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

 

Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter four 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 guild, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

The crumpling of paper alerted Bomba that something was wrong. She stretched, turning to her side. More crumpling. She opened her eyes, her mind flooded with memories. She jumped up and looked around. “Zion?” A quick scan told her that not only was she alone, but her cloak was missing. She found the source of the crumpled paper. A thick sheet with words written in an earth language. It took her only a moment to decipher.

Saw something interesting on the net, took your cloak to check it out. Should be back this evening. If you decide to leave, make sure no one follows you. P.S. Don’t touch my stuff.

“Son of a—Martha!”

An image of the avatar appeared just above the sphere she planted earlier. “Yes mistress?”

“Where is Zion?”

“I do not know.”

“He took my over cloak. Track it.”

Martha pointed to the night stand. “It appears he removed them.”

She walked over to the night stand. Not only were the circuits there, but so was his gun and a container of dirt positioned directly in the sunlight. “I blacked out from over-exertion last night. Start from your portable pod’s activation up to the moment that I woke up.” Martha disappeared and blue holographic representations of the past appeared in her place. She watched as Zion gently placed her in the bed. He soon fell asleep. “Fast forward.” The time reference sped up. Zion tossed for a moment but soon sat up. “Stop. How much time has passed?”

“Two hours.”

“I guess he doesn’t need much sleep after hibernation. Continue.” He got up and walked over to the oak desk. He tapped on it and a computer ascended. He worked on it diligently. Bomba walked over and looked over his shoulder. “He is shopping?”

“He visited several shopping sites,” Martha said, “but he also visited several bounty sites.”

“Bounty? Was he checking on his?”

“I do not know.”

“Did he buy anything?”

“No. Most of the sites visited require the buyer to appear in person. I must also mention that the items he searched for were very high end.”

“You suspect—no. If he wanted to take me in, he could have easily done it. What is he up to?”

“I don’t know.”

“I wasn’t really asking…. Just speed it up. “

Zion stood up from the computer and stared down at it as it disappeared in the desk. He turned around and stared at her sleeping body. He walked over to her and slowly and gently removed her cloak. Zion then removed the parts from the cloak and set them on the night stand. He pulled his gun away from under his pillow, stuck it in the holster and set it neatly on the table. He then reached inside of his overcoat and grabbed two containers. It was two old school food containers but when he removed the top, they contained only black soil. He set them besides his guns, measured and positioned it near the window.  He moved the blinds aside slightly. Just enough to allow the moonlight to come through. He then removed his necklace, dislodged the emerald jewel and planted it deep in the black earth.

The next moment, he stripped off more of his clothing until he was standing in front of her bed nude. He stared at her for a moment, grabbed her cloak and silently moved to the cleaner. He stuck his clothes mixed with her cloak in the cleaner and turned it on, still Bomba lay in bed. Why was she able to sleep through all that? He walked into the bathroom in all of his glory. She looked away for a moment, but like a shuttle wreck she couldn’t help but stare. Some force pulled her into the bathroom. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a man nude. She had seen several images on the net. So why did this feel different?

His body looked as if was carved out of wood. A result of his chloroman heritage? He rubbed his fingers through his dark green hair. He fingered through the apparatus at the base of the mirror and grabbed a sonic shaver. He edged his hair and cut it two inches shorter. In mere moments it was a short textured version of the previous hair style. He turned on the sonic shower and then closed the door. The images disappeared and Bomba walked outside of the bath room and sat on the bed.

Fifteen minutes later, the image reappeared. An image of Zion stepping out of the bathroom. He then opens the cleaner and places his clothes on, along with her cloak. She clenched her fist as he walked toward the door, but unclenched when he stopped and looked once again at her. He came back and covered her with layers of covers. He then searched the desk. He pulled out a deck of playing cards, studied them for a moment and then placed them in his pocket. He searched even more until he found synthetic paper and a pen. He wrote on it and placed the sheet under her head. After he left, the image flickered again. “Mistress, you slept four more hours after he left.”

“End recording,” Bomba said.

Martha reappeared. “I took the liberty to search the cameras of the city. There is no record that he has even left the building.”

“No, he would know to avoid actual and potential cameras. Kiyah could do the same thing.”

“What would you like me to do?”

Bomba played with her fingers. “This pile of dirt. What is in it?”

