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.

Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Two 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

The familiar smell of almonds filled her nostrils. She sniffed and shook her head. A blurry image of shades of grey appeared in front of her. She blinked until the image became clear. Zion was standing over her secondary controls, piloting the ship. Anger welled in her heart and she rose up with fire on her hands.

“Don’t be foolish,” he said. His eyes still glued to the small screen in front of him. “Attack me here and you will die too.”

“Move away from the controls.”

“Fine.” He rolled away. “Tired of looking at that small screen. Don’t see how you fly this thing.”

She moved to the control and glanced at the screen. “We are in space.”

“Yeah, on our way out of the system. I put in a course for the Lucasian system, but I had to navigate through an electric storm.”

“Lucasian? That is near the Kainian system.”

“Yeah. We can stop there and get the supplies we need before we enter into the system. I know you are wondering what’s going on? What is he up to? Well to make a long story short. I am always prepared to leave any situation. So once I decided to help you. I had already made plans to leave. And Kiyah taught me to never leave when people expect me to leave. So, here we are. I am willing to bet a hundred credits that you weren’t expecting this.”

“But what about your payment? The Tesseract you wanted? I can’t contact the council with you on my ship. They will know.”

“You can take care of that when we land.”

She closed her fist and the fire disappeared. She sat down in the seat and stared at him for a moment. She grabbed her head. “You shot me! How am I unharmed?”

“I shot you with a special bullet, of my own personal design. A psychokinetic bullet. Physically the bullet didn’t even break your skin, but it hit you with a low powered psychic wave. But you were knocked out for an hour longer than I expected. I guess I am a little rusty.”

“A psychic bullet? Are you a telepath?”

“No. It was something my dad worked on, but never got around to finishing.” He slid down in the corner and drew up his knees. He placed his hat next to him and his guns on either side of the hat.

“That’s not possible. That is a rail gun. How can it fire psychic bullets?”

“That’s my secret. I will sleep over here. If you can make this thing go faster, please do so. But as it stands right now, we have a three day flight.”

She sighed. “This ship isn’t designed for a two man flight. We need to go back and get another ship.”

“It is only three days. Once we get to Han City, we can get a ship that will suit our needs.”

She clenched. “You shot me, with a psychic whatever. How can you expect me to trust you after that?”

“I don’t.  Trust is earned. I know that I haven’t done a good job earning yours, but for the time being. I need you to understand that I prefer my opponents be predictable, while I be unpredictable.”

“But there was no need for this! I am not your opponent. I am your teammate and we need to have trust now, if we are going to work together.”

“Right.” He buried his head in his knees.

She stood up and stared down at his curled form. She shook her head and walked to a wall a little over a meter away. She reached into one of the square openings in the walls and pulled a latch. The wall disappeared and a semi-glass covered tank appeared in its place. “Well, even if you don’t trust me. I will trust you, because Kiya trust you. He said that you could be frustrating, but it was part of your brilliance. At any rate, this is the primary cockpit of the ship. Once I am inside, I will be able to plot a more efficient path to the Lucasian planet. It will provide me with a virtual reality living area that will provide a lot more comfort than your corner that you picked out. I have another one built into the ship just in case I have to transport a prisoner or something. I can modify it for you, but unfortunately I cannot do so until we land.”

He looked up. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t need more than what I have.”

“As you wish.” The tank door opened and Bomba stepped in. “Please, try not to shoot me.”

“The safety’s on,” he said as he buried his head into his knees, once again.  

She folded her arms over her chest and the door closed. A blast of cool air alerted her, but only for a moment. She closed her eyes until the discomfort and passed. When she opened them she was inside a destroyer class ship, with a full command deck. Capable of supporting a crew of twenty, but with only one soul as its occupant.  “Martha!”

An image of metallic woman materialized in front of her. “Yes mistress?” The image flickered.

“Don’t yes mistress me! How did Zion take command of your secondary controls?”

Martha turned around and drew a large square in the air. The squared flashed bright and shown an image of Zion picking up Bomba’s unconscious body. “I have no way to defend you while you were outside of the ship,” Martha said. He picked her up, cradling her in his arms. “I was going to kill him as soon as he stepped foot into the cockpit, but did not want to harm you. I was also wary that if he was powerful enough to harm you, he would need further study to find a weakness.” Zion aimed his pistol, shot and the screen went blank. “He severed my central processing unit’s cortex with a dissolving bullet. Once the bullet had dissolved, I immediately began self-repair. But he had already bypassed my systems.”

“He has been in a mage’s ship before,” Bomba said. She rubbed her head. “Well, did you find any weaknesses?”

