do. Knowing that he looked at her in that way, stirred feelings in her that she didn’t know how to deal with. But what choice did she have? She needed him…wanted him. She needed to keep their relationship intact. She stood up and steeled her nerves. She opened the door to find Zion, dressed in workout clothing standing in a pose. His leg to the side. His hand holding his revolver parallel to his leg. His other hand occupied with the other revolver held close to his body. He was perfectly still. Holding the pose for far too long for her comfort. She moved to her own bed sat down and crossed her legs. After a while, he started moving. He fought invisible enemies at a speed so slow that it seemed painful.

Bomba  raised a shield in front of herself. Creating one above, below, behind and either side, creating a cube of energy to protect her from an errant shot.  She placed herself in a meditative trance, pushing her limits to hold the shield for as long as possible. When he was finally done, he was dripping in sweat.  She fared no better and nearly collapsed when she finally released the shield.

He turned to her as if he hadn’t noticed her there. “Bomba. Were you meditating?”

“Yes.”

He sat down on his bed and stared at her. “So what were you meditating about?”

“Well, it wasn’t you.”

“Of course not, I doubt if any of you Tek Nok meditate on anything enjoyable. I suspect that you meditate on a single point and contemplate how to fit the entire universe inside of it.”

Bomba scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. We mediatate on our tech. We control the energy flow. With control comes power. With enough control you can create realistic illusions or full energy constructs.” She clapped her hands and pulled them apart revealing a statue of Zion.

He grabbed the statue in his hand and held it. “Ah.” He nodded knowingly. “Then what you are doing is no different than a warrior.”

“How? We do not require any movement in our meditation.”

“Neither does the warriors guild.” The little statue burst into bits and pieces of energy. “But the moving meditation works well with Gunchi. But we believe in supreme control as well. Control of our bio-electric energy. I have never really understood the point of that one and my dad didn’t care for it either. We also believe in control of all of our senses. And control of our bodily functions. I can use adrenaline to increase my strength, speed and reflexes. Or manipulate my suprachiasmatic nucleus to induce even more speed.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Well, yes done for too long, it can kill you. But I am sure that the same is true for you.”

“It is possible.”

He nodded. “We should train together.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, I am not going to try and shoot you…again. We are going into a very dangerous situation. We need to go in with some team skills.”

“I agree with you. But I have been thinking.” She looked down to her hands. “I think that I should return to my ship.”

He rubbed his chin. “That could work perfectly.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You can be my eyes and ears, while I gather information.”

“I intend to be with you while you are gathering information. I just need to sleep in my tank periodically.”

Zion sighed. “Look, I know that is not true, just like I know that whomever we are going to walk through hell to save is more than just a teammate. Probably doesn’t have anything to do with the war with the Kainians and isn’t sanctioned by anyone. I get it. I made you feel uncomfortable. You can just tell me.”

“I am not uncomfortable.”

“Despite your training, your body language is clear. The more you try to hide it the more obvious it becomes.”

She studied him for a moment. “If that is true. Why are you still here?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t had this much fun in years. Besides, I am honor bound to fulfill Kiyah’s dying wish. He wanted to help you, so I figured I might as well.”

“I—I wish that I could tell you everything. But the less you know the better.”

“Did Kiyah know what you were really after?”   

“No. Not until he was dying. That was when he told me that I was right to keep it from him and that you would help me if it were a request from him. But he also told me that I mustn’t tell you either.” Zion walked over to the work desk and began disassembling the guns. In seconds, the rail guns lay on the table in small parts. He reached into the bag and pulled out more small parts. “Are you angry with me?” Bomba asked.

“No.”

“I promise, I will tell you everything, eventually.”

“Wait before you go back to the ship. Once, I finish repairing my weapons, and calibrating this personal shield. I want to take it to the ship and store it somewhere.”

“I will reconfigure the ship so that you will have your own personal space. But it would be better if you entered the secondary tank.”

“I don’t like coffins,” Zion said.

End of Part One of Chapter Six.
 

When you get a chance, check out may current novels below:

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Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Five Part Two}

In the future, where man has traveled to the stars and beyond, there exists guilds with special abilities. Two such guilds are the guild of assassins and the guild of mages. Their laws prevent them from working together. Reaper is the story of two members of the guilds, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

 

Zion waited patiently for the air bus to come. It would be a little tricky with the huge rucksack on his back. The sun had long gone down and he was once again traveling under the cover of darkness. A well-lit vehicle descended from the sky and traveled parallel to the building tops. In one smooth move, Zion leaped from the building and landed on top of the bus. He grabbed a railing to brace himself and waited for the moment they passed the seedy hotel. At night, there were no lights around it. The gloom added to the mystery and maybe the romance of the place, but all Zion saw was a method of invisibility. He jumped from the bus, grabbed the terrace and swung to the shadows below. He found the door he exited, opened it and climbed the flight of stairs to the room. Once on the floor, he studied the motions of the revolving cameras. When he got a green light, he quickly walked to the room door, used the key card nearly as quickly as his quick draw, opened the door and walked in.

