Chapter 2: Sin 4

The poison had not killed me, but the pain that radiated from my swollen leg made me almost wish it had. I was terribly thirsty and wondered if I had ever felt that miserable. I was able to answer my own question, yes I had. I had it much worse back on the Burg of my father, and back then I did not see any chance of escaping but here I was not out of options. I was still alive and I had weapons.

I used the little light of the first aid kit to check out the room I was in.

It was not as empty as I thought it was before. There was a pile of garbage and waste in one corner and there was a rusty metal door.

Something between the dark plastic film bags and discarded boxes, moved. I was certain I had seen a pair of shiny eyes. I thanked Odin for watching over me while I was out and nothing decided to have me for dinner while I was sleeping.

I cut the leg of my pants open, my calf and thighs had swollen and there was an unhealthy looking white blister around the area the spider thing had bitten me. There was no other way; I had to cut it open. Part of my training was first aid and I had served a spell in Sick Bay, combat and emergency aid was a subject they stressed.

I disinfected the sharp blade of the combat knife and my leg with a disinfectant spray that was part of the first aid kit. I put the blaster in reach of my hand, eyed the pile of garbage one more time and then bit down on the sleeve of my jacket, so I would not cry out too loud and cut the wound open. It was not as bad as I thought; I was already in tremendous pain so a little more did not really matter. Puss and blood drooled down on the wet and dirty Duro-Crete floor. I had to let it bleed out a little but also had to make sure I would not lose too much.

Again the pile of trash moved and I readied the line blaster, whatever it might be was big enough to move the sacks of waste. “If you are sentient say something, if not I am going to shoot.”

Even though I was ready for some reaction, I was completely surprised as something jumped out of that pile in an explosion of garbage.

A dark shadow catapulted itself towards me. All I really saw was fangs, gleaming eyes and claws. I fired but did not hit it, that shadow of fangs and teeth was lightning fast and it collided with me. Needle sharp claws penetrated fabric and skin. My eyes were still blinded by the bright bolt but I saw the outlines of a humanoid face, and an obscenely large mouth filled with teeth snapping after my throat. I hammered my left fist across that face as I tried to bring the line blaster in line with that monster. My blow connected and whipped its head back; it screeched and I could not tell if it was a human voice or the sound of an animal.

Claws raked over my shoulder; my eyesight was clearing and I managed to get my right arm free enough to move. I pressed the muzzle of the blaster against that furious thing and fired. This time I could not miss and burned right through its chest.

It gargled and collapsed. The stench of burned flesh mingled with the foul odor of waste and the reeking smell of this creature.

In the dim glow of the first aide box light I examined the thing, it was humanoid in shape but was partially covered with fur; its face looked as if a human had been merged with a deep sea fish, with bulging eyes and a huge maw.

It was mortally wounded but not quite dead. From the garbage pile it had come I could now see a rugged hole in the wall that led to even deeper regions of this place.

At this moment the rusty steel door flung open with a creaking sound and a muscular Oghr like creature appeared, holding a Kartanian Flamer stomped past me and held its weapon towards that hole and fired a stream of superheated plasma, into the crack. A chorus of high pitched screams and the sizzling sound of fire consuming flesh echoed from below.

The being cursed in Squawk,”Damn Subzombs, I knew they had a hole coming in somewhere.”

He turned and said. “We don’t like Skaakh squatting in our basements either. You are certainly not a tenant.”

The brutish Oghr stomped his heel on the skull of the mortaly wounded Subzomb I had fought moments ago which crushed with a sickening sound. “Get up and get out of here, before I change my mind and have you for dinner.”

I struggled to my feet, gathered my meager belongings and put my jacket back on.

The big brute eyed me in the faint light coming from te still open door. “For a Skaakh you are well armed. I wonder where you got that Union fleet Uniform.”

“I am on my way out, I fell through that busted crating up there.”

“I don’t think you need all these weapons and that nice first aid pack. Its way to good for a Skaakh and seeing you fought a Subzomb, you don’t even know how to use them.”

