Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Six 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 adjusted the controls on the monitor. The main screen presented a bird’s eye view of the city. She pulled far enough away to see the Mage ship Martha and Hotel Miscavania. She released them, somewhat frustrated. “Why can’t I get a split screen?”

“The power diverted to the nanites you flooded the atmosphere with, isn’t enough to provide an ample signal for a split screen.”

“Martha, strengthen the receiver.”

“That would increase our chance of detection,” Martha said. “As it stands, the signals are optimal.”

“Fine. Help me with his room.” She stood up and walked over to the far wall, where Zion had once sat.

“The bedding has already been modified.”

Bomba grabbed a handle and pulled out a bed. She looked it over. “Good job,” Bomba said. “This looks so comfortable, I may go to sleep.”  She stepped back. “I would like a wall here. So he can have his privacy. He will have to walk past the tank to use the lavatory. But outside of that, he should be comfortable. And we can build a room over there for—”

“The additions you wish to add or against regulations.”

“No one has to know.”

“I am a mage ship, mistress.” An image of Martha appeared next to Bomba. “You named me and I have known you since I came online. But I am programmed to serve the guild first.”

“Yes, you are right.”

“Perhaps your time with Zion has clouded your judgment.”

“No. My mind is crystal clear.” She walked away from the bed. “Build the wall and put in stands for his plants.” She opened the rejuvenation tank. “Is he almost ready?” A bell sounded and the screen switched. Bomba stared at the screen. Zion sat on his bed, reaping the fruit from the bullet tree. The second plant had turned to a green rose with a red stem. “Oh, so Celeste has finally come out.”

“May I add that it is highly suspect that he refers to his plant by name? He has played music for it. Ancient earth music.”

“Well, we all have our hobbies. Besides, he is a Terran. I believe that all chloroman have an affinity for plant life?” She stepped into the tank.

“It is only true for the chloroman who have lived for a century or more.”

“Hmmm.” The tank closed. “Please tell him to be ready to leave in five minutes.” She closed her eyes. She felt her heart slow down, muscles relax and mind drift. When she opened her eyes, she stood in the room on the opposite side of the bed from Zion.

Zion pulled his red shirt down and tucked it carefully in his pants. “That is hardly five minutes.”

She turned around. “I sometimes miscalculate the mind transfer.”

“You can turn around. I was mostly dressed when you popped in.”

She turned back around. “My apologies, I will try to do a better next time.”

“It’s no problem.” He turned to the plant. “It’s time to take a nap now.”

The rose straightened and then curved away.

“I promise that I will take you to a place with plenty of water and sunshine.”

The rose seemed to fold its leaves and then dive into the dirt.

“How did you get it to do that?” Bomba asked.

“Do what?”

“Move when you speak to it.”

Zion shrugged. “Celeste doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.” He stuck his hand in the dirt and felt around. “So, you are going with the holograph again?”

“This ensures my safety. After all, there is a bounty on my head.”

He pulled out a green shiny stone, with strings attached. He tied the necklace around his neck. “You don’t have to worry about safety when you are with me.”

Bomba rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, if I don’t feel particularly safe when you walk around weaponless.”

Zion placed his gunmetal wristbands on. “I am never weaponless.” He placed the hat on his head. “And now I am ready.”

“No coat? No cloak?”

His hands disappeared into his black pants pocket. “It’s too hot for that.”

The two of them walked out the front door of the hotel for the first time since their arrival. There was no need to hide their identities. They would be gone before sundown. The two of them walked down the street side by side. It wasn’t often that she experienced a walk in a busy street and in many ways she wasn’t. She could see what her holographic clone could see. Hear also. But there was no feeling of warmth. When she brushed against Zion, she was aware, but it was hardly the quickening of the heart that she normally felt. A wave of shame fell on her. A disgust that he could read her and tell her what she wanted. A strong desire to hit him with a bolt of electricity welled in her heart a desire that was stopped by Zion pulling her into an alley. “What’s—”

Zion’s hand snapped faster than sight could register. It was only the other information her clone gave her that allowed her to realize what was going on. A beam ricocheted off his metallic wristband and pierced a trash can. “Sniper. Quarter of a mile.”

“That’s all well and good. But I am just a hologram. You really don’t need to protect me.”

“He will probably change positions.” Zion reached down for his absent gun. “Right. On the ship.”

“Point them out and I will find them.”

He pointed at a building with a needle-point top. “There is the best place for that shot. But don’t bother going after them.”

“Why not?”

“This is a pro’s pro.”

“How good can they be? We and by we, I mean you, are still alive. And if they are that good, shouldn’t we look for a, I don’t know, safe hiding place?”

“I didn’t sense a kill intent,” Zion said. “Only the best can hide that. After seeing my laser deflection stunt they realize that sniping is useless against me. If they attack again, it won’t be with a sniper’s laser rifle and it won’t be so far away.”

“We don’t have time for this.” She grabbed Zion and formed a disc under him. The two of them flew up. “I have the entire city under-surveillance. Where ever he is, we will get him. She looked down at his waist. “You stay behind me.”

“You bombarded the atmosphere with nanites, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Wait, I can’t find anything.”

“The attacker shot at you, probably saw you as the biggest threat. They would expect a techno-witch to do something like that.”

She slowed their ascent. “So, if you are so smart, where is this assassin now?”

“Hiding, unwilling to give away his position.”

Bomba saw a blue speck in the distance that grew larger with each past moment. “What is that?”

“Or, they can fire on us with a…DNA seeking missile.”

“Crud!” Bomba flew in the opposite direction.

“I guess it has latched on to me. Can’t you blow it up?”

“No. My clones don’t have that kind of strength and by the time I disengage and make it here, you will be blown to bits.”

“Yes. That would be bad.”

 

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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.
 

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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:

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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.