First Awakenings

  She returned the way she came, ignoring the soldiers who had returned to their posts. This tower was used for the final training session of the assassins. The soldiers would be sent for reconditioning. Their failure to stop the assassination of the two members at the top of the tower was unacceptable. Each move Kella had made would be reviewed and analyzed. Then, additional measures would be taken to make it more difficult for future students in training.

  It wouldn’t matter to Kella. A satisfied smile curved her lips. She succeeded where the others had failed. She lived. Her gaze moved to the body of the man she shot. She didn’t know him. He came from another tribe on Turbinta. If she had not killed him, he would have killed her. It was the way of their kind. They lived by the code of the mission: kill or be killed. There was only safety within your own tribe, and there was no guarantee even there that one might not be killed out of jealousy or fear.

  She strode out of the tower, crossed the bridge, and began scaling the side of the cliff back to her ship. It took her almost two treacherous hours due to the pouring rain. The rocks were slippery and minor avalanches forced her to detour several times. After climbing down the last few meters, Kella staggered forward and activated the back platform of her ship. She stumbled up the platform into the cool, dry interior. Pressing her hand against the platform control button, she was thankful it closed all the way, especially since it had a history of sticking.

  Only when she was safe did she lean against the door and release her tight hold on the pain piercing her body from the wound in her side. From the amount of blood dampening the outer uniform she not only ripped the wound open again, but it was deeper than she realized.

  Pressing one hand against her side and the other against the cold metal of the door, she pushed off and stumbled across the cargo bay. Her spacecraft was a small, converted freight hauler. She purchased it with the credits she earned working at the local bar Tallei owned, serving those brave enough to venture into the Turbinta region.

  “Ah, assassin’s blood, how could I have been so stupid!” Kella hissed when she stumbled again.

  She focused on her feet as they carried her down the short corridor to her bedroom. After stepping into her cabin, she unhooked both belts, peeled the guard’s uniform off and kicked it aside. It was a little more challenging to pull off her black, form-fitting top. Spots danced in her vision and she gritted her teeth to keep from passing out. After tugging it over her head, she tossed the blood-soaked shirt to the side.

  A violent shiver ran through her. Kella knew it was a combination of shock and the frigid air inside the freighter. Her fingers trembled as she pulled the small medical kit off the shelf. She pressed the release and the case opened. Inside was everything she would need to take care of any minor injuries. She hoped this was minor enough. Visions of the scars marring Tallei swept through her mind as she reached for the injector. She inserted a small vial into the end, pressed it against her stomach, and pulled the trigger.

  A shudder of relief flooded her when the pain began to subside. Bowing her head, she drew in long, deep breaths and waited. A rueful smile curved her lips when she thought of her mentor. Kella had not learned how to find that place inside herself yet where she could cut off the pain. She remembered Tallei telling her about the many times she had to repair her body without the help of medication, including the time when her eye was pierced by another assassin’s blade during a mission.

  Kella discharged the vial, tossed the empty container onto the bed, then returned the injector to the kit. Next, she ripped off the patch she placed over the wound earlier. After tossing it aside as well, she picked up a small cauterizing wand from the medical kit, and held the ragged edges of skin together with one hand while she ran the wand over the wound with the other.

  A small amount of smoke brought the smell of burning flesh to her nose. The combination of smoke and burnt skin made her gag. She would have looked away if she could, but she didn’t have that luxury. Instead, she held her breath for as long as she could while she sealed the skin.

  Fine beads of sweat glistened on her brow despite the coolness of the air around her. Her upper body was coated with fine bumps and she had to lock her knees to keep from collapsing. It took several minutes to ensure that the wound was sealed and no longer bleeding. She covered it with a clean medical patch that contained both a painkiller and medicine to help her heal faster.

  She focused on cleaning up the area, replacing the wand in the medical kit, throwing away the empty vial and old medical patch, and carefully replaced the kit back on the shelf. Once the area was restored to its tidy condition, she pulled off her boots and removed her bloodstained pants. She quickly dressed, pulling on a long, thick black sweater over the thin top that restrained her breasts, another pair of black, leather pants, and slipped her boots back on. She would toss the clothing into the cleaner unit on her way to the bridge.

  “Tallei’s tit, she is going to be furious with me,” Kella muttered when she realized that almost four hours had passed since she’d left the tower.

  As if reading her mind, the communicator on the side table pinged. Kella grabbed the bloodstained clothes in one hand and reached for the communicator with the other. A glance told her that the instructions for her mission were still waiting to be received. A second communication showed that Tallei was not impressed with her tardiness in responding to either of them.

  Kella strode down the corridor, pausing only to place her clothing in the cleaner, before hurrying to the bridge. After sliding into the pilot’s chair, she began preparations for her departure. Within minutes, she had programmed her destination into the navigation system, strapped in, and was lifting off the large, flat surface near the bottom of the tower. Her hands tightened on the controls, steering the vessel through the narrow canyon before breaking free and increasing power to the main engines.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when she broke through the storm and upper atmosphere. Once she was in orbit, she activated the message with her mission details. An image projected in front of her.