Like most Oghr species he was almost twice my size and I knew how strong and tough they were, as I had seen Az-Az in action. With all the energy I could still muster, I kicked his gun arm. Putting weight on my bad leg was a bad idea, it sent waves of pain up my spine but I had no choice. With all the pain and misery I was getting angry and I felt my own rage coming up like a storm surge. He yelped and dropped his weapon as I pointed the line blaster right at his broad nose.

“I am new on this rotten planet of yours, but one thing I noticed, you all talk way too much and think you are all so tough. So far I am not impressed.”

He howled. “You aren’t a Skaakh. You’re Union! I rip you to pieces.”

He raised his massive arms and I fired.

I hissed, “Yes I am Union and proudly so” and watched as he fell back with a burning hole where his nose used to be.

He didn’t wear much in ways of clothing but I took his wide utility belt, slung it across my shoulder and used its pockets to arrange and carry my small arsenal and to holster the Flamer.

He carried a handful of dark gray coin like discs, more of the same rad shielded polonium based currency I had found on the other dead man. I am certain it wouls come in handy.

Not wanting to make this wet hole my permanent home, I finished bandaging my leg and took another pain killer. I had only four pain killer patches to begin with and was now down to two. By the rate I got wounded and attacked I wanted to hang on to the rest until I absolutely needed them.

I limped to the open door and looked down a sparsely lit corridor with a dozen doors just like this one and a steep flight of Duro-Crete stairs leading up at the far end. While I wondered what kind of building this was I heard the wailing of a baby from one of the doors. It was not closed completely so I peeked through the crack. There was a woman and I was certain she was human despite the rag she had slung around her head, nursing a baby on her thin empty looking breasts, while another kid not much older sat by a smoking little fire, the smoke wafting out a similar crating I had fallen through in the other room. This wasn’t a basement for storage.

Those were rooms, apartments for the poorest. The kids and the mother were filthy, now I noticed a third kid banging with a hammer on a piece of metal. A pile of bowl shaped metal pieces on the side.

I should have gone on and left this depressing scene behind, the money I had taken from what perhaps was the landlord or rent collector would be invaluable to me, but I could not.

I opened that door wider and the woman wrapped her arms even tighter around the baby she was nursing and stared at me from underneath that rag she wore with a hollow haunting look of fear, hunger and resignation. I could only imagine how I looked to her, blood caked, dirty and bandaged, armed to the teeth.

I held my hand out and said.” I am not going to harm you, Lady. I wanted you to have these.” I put a number of the coins before her on the floor. “It’s not a lot but I hope it helps you to get you and the kids some food.”

There was utter disbelieve in the eyes and the face of the woman. Now as she looked up I guessed she might have been about twenty or twenty five. She had ashen skin and large dark eyes that reminded me of Galmy.

She looked at the coins then at me and I nodded. “Yes Ma’am I am not sure you understand me but you can take the money.”

She shivered and groaned then she put the baby aside and opened the rags she wore exposing her naked body.

I stepped back and turned to the door. She would take the money eventually. I had to leave and somehow find a way to contact fleet command. I wondered if Wetmouth was born in a hole like this.

The woman said. “You give me money for nothing?”

I turned to look back at her. “It is for you and the kids; I don’t want anything from you in return.”

“Who...” She stopped and then begun again. “Who are you?”

“I am Eric Olafson.”

“Lows usually don’t have two names, Skaakh don’t give Lows money and don’t have weapons.”

“I am not from around here, lady and I need to leave now and take steps to make sure I won’t lie the next time I have to say that, but maybe you can tell me where I am exactly.”

She grabbed the coins and said. “I never seen that much, these are nine Twenty-weights. We earn a Twenty-weight in a year.” Then she looked up again and realized I had asked her something. “You are in the sixth Skirt district, just outside the Spaceport. This is Bottom level; below us are the Subs and the old Sewers where the Subzombs and Light-Shys live. You better stay away from the Subs, Stranger Eric, not many that went down there ever came back. Not even the Uppers dare to go there.”

I said. “I have no intention to go explore the underground of this Hell Hole.”