Bomba turned to him. She was standing up, glaring at him. “Where have you been?”

“Where have you been?” He walked past her and set the duffle bag on his bed.

“I asked you first.”

“I went shopping.”

“Shopping?”

“Yep.”

“Where is my cloak?”

Zion straightened. “Oh, well it kind of got torn to pieces by an alpha level android. As much as I hate to admit it, I am a little rusty.”

“Say what?”

Zion turned around. “Yeah, he was pretty mad. Don’t know if he was programmed to get angry or something else was going on. But it was very convincing.”

She cocked her head sideways. Anger melted and concern grew on her face. “Are you unharmed?”

“Yes. I am a little sore, but once I get a good night’s rest. I should be fine.”

“Zion. You are a grandmaster of Gunchi. Why would you get into a skirmish without your weapons?” She gestured toward the guns on the night stand. “And while you are at it. Will you tell me what that is?” She pointed to the foot tall tree that was already ripe with fruit.

 “The tree on the right is my bullet tree. Something I learned from studying my mother’s people.”

“You can grow bullets?”

“Not just any bullets. Psychokinetic bullets. Bullets that only I can use.”

“Impossible.”

“There are trees on Planet Terra that can drain the blood right out of a living being. Then there are others that can draw on the ambient psychic energy in the air. This tree does just that. I just modified it so I can make bullets—up to twenty bullets a day, depends on where it is located.”

“Interesting.”

“The shy one on the left is Celeste. She will come out eventually, but she has been in stasis for a long time.”

“Celeste?” Bomba raised an eyebrow. “You name your plants?”

“Just Celeste. We go way back.” Zion reached into the duffle bag. “Anyway, I got into a little skirmish because I needed money. I have some saved up, but it is saved up for a reason. So I took in a well-known gangster and got his bounty.” He handed her a bag. “Here.”

“What is this?”

“A gift.”

She opened the bag and pulled out two robes. A dark green one and a crimson one. “It’s beautiful.”

“I had pockets sewn in. Places to hide your magic stuff or whatever. I know you guys are supposed to wear your black outfit and all, but we have to be able to travel without being discovered. Also, it changes color, so you can go back to your basic black if you want too.”

She took the crimson one and placed it on. Buttoning it and placing the hood on her head. “I like it.”

Zion walked over to her and removed the hood. “You don’t have to cover your face around me.”

She held his gaze for a moment. “Zion. I will accept your gift, but don’t place your hands on me or my belonging. What gives you the right to undress me in my sleep and just leave?”

“Your eyes and hips.”

“What?”

“Your eyes are dilated and your hips are tilted at the right angle. You find me too attractive to stay mad at me.”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “How dare you!”

“The feeling’s mutual Bomba, next time I undress you, I won’t leave.” 

Bomba stepped back. Her face was painted with a look that could kill. She turned, walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Zion rubbed the back of the head. “I really am rusty.”

End of Part Two of Chapter Five.
 

When you get a chance, check out may current novels below:

You can buy my adult scifi novel Hearteless: A Journey to Second Earth @amazon or here.

 

 

 

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Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Five Part One}

In the future, where man has traveled to the stars and beyond, there exists guilds with special abilities. Two such guilds are the guild of assassins and the guild of mages. Their laws prevent them from working together. Reaper is the story of two members of the guilds, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

Zion stared at the four story building. From the outside it didn’t seem like much. Maybe some family business and or housing, but the two robotic guards standing on the outside suggested something else. They were about the size of a singles’ transport. They looked just as harmless, but the people’s reaction said it all. No one walked on that side of the street. They rarely even looked toward the building. Even the birds flew away from the building.

Zion walked across the street, his features hidden under Bomba’s cloak. One of the robots lifted up, four legs supporting it. On it’s left, right and top side were mounted lasers—they could probably cut the building in half if they were ordered to. “Halt! Prepare to be scanned.”

A red light bathe him from head to toe.