“A seed,” Martha said. “A techno-organic seed to be exact, the likes of which I have never seen.”

“Oh, what is so special about it?”

“I have tried to discern its end-result based on the data, but I have found nothing. I have tried to communicate with it or at least read its code. A firewall protects its code and it doesn’t communicate. It just grows. Rather quickly. Assuming that the container will contain the roots, I imagine that it will reach full fruition by nightfall.”

“Interesting. I guess I will have to wait until he returns, because there is no way I can track him.”

“What will you do?”

“I surely will not stay here and wait for him. I will keep my end of the bargain and get his tesseract bag. Find the closest subspace communicator.”

“I have found it, but I worry that a bounty hunter may recognize you.”

“Not on this planet. Zion chose this planet well. There are bounty hunters here, but there are many more with bounties on their heads. Most of whom, the planet caters to. Anyone seeking a bounty would do so with, very little local aid. It would be a foolish endeavor.”

End of Part One 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

Go Savant! is the link to my Young Adult Fiction Ultimate Savant.

Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Three 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 guild, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

She walked to the edge of the roof. “Is that why you left the guild? Because of your enemies?” She stepped onto the ledge and gazed at Hans City.

Zion leaned over the ledge. “No. I had managed to stick to killing bad guys, mostly. My rule was no women and no children.  No innocents either. Male or female. See my dad was all about right and wrong, he felt that as long as you did more right than wrong you would go to this place called heaven…. He said that Mom would be there.”

Bomba stepped off of the ledge and a circular disk appeared under her foot. She floated down until she was at eye-level facing Zion from the other side. “What happened?”

“This female assassin that I partnered with broke my code. No, the guild didn’t give me all of the information. No, I knew something was wrong, but I ignored it. You know, you really shouldn’t just float like that. What if your powers give out on you and you fall?”

“I guess, you will have to catch me.”

“Or, you could just place your feet on something solid.”

She rolled her eyes. Floated upward and sat on the ledge. “Did your friend kill an innocent?”

“Yeah. While I was taking out the mob boss, she was busy taking out his family. I stopped her before she took out the youngest a little girl, who had just witnessed her siblings and mother’s slaughter.”

“Th—that’s horrible.”

“I escaped with the little girl, had to fight my partner to do it. And just like that I broke my code—shot her in the center of the chest.”

“She was hardly innocent.”

“That day I left the guild.”

“What happened to the girl?”

“Found her a family. It was the best I could do for her. Keeping her around would have placed her endanger.”

Bomba gasped and turned to Zion. “You would have kept her?”

“Well yes, if I could. By guild law, I am responsible for her life.”

“I just can’t imagine you as a father.”

“Why not? I would make a great dad. I would teach her how to shoot, how to sense your opponent and their intentions—”

“That’s my point.” She placed her hand in her lap and stared up at the moon, smiling, practically grinning, but then it disappeared. “we are not allowed to have children. It is punishable by exile.”

“So? Just leave.”

“No, exile means that your techno-organic parts are removed. Those that survive the process are never the same.”

“Oh, please. You could just run away, you would not be the first rogue techno-witch. Trust me, I have ran into a few.”

“They always get caught, and besides, where would I go? I don’t exactly blend in.”

“No you don’t do that at all.”

She reached out to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Is this moonlight enough for you. I know you don’t need as much sunlight as a full Chloroman, but this moonlight can’t be enough for you.”

“It’s fine. I have a photon generator that I bring with me in emergencies. But I am doing fine for now…. Thanks for asking.”

“Yeah, well let’s go. We need to get settled soon.” She tugged at his shoulder.

“What?”

“Don’t be afraid,” she said.

“I’m not afraid,” he said. He stepped over the ledge and felt for the ledge. “Wait you are not still mad at me, for the whole shooting thing are you?”

“No.” She pulled him in and grabbed him tightly. “I am not mad at all.” She swooped down at a steep angle, headed for the street below.

“The entire point of covert action is to not be seen,” Zion said, resisting the urge to scream.”

“Ah, that is why I am using an invisibility spell.” She dropped into the oncoming traffic and dodged the vehicles. 

“I see.”

“Yes, there is no need for me to change out of this cloak when I have several disguise spells.” She ducked into a tunnel that flowed under the city.

“Okay, and don’t drop me for saying this, but seems like you would like to get out of that curtain, once in a while. I can think of several outfits you would look stunning in.”