  “Assassin, you have been assigned an urgent mission. A foreign capsule has landed on Tesla Terra. Your task is to locate the contents and deliver it directly to Lord Andronikos – preferably alive; but dead, if necessary.”

  Kella studied the map of the planet. Tesla Terra was in the northwest quadrant. It would take her at least three days to get there. She would locate the capsule and scan it for information, then search the Spaceport on the other side of the mountains. Someone was bound to have some information.

  2

  Ash stretched and stifled a groan at the stiffness in his joints and muscles from sleeping on the hard ground. He walked to the opening between the boulders that formed the entrance of the cave and peered out into the fading sunlight. It would be almost an hour before he could leave his shelter.

  He gazed out over the barren landscape, waiting for the sun to go down over the horizon. The narrow collection of boulders in the middle of nowhere became his temporary sanctuary. The journey he started on two nights ago quickly turned into a fight for survival. Everything had been fine until the sun came up the morning after he arrived, and he had started to fry – literally.

  He had once been in south Texas along the Rio Grande during the height of summer, and decided anyone crazy enough to try to cross over had to either be insane or part lizard. But that was nothing compared to what it was like here. Before he found this small rock outcropping, he had pulled on the second set of coveralls and placed the backpack on top of his head to help give him added shade. It had not helped much – his skin still began to blister from the heat. By the time he had stumbled upon the cluster of boulders, he was in agony.

  A small entrance where one boulder had fallen over onto the others revealed a tiny, hidden oasis. The dramatic temperature drop had been a blessing, but the discovery of a small pool of water bubbling up from the ground proved to be heaven. He had shed his clothes and bathed his scorched skin in the
nearly icy water. He had been amazed when the blisters on the backs of his hands shrank the moment he plunged them into the shallow basin.

  He spent the rest of the first day and all of the second day trying to plan a more efficient trek. He ventured out last night, but decided to stay put when he saw several faint lights heading in the direction he came the day before. Using the binoculars in the survival pack, he had switched on the night vision. Ash had counted at least five separate vehicles which looked like something out of a Sci-Fi movie heading in the direction of the emergency pod he abandoned. Several hours later, his fears were confirmed when he watched them load the capsule between the machines they were riding on.

  It looked like nighttime travel was going to be his only option for more than one reason. Until he knew what in the hell he was dealing with and where he was, he would become a flea on a shaggy dog’s butt. He just needed to find the shaggy dog first.

  “Tonight,” he murmured to himself.

  Ash turned away from the entrance, and rechecked his inventory. He only had another two days’ worth of rations. Thanks to the spring, he had plenty of water at the moment. He hoped there would be more water sources once he reached the mountains.

  He lifted a hand to touch the wound near his left eye. The cut was sealed, but it would take at least a week or more to heal completely. He would probably be sporting a new scar. An assessment of the rest of his body turned up a few more abrasions and an assortment of bruises. Still, considering that he was alive, he would take the scrapes, bumps, and bruises any day. It would just be another fantastic tale of woe to impress the ladies with, he thought before he sobered again.

  “Not that I’ll ever see home again,” he murmured under his breath with a sigh.

  He grabbed his clothing and pulled his uniform on, then the extra coveralls. Already he could feel the temperature outside starting to drop. He shook out the scrap of cloth he had cut from the parachute and tied it around his head the same way it had protected him before. After shouldering the pack, he waited the last few minutes until it was safe to go outside.

  “Time to ditch this joint,” he muttered under his breath.

  Ash focused on a bright star over the mountains. He would use it as a reference point. He pulled the straps on and fastened them across his broad chest, then took off at a steady jog. If there was one thing he could do, it was run – and run and run. He had always enjoyed it, appreciating the runner’s high that came when he was in the zone. He would need that skill if he was going to make it to the safety of the mountains by first light. If he did not find a place out of the brutal sun, the only zone he was going to be in was the dead zone.

  A light breeze flowed behind him, giving him a tail wind. He drew in deep breaths through his nose and released them through his mouth. The head cover would help conceal any vapor. By the third mile, he could feel his body getting back into the groove of running. His mind wandered, taking in the region even as he kept his guiding star in sight.

  Almost two hours later, Ash slowed to a walk as he approached a winding dirt road that he could see eventually led to the mountains. He drew in deep breaths, placed his hands on his hips, and turned in slow, steady circles to glance in all directions. It was almost like coming to a fork in the road – which way should he go? One way led to the shelter of the mountains. The other way led away, presumably to a settlement. The question was: Which way might be a shorter and less arduous journey?

  He needed to get to his intended destination – finding shelter before the sun rose. The problem was either direction could have inhabitants who may or may not welcome an alien visitor.

  It was impossible to tell which way would be the better choice. Indecision tore at him before he realized that he did not have much of a choice. If he wanted protection from the sun, he would have to head in the direction of the mountains. More confident, he reverted to his original destination, this time following the road headed in that direction.

  The night wore on and Ash continued alternating between jogging and walking at a fast pace. He took a ten minute break every hour and a half and drank just enough of his precious supply of water to keep the worst of his rapacious thirst at bay. The road curved around, running parallel to the mountains until it suddenly veered toward them.