“Sending report. No weapons. No enhancements. Show yourself and state your—“

Zion sprinted from the red light. He somersaulted and landed on the second robot, just as it was lifting up, preparing to attack. He used the momentum to spring to the top of the roof. As expected, the outer defense activated.  He zigged and zagged, dodging the lasers as effortlessly as a hurdler. He slammed through a metal door and descended the stairs. He entered on the third floor, startling four guards. They reached for their weapons but the cards flew out of Zion’s hand faster than they could draw. The three of the cards slashed their targets hand, while the last nicked the neck of the one seated guard. Zion drew the blasters of the nearest guard and in three quick shots put them down. He pointed the blaster at the one holding his neck. “That’s a serious injury. The police and emergency medical team will be here in a few minutes. You stay down and out of the way, you and your friends should live.” The guard nodded. Zion reached down and grabbed another blaster. “Does this thing have a stun setting?” Zion asked. The guard shook his head to say no as he lowered himself down to the floor. “Well, that might be a problem.” Zion blasted the door and stepped outside. He disarmed two guards with two shots. Two more shots and they were missing a knee. He took out camera after camera. No one would know that he was ever here. As he headed toward the stairwell, he sensed a kill intent behind him. He shot backwards. The kill intent disappeared. Hopefully, he, she or it would survive it.   He descended the stairs blasting the guards as he descended. He heard a sound behind him, but no intent. He turned around. A blind shot would not stop what was coming. An orange man ran down the stairs at blurring speed. Several pinpoint shots in the head and center of the chest didn’t stop him, but it did expose the chassis under the skin. Just as the android reached for his throat, Zion shoved his hand under his metallic chest and shot him in the head at point blank range. The force of the blast knocked the android to the ground, leaving a handful of wires in Zion’s hand.

He didn’t bother to check to see if the android was no longer functioning. His prize, a five-hundred pound humanoid, was heading to the front door, while his remaining guards lay suppressing fire. He jumped down to the main lobby, dropped and rolled. He took down the remaining guards, exchanging his overused weapon, for a barely used one just as they dropped to the ground. “Stop, don’t make me shoot you!  Do you know how hard it would be to roll your butt down to the station?”

The big man turned around. “Get him! He’s just one man!”

The two guards, more androids, rushed him. One took point, the other followed in his shadow. He would not be able to pull the same trick with these two. He rolled with the punch from one, using the momentum to change his angle of attack. The shots were useless. One of the androids grabbed Bomba’s cloak, as he completed his spin. He slipped out of the cloak and jumped in the air, somersaulting over one of them concentrating his fire on the eyes as he sailed through the air, microwaving the androids brain.

The second android glared at him with a fire in his eyes as his partner dropped to his knees and landed on his face. Zion lowered his weapons as he stepped back. “Sorry about that.”

The android ripped the cloak and charged. He covered his eyes with his forearm. Swinging wildly at Zion. Zion dodged his punch as easily as he dodged the laser fire on the roof.  He stabbed the barrel of one blaster into the gut of the android. It was an opportunity that the android would take advantage of, he knocked Zion twenty feet away.

“Quit toying with him, you idiot,” the big man said. “Grab a gun and shoot him!”

With flawless speed, the android obeyed his master. As soon as he leveled the gun, Zion shot the power pack on the android’s blaster. It exploded taking much of his arm with him. “He is programmed to assess the skills of an enemy. He knew that getting into a gun battle with me was a waste of time,” Zion said. He drew his knees in and leaned against the wall. “They are perfect soldiers, but they have some obvious  weaknesses. One, is they have to follow the orders of an idiot. Two, is that they don’t feel pain. He didn’t even noticed that I supercharged one of the blasters and placed it on his body.” Zion pointed to the android. “Your waist.” The android looked down, just as the blaster exploded.

Zion turned to the big man, just as he squeezed the doorknob. “Don’t Karl. You will force me to shoot you. I mean, I can do it without killing you. But it would be a lot easier to just not harm you.”

“Look whatever, any one is paying you. I can double it. I can even triple it.”

“Hmm, that is interesting.” Zion looked at his watch. “I have to admit that this took me a little longer than I thought it would. The gear is important. A warrior is only as good as his gear, no matter how well trained he is.”

“I can get you gear. I can get you whatever you want. Wh—why don’t you work for me. There is no need to kill me.”

“Kill you? If I wanted you dead, you would have been dead as soon as you stepped out of the shower a few hours ago. No. You are going to the constable, you have a very hefty bounty on your head.”

Karl released the knob and walked toward Zion. “That is barely spending change. I can pay you five times as much. Besides, I will be on the street in less than an hour. Let me hire you. You are practically a one-man army.”

“No deal.” Zion stood up. “What the law does to you after, I turn you in, is between you and the law. In the meantime, we are going to play this just as I say.” He lay the gun down in a flowerpot. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the deck of cards. “Let’s go. We are going to march to the station.” He shuffled the cards as he walked. “And just in case you decide to try something.” He threw an ace of diamonds that cut and errant hair and stuck into the polymer door. Karl stared at it as it vibrated in the wood. “Remember that I am always armed.”