“That’s some imagination. The truth is that this outfit is part of who we are. Besides, you have no idea, what is under my layers.”

“Well—“ A familiar sense seized him. The same feeling he had when Bomba left his home. A sense of Danger.  “Bomba, we have to get out of this tunnel.”

“What? Why? This is a shortcut to the red light district.”

“There is something—“ A bright light moved around the corner at high speeds. “Sonic transport!” The shuttle hugged the walls barely allowing room for air to pass over its hull. Bomba cursed and turned around. A sonic boom followed when she lurched forward. Even at the speed of sound, the transport was keeping pace. “It’s going to overtake us. Now would be a nice time to use a magic booster or something.”

“No such thing. Hang on!” She swung into a tunnel escaping the transport. The two of them turned around to see the transport disappear down a separate tunnel. “Wheeww.”

“Yeah, that was close.”

“Oh, no!” She sped back toward the old tunnel.

“What are you doing?”

“Look behind you!”

He turned to see more lights. It was going to be a long night. Several tunnels later, the two of them were standing in the alley in front of a hotel in the red light district. Occasionally a couple or two would come to the hotel for a short tryst with their date.  “Provided, Martha did her job. We need only march to our room. This kind of place, they really don’t ask questions, but I would prefer to not be seen. Can you pull that invisibility trick of yours?”

Bomba leaned against the wall, her hood covered her face. Zion moved closer and peered under her hood. She looked down at him. “Flying like that takes a lot out of me.”

“Oh, well, I will get us inside.”

“No. I can do it. I have to get stronger.” She gestured with her hand and her gown became a working girl’s dress that left little to the imagination. Her bald head was now wavy red hair that extended past her shoulders. She held out her hand. “I need to touch you to extend the holographic field.”

“Sure.” He held out his hand and soon as she grabbed it, his brown skin turned a forest green.

“This is the best I can do for now.”

“I am not complaining.”

The two of them crossed the street, hand in hand. Once inside the hotel, they made a beeline straight for the escalator. Once on the third floor, they quickly walked into their room.  Zion pulled away, but Bomba held fast. “Not yet.” She reached behind her back and produced a small sphere. She rolled it to the center of the room. Several cylinders extended from the sphere. “The room is secure.” She released his hand and stumbled.

He grabbed her and helped her to her bed. “You are hot.”

“Tech…overheating.” She lay back on the bed

“I will turn the temperature down. I know a guy that was a cyborg, he said that the best thing to do when you run hot .” He heard some mild snoring. “Is to sleep.” He walked over to her and stared at her as she lay on the bed. Her feet on the floor. He bent down and gently removed her shoes. He sat them down on the floor. He nudged her. “You probably shouldn’t sleep on this bed like that.”

She mumbled something.

He shook his head and gently lifted her and moved her to the head of the bed. He placed the pillow under her head. She turned onto her side and gently caressed his arm. Zion pulled away.  He then moved to his bed. He placed both of his guns under each of his pillows. He glanced over to Bomba and removed the two guns. He stared at them. Placed one in the holster and placed it on the night stand between the two of them. He placed the second one under his pillow. He took the ankle pistol and walked to the bathroom. He placed it under the sink along with his two blades. In the bathroom, he stripped down to his sleepwear, black wicker shorts and filled a picture full of water. He drunk the half-gallon of water, set it on the floor next to his bed and lay his head on the gun-reinforced pillow.

End of Part Two of Chapter Three.

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

Go Savant! is the link to my Young Adult Fiction Ultimate Savant.

     

Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Three 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 guild, who ignored their laws and who fight for the greater good.

Genre: Science Fantasy Romance

Zion’s peace of mind was interrupted by movement—his own. By the time, he had realized, the bullet had already left the chamber, shattering something into a million pieces. He gathered himself. Bomba was on the other side of the mini-shuttle, with an energy ball in her hand. Standing beside her, was a silver woman. The image flickered. A hologram. “What are you doing?” Zion asked.

“Trying to wake you up,” Bomba said. “Who shoots in their sleep?”

“Why didn’t you just…call my name?”

“I did. I called you several times. You were in some type of trance.”

“Hibernation—it’s a chloroman thing. I would have gone insane sitting in this six meter cube, you call a ship for three days.”