  Ash was shocked when he rounded a section of rock and discovered the entrance to a massive tunnel. The glimmer of lights at the far end held him paralyzed for a moment before his brain kicked in, and he realized he was about to have company.

  His gaze swept over the area, searching for a place to hide. There was an overhang to the left of the entrance, and he sprinted toward it, climbing on the pile of debris left over from the construction of the tunnel. He pulled himself up and rolled to the side. His fingers groped for the clips holding the backpack on, and once he found and released them, he shrugged the pack off, pushing it to the side so he could lay flat. This would be his first chance to see what he was facing.

  Sweat beaded on his brow as the seconds turned into minutes. The sounds grew louder before the first in what turned out to be a long caravan passed by him. Ash’s eyes grew wide and his left hand moved to the knife in the sheath at his waist.

  If the two moons and strange transports hadn’t convinced him that he was nowhere near Earth, much less Texas, the large beasts carrying supplies were enough to make him realize he had traveled over the rainbow.

  The animals moved in a long line. They were as tall as an elephant, but had the face of a Triceratops. Each of the horns, two horns above each eye and one centered just above its nose, had to be at least three meters long. The creatures were a dark red with a thick, leathery hide. They were each laden with heavy loads and moved along with slow, lumbering steps. Behind each beast was a sled that hovered above the surface of the ground with a native walking behind each sled.

  There was also an alien positioned to the side and one in front of each animal. The aliens were humanoid, with two arms and two legs, and they walked upright. Their vehicles and sleds indicated that they were intelligent and had an advanced culture. They were covered from the top of their heads to their booted feet with loose clothing; their goggles shielded their eyes and helped to keep the cloth covering their faces and hair in place. Their bodies were tall and slender. Ash pulled his binoculars out of the case attached to his waist and focused the lenses on the aliens. Up close, he could see dark red skin peeking out from under their long sleeves as they moved.

  He shifted his focus to their faces. He couldn’t see any details of their features other than some kind of nose under their coverings, a humanoid jaw and cheekbones, and two eyes. He zoomed in to peer at their goggles, but even with the light of two moons, he couldn’t glean much information about their eyes.

  He’d need to find clothing that was similar to theirs and mimic the way they moved. The color of his skin would be a problem, but if he didn’t let anyone get too good a look at him, the clothing would conceal who he was. He could do Halloween dress up as well as the next person.

  He continued to watch the line, mentally taking notes as each person passed by him. The line seemed to go on forever before it finally ended. It reminded him of some of the super long trains back home that used to go by his house when he was a kid. After the caravan moved off along the road, Ash hesitated for another few minutes, his gaze scanning the area for stragglers, and then he reached for his pack, secured it onto his back, and climbed down from the ledge.

  From the side of the entrance, he peered into the darkness and listened for anyone else. Once he was confident he was alone, he stepped into the cave. Picking up his pace until he was jogging again, he headed to the exit, nearly two kilometers from the entrance. The last thing he wanted was to get trapped in the tunnel when another group came through. From the intense heat of the day, he imagined that the vast majority of travel was conducted at night. He would have to be twice as careful. If they were accustomed to traveling at night, they would be more adapted to seeing in the dark as wel
l. Life just became a little more exciting.

  He slowed when he reached the other end of the tunnel. Bright moonlight flooded the entrance. He pressed against the wall, blending into the shadows when he reached the opening. The road wound down, sloping into a desert valley on the other side. Lights glittered like stars along the valley floor.

  Ash gazed in awe at the city below him. He blinked, fascinated by the maze of buildings rising from the sands. Lights glittered like fireflies across the valley floor. His eyes widened when he saw spaceships of all different sizes lifting off and landing. He followed one with his eyes, his mouth gaping open in astonishment when it suddenly flashed upward through the atmosphere. Without thinking, he raised his right hand to pinch his left arm.

  “I’ve fucking died and gone to utopia,” he murmured under his breath.

  For the first time it really hit him that he was alive, on an alien world, and all alone. A wave of grief struck him at the thought of how much Josh, Sergi, Mei, and Julia would have loved to see this. This is what they had lived and breathed to discover. Another world – with intelligent life – to experience first-hand. The geeks back at NASA would be drooling all over their consoles if they could see what he was seeing.

  “Shit, Josh, you don’t know what you are missing, man. I wish you were here to share it with me,” Ash whispered, returning his gaze to the city.

  He shook his head in regret before he began making his way down the side of the mountain. In his mind, he ran through the things he would need to do first. He needed to find clothing, a weapon, and a place to hide before sunrise. If he was going to survive, he needed to learn a lot about this world and the people in it, and he would need to blend in – not an easy thing to do when you were a black man from another planet.

  “They sure as hell didn’t have a simulator for this back on base. It’s a good thing I like playing video games. Those nerds never knew what they were creating, but they sure the hell weren’t too far off in their imaginations!” Ash muttered under his breath, jogging up to the edge of a farm of some type. He didn’t see anyone in the field.