Her information did not help me much. I was in no real condition to linger, but I said. “You are not a Skaakh?”

There was almost something like pride in her face as she shook her head. “Oh no, I am a Low, Bottom Low but not a Skaakh. I have a place and me and my kids scavenge for metals and we make half-a-weight every week.”

I left her and did not want to know how the Skaakh lived.

I managed to get up the stairs without meeting anyone and after a while I learned how to keep my leg stiff and walk decently fast without too much discomfort.

After the stairs I looked down a similar corridor and an open door to the outside. A Shiss stood guard holding a spiked club and a wicked curved Vibro saber in his upper hands, his lower arm pair he kept crossed before his chest. The Shiss turned as he heard me coming and barked. “You don’t look like any tenant I know. When did you move in?”

I had my hand on the line blaster and held it so he could see it. “I am not a tenant, your friend the Oghr showed me a room but it didn’t have the ocean view I wanted and it had one hell of a vermin infestation. Now I want to leave and I suggest you let me.”

I had been around Shiss for a while and Captain Zezz told me much about his species so I knew this red throated lizard was agitated, by the way he ruffled his throat folds. He held up his lower arms. If Nugth has shown you in, then that is fine by me and you can leave of course. I just wanted to make sure you are not a Skaakh or trying to steal something.” Under his breath he muttered in his native Shiss. “I am going to kill you little human.”

It wasn’t that hard to pronounce Shiss correctly if you simply kept your teeth clenched and uttered this vowel free language as if you would eat hot soup. I was certain Zezz was a better teacher than any Cortex uploads and said. “You try that Red Throat and you are going to see your own guts exposed to the night air.” This was a slight variation of a Shiss curse I heard Zezz say to another Shiss while we boarded their ship.

He stepped back and lowered his weapons. “This little human knows much about the Shiss and speaks our language like a nestling. Go Human and be safe”

I went past him, not letting him out of my sight for a second and then went as fast as I could around the corner.

This was the bottom street level of a towering city, none of the buildings were the size of the mega structures of Pluribus and no city planning had gone into the placement of the buildings but these were still sky scrapers of towering heights. Some looked well maintained and others were dark ruins, the sky was black and either it was still night or I had slept longer than I thought I had. I had lost all sense of time that was for sure.

The road gleamed wet as if it had rained just recently and even out here the air smelled dirty and foul. I found a piece of dark plastic tarp and fashioned it into a makeshift cloak, in the hope the thing would blend me at least somewhat into the shadows and hide most of my weapons.

I must have walked for at least ten klicks. The pain killer had worn off and the pulsating pain of my leg was killing me. I had to force myself to make each step. I knew I could not really slow down. Not that I had a clear cut target or destination, but I hoped that I would find some kind of Elevator or stair system that would take me up to the higher levels, where the Light signs were. One of the hotels or Casinos up there must have some kind of communication system I hoped.

I was not alone; there were beings of every size and shape, scavenging through the ever present garbage and waste. Lingering in those narrow alleys and at all times I felt as if there were thousand eyes watching every move I made.

I witnessed a brutal beating in one of those alleys, three beings of humanoid shape beat on a tall being that was either a Spindlar, perhaps an Andorian or member of a species I did not know. The beating was savage and I heard the wet blows of clubs and the painful groaning of their victim.

I should have gone on the other side of the street and put as much distance between me and them, but my cursed values of hating unfair situations overtook all common sense, but before I could intervene. Another group of five beings broke from out the shadows and attacked those who did the beating, from the few words and curses I heard, friends of the victim. There was no way I would get involved now and I increased my limping walking speed to get away before they decided to turn on me. Part of me wanted to fight everyone I saw, simply kill everything and everyone in sight and cleanse this cesspool and as I was thinking those thoughts with the still bubbling anger in my stomach. I suddenly remembered my ring and for a moment I thought it felt almost hot. If I only had Mördaren or that axe I had found. I shook my head freeing my mind of these strange thoughts, most likely fever delusions caused by the spider poison polluting my body.