“Well, it hasn’t been three days, it has been two. And I thought you warriors had all types of mental training.”

“There is no mental training that can combat boredom.” He stood up.

The hologram leaned forward and whispered. “We should have pushed him into space.” were the words formed by her lips.

Bomba ignored her and stepped forward. “Can you please put the gun back on safety?”

He spun the gun on his finger and placed it in its holster. He reached down, grabbed the other gun and his hat. “I apologize.” He holstered the other gun and through his hat in the air. It hung on a protrusion near the door. “How close are we?”

“Less than an hour. We haven’t been detected and won’t be unless I will the ship to drop its cloak.”

“Don’t. We need to enter and leave without being seen.”

She turned to the hologram. “Martha as you well know, this is Zion and Zion this is Martha.”

Martha nodded. Her body shimmered and dissipated like smoke.

“She isn’t very friendly.”

“Well,” Bomba said. “Technically you shot her too. Not exactly a good way to make friends.”

He looked down. “Could you do me a favor and check on my home?”

“Your home?”

“Yes. Could you just check to see if there was an incident since we left.”

She placed her finger on her temple. Her eyes rolled back as she did her thing.  Seconds later, she shook her head and focused on Zion. The look in her eyes said it all. “There was an explosion. No one was hurt. The southern region of the colony.”

“My home.”

“I—I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was booby-trapped, probably exploded when whoever trailed you attempted to find me.”

“But you can’t possibly know—it could have been an accident.”

“No accident.”

“But why? Why would anyone come for you?”

He frowned. “You make a lot of enemies in this business. And if you are well known, you get credit for people you didn’t kill. But like you, I have a bounty on my head, and then there is the assassin’s guild. They don’t take to kindly to members of their order faking their death.”

“So what will we do?”

“We?”

“Yes, you are a member of my crew.”

Zion chuckled. “I don’t think any spell of yours will handle this.”

She folded her arms. “You would be surprised what I can do. I can summon a great dragon to defend this ship if I wanted too.”

“And yet, you can’t afford a bigger ship.”

“A small ship is necessary. You shouldn’t underestimate Martha. She is an amazing ship.” Bomba walked over to the secondary, pilot’s seat and leaned over the dash. She pressed a few buttons and the screen increased in size. She sat down in the seat and turned the co-pilot’s seat toward him. “Please sit down.”

He eased into the seat. “Comfortable.”

“Thank you. I have virtual games if you ever get bored.”

“I would prefer something a little more real.”

She looked at him and stared at him for a moment. She quickly turned away and prepared the ship for landing. “So, have you been in a Tek Nok ‘s ship before?”

“A few times. Do you guys always wear those huge gowns.”

“Huge?”

“Yes, it leaves a lot to the imagination.”

“Maybe you should spend your time working on your mental training.”

“Let the imagination fly is a type of mental training.”

She scoffed. “It is not. That would imply that you lack focus.”

“No. Distractions actually help me to focus. What about you?”

“I am just the opposite. I prefer silence and distractions tend to annoy me.”

 “You just haven’t had the right distraction,” Zion said.

She exhaled and turned to Zion. “I really don’t see what this has to do with the mission. Is this your version of small talk?”

“Yes, but you are going to have to wrap your mind around taking off that gown.”

“Zion, I will admit that I haven’t been around many humans, but I am familiar with human mating rituals, and I know that shooting a potential bedmate does not increase your chances of mating.”

Zion shrugged. “You would be surprised. Anyway, I was talking about disguising yourself. Now that someone is on our trail. It wouldn’t be wise to wear a sign around your neck that says kill me.”

A soft thud announced a successful landing. “We are here.” She stood up and marched to the door.

“So, you are just going to ignore me?”

The door opened. “We are on a roof in the dead of night. No one will see either of us.”

“No wonder you were so easily followed.” He stood up.

“What do you mean?”

“You are a creature of habit. Kiyah was too. He never understood that there was order in chaos.” He followed her out the door.

“I am sorry that I have turned your life upside down.”

“It’s not a problem.” He smiled trying his best to hide the excitement stirring in his chest. “Perhaps, I will find out who is hunting me. After all, there is no point in hiding now, I am sure half the underworld knows that I am alive.”

End of Part One of Chapter Two.

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

Go Savant! is the link to my Young Adult Fiction Ultimate Savant.