“Yes. Many. He is mostly human. The chloroman traits are surprisingly strong in him. I imagine that he shares there need for water and sunlight as well. He would prove resistant to what would kill most humans. His DNA markers suggest that he is more durable, heals faster and has an extended life span, but any of your basic offensive skills should kill him.”

“Yeah, if he doesn’t dodge them.”

“I will have access to the inner defense soon. Would you like me to microwave him?”

“No.” Bomba walked to the Captain’s chair. “Technically, he is my ally.”

“That seems illogical.”

“Yes. Kiyah said that he was strange. He grew up with his father—traveling the universe, possibly learning how to kill at his father’s feet. He was only eleven when he witnessed his father’s death. I imagine that would affect the psyche of anyone.”

There was a long awkward silence. “Did he go live with his mother?”

“She died the day he was born. Transport accident, that killed everyone on the shuttle. He is the sole survivor.”

“That is so sad,” Martha said. “I regret planning to kill him.”

“Yes. But that doesn’t change the fact that he is unpredictable. What about his weaponry?”

“Two rail gun with adjustable voltage. Each one is fully loaded. He has spare ammunition, two knives at the small of his back and a plasma pistol in an ankle holster. He has various supplies as well. Would you like me to list them?”

“No, examine his bullets. Anything special about them?”

“He uses RGB3, RGB4, and RGB5. They have varying tips, to include, metal and silicone. There are some bullets that appear to be techno-organic.”

“Techno-organic? Is it comparable with Tek Nok technology?”

“No, it is unlike any metal in my database.”

 “And the bullet dissolves soon after it hits its target. Amazing…. Martha, I want you to patch me through to the cockpit.”

“You want me to route a communication path back to its beginning?”

“No, the actual cockpit. I want to be able to communicate with Zion if need be. Double check my sleep pod’s defensive measures. He is an ally, but until we can fully trust him, we will keep him at arm’s length.”

“Yes.”

“And plot a course to Hans City in the Lucasian system.”

 

End of Part Two 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.

Science Fantasy Short Story {Reaper: Chapter Two 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

 

 Bomba stepped out of the hundred square meters of habitat and into the tubing leading to the rest of the colony. A farmer. How could a trained killer spend one day harvesting produce? She stepped onto a platform and glided through the tube. She mumbled the ancient equations and a blue energy field formed around her, the frequency change and the light refracted. She was invisible when she left the town, she would be invisible when she returned to it.

She looked behind her. She was without a doubt the most powerful person on the colony. Yet, her heart sped to unnecessary levels when she was around Zion. She would need to run a diagnostic. Perhaps there was an undetectable magnetic field that interfered with her inner workings.

In a moment she pulled up to the station. A few of the onlookers actually noticed the rider less pad. She formed a blue field that quickly shifted to invisibility. She willed it upward, but relied on a combination of distance, speed and time to direct her path over the crowd of settlers. She travelled out of the station and into the open air. When she was high enough, she released the invisibility spell. No need to waist energy and with her black cloak, she would disappear against the background of space. She came to the colony’s exit, landing atop a building near the dome’s exit. She walked toward a rectangular cube and placed her hand on it. The door opened.

“This is your ship?” A voice asked. She turned sharply to see Zion wearing a long black overcoat with dark crimson lining. On his head was a half-sphere hat with a flat brim that hid his eyes. He pulled back his coat, revealing his sidearm. “That thing is barely the size of a coffin.”

“How did you find my ship?”

“I followed you. It wasn’t difficult. I don’t know who trained you but it certainly wasn’t Kiyah.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to look at your ship.”

“I can’t allow that.”

“No, I misspoke. I will look at your ship.”

Bomba called up a spell and sent and formed an electric ball in her hand. “This will only hurt a little.” She thrust forward sending it directly to his head. He leaned his head slightly to the left. The energy sailed past his head and dissipated in the metal on the ledge.

“Too slow. You will need a better attack than that.”

She formed a rectangular shield in front of her. “I don’t want to hurt you Zion.”

“You can’t.” His hand blurred, next to his hip and her shield lit up with the impact of a projectile.

“I thought you said that you would help me?”

“I am. You need all of the help that you can get.”

“I don’t know what you think you are going to do, but there is nothing your little rail gun can do against my shield. I have the strongest defense in the guild. My offense is pretty good and even I know that you only have four bullets in that gun.”

“Oh, that’s good to know. But there is something you need to know.” He pulled back the coat on his left side. “I have two guns, so even without reloading I have seven shots.” He held his gun sideways. “And look, if you look carefully you will see that this is not a little gun. I mean come on. If you call this little I have no idea what guns you have run into. And oh…I can curve my shot.”

“What?” Another blur of his hand and her world faded to black.

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.