Karl touched the tip of the card. It bent like any other card would. “How?”

Zion found a hat and placed it on his head. “Training. Since I was two. Now walk out that door and tell your big metal guard dogs to stand down or I will use one of these cards to remove your head.”

End of Part One of Chapter Five.
 

When you get a chance, check out may current novels below:

You can buy my adult scifi novel Hearteless: A Journey to Second Earth @amazon or here.

 

 

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Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter four Part Two}

In the future, where man has traveled to the stars and beyond, there exists guilds with special abilities. Two such guilds are the guild of assassins and the guild of mages. Their laws prevent them from working together. Reaper is the story of two members of the guilds, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

Bomba stood up and removed her robe. She placed it on a hangar near the bathroom door as well as her pants. She walked into the bathroom and proceeded to take off her underwear as she moved closer to the mirror. She stared at the ruby red jewel, in the center of her chest. The jewel itself was pretty, but the resultant scars from the surgery were not. If she dressed as the women of Union did, she couldn’t wear anything low-cut. It would expose the power source of her tech. She turned around and glanced back at the large metal disk that travelled parallel to her spine. Tek Nok was not cyborg. But was there really a difference? She had decided long ago, that she was simply an enhanced human. So why did she feel less than a woman?

She turned around and stared at the face in the mirror. The brown eyes that stared back at her were eyes of cold indifference. The tear that rolled from the left one suggested otherwise. She waved her hand and the mirror turned black.

***

“Bomba? Where is your cloak?” Jokka’s red skin was redder than normal.

“I left it in my ship.”

“Why would you do something so foolish? Are you trying to get killed?”

Bomba shifted uncomfortably in the booth. “No. I used a concealment spell on the way here. I apologize but I have very little time in this booth. I found the Reaper.”

“What? Listen Bomba. You are in good standings with the Tek Nok. Let this be. Turn your back on the rebels and—“

“We are not rebels. We are trying to protect the Union. If the government doesn’t wake up, we will become the slaves of the Kainians.”

“Bomba…. You and I both know that this mission doesn’t have anything to do with the rebels, Kainians or the government.”

Bomba placed her hands together. “I call to ask a favor of you. I need a sanctioned tesseract bag.”

“You have one.”

“I need one to give to the Reaper.”

Jokka’s jaw tightened. “So, you are giving away our tech now?”

“No. A limited edition. One that he can’t decipher. I will pay whatever credit that I can even if it takes a lifetime. But I need to do this and if I don’t have him on my side. I will go alone.”

Jokka shook his head. “You have always been a stubborn one.” He reached just over his ear and rubbed his left horn. “I have one that has been sanctioned to give to a rich acolyte. He has made several high-end donations to our guild. I can give you that one but I want one of your spells in exchange.”

“Why? You can’t use my spell language.”

“I will study it and translate it.”

Bomba sighed. “What spell do you want?”

“I want your flight spell.”

“No deal. That is one of the spells that makes me unique among members of the guild.”

Jokka scoffed. “As if you have a choice.”

“You are right, I do not have a choice, but I would offer you another spell that you may find interesting.”

“Which is?”

“The holographic monster summon,” Bomba said. “I can design it and send it to you. You wouldn’t have to learn anything. You can just summon it when you are in trouble.”

“I get to choose the summon?”

“Yes, the size of course is at my discretion. It takes a lot of energy to make a solid light holograph.”

“Yes, what I have in mind will only come to my knee.”

“Your knee?”

“Hey, I like cute things.”

Bomba rolled her eyes. “I will get it to you tomorrow. When can I expect the Tesseract?”

“I will send it this evening. It should reach your location in two to three weeks.”

“Three weeks? Travel time should be at most three days from the capital.”

“Mail is slow.”

“You are an arch-mage. Make it faster.”

“Yes, I am an arch-mage and you will do well to remember your place.”

“I mean no disrespect,” Bomba said as she bowed her head. “But time is of the essence. The longer we wait here….”

“Say no more. Even though I don’t agree with the danger you are placing yourself in, I sympathize with your plight. I will get it to you in five days.”

“Thank you,” Bomba said.

“I have security to consider, so you must return here in four days to receive instructions on how to retrieve it. At that time, I will expect you to give me that spell.”

“Yes.”

“Bomba, do try to live as long as you can. As my protégé, it is my hope that you will one day replace me on the council.”

“You are much too ornery to ever be replaced.”

 

End of Part Two of Chapter Four.

When you get a chance, check out may current novels below:

You can buy my adult scifi novel Hearteless: A Journey to Second Earth @amazon or here.

Also, feel free to comment below and follow me on Google and Twitter @ Frank_D_Rogers