Among all those foul smelling odors, a new scent wafted across my nose. Seared meat! It was a mouthwatering smell, making me painfully aware that I was thirsty and hungry. This smell banished all my fever fantasies and put me back into reality.

The smell of flame broiled meat directed me towards a dimly lit flickering light sign displaying alien writing, mounted over a hole someone had busted right into the foundation wall of a skyscraper.

A sturdy board had been wedged across the lower half of that hole. Behind it was an Oghr, wearing a filthy apron and working a fire grill with strips of meat on a steel grid. Several sod blackened pots with something that bubbled and steamed on the other side. Skinned animals of various sizes and shapes hung on steel hooks all across the low ceiling of this improvised food kitchen. A dozen beings, seven Oghr, three human shapes, a Quadiped and a Togar stood before the hole talking to each other and eating whatever they sold here out of paper wrapped packages.

Half concealed by the flickering light sign I also noticed crude but deadly looking automated Nuc Flamer heads, mounted on a remote arm. The red blinking sensor over the remote weapons made it clear the thing was active. I wondered how many non-paying customers had been roasted instead of the meat on the grill.

I felt into the pocket where I had more of the coins and hoped it was enough for whatever they sold here. I probably did not want to know what it was exactly but at the moment I didn’t care and I did not plan to ask too many questions about the origin of the food.

Several banged up looking heavily armored flyers were parked near that group and they all were painted black and orange, had gun turrets of various weapon systems mounted on their hoods and roofs and each of those flyers had a lit sign on the roof. The signs switched writing and lettering every five seconds or so and the word Taxi was displayed in clear Union writing in regular intervals.

I crossed the street walking towards that food stand when one of the Oghr, dressed in black rhino leather yelled. “Skaakh, get away from my Taxi if you want to live.” As he yelled the gun turrets on the nearest fliers swiveled around and targeted me and I stopped in my tracks.

The Quadiped laughed throaty. “Maybe he needs a ride. Never turn back a fare, Sigpah.”

The black dressed Oghr yelled again in my direction. “I only take Polos, Telluriums, Union Creds. Not recy scrap.”

“I have money. I want to buy some food and I need a ride too.”

He waved his big hand and the gun turrets moved to point into the sky. “Come over then, if your money checks I take it, Skaakh or not.”

I stepped into the reddish light from the sign above and they noticed the H & K which I could not hide like the other weapons under my make shift plastic cloak.

“He isn’t a Skaakh, not with this kind of hardware.” The Quadiped grunted.

The Oghr behind the counter leaned forward. “Don’t see too many hunters around here, but I ain’t buying Skaakh meat regardless of the species. I fry only Lum-Lums and Kultis, but there is Bonguu’s five blocks up towards the District border, they take anything that bleeds.”

I pointed at the grill. “I want to buy some of that and if you have water I like some too.”

The cook said “You must be new around here. No one in their right mind asks for water in these parts. I sell Ogahr Brew but I think I have a squeeze bag of Nul Milk if you prefer that. I don’t know how fresh it is, never had a Nul customer but I heard humans can drink it.”

Since the selection was limited and I had no desire to experiment with Nul food I said. “I’ll have Ogahr brew then.”

He wrapped a piece of seared meat in a flap of white dough and put it in a round Oven made of sud blackened Duro-Crete bricks and added a few pieces of wood into the fire underneath. “Be ready in a minute. Brew and Lum-Lum Chew that will be half-a-weight and I only take Telluris. I don’t have a fancy Credit strip like my Taxi friends here.”

I handed him one of the big coins and he snorted. “Hunting must be good, paying with a twenty.”

He handed me a handful of smaller coins, a round plastic bag filled with a yellowish liquid and then took the meat and dough combination out of the oven, wrapped it in brown paper and gave it to me as well.

I went to the side and leaned against the wall so I could keep an eye on things. The plastic bladder had a metal clip that when removed allowed the yellow liquid to flow through a short tube from which it could be sucked. Ogahr brew, so I found, was a flat and extremely bitter tasting beer, not even a drunken low man would touch it, but it was wet and quenched my thirst. What he had called a Lum-Lum Chew was actually quite delicious. It was a strong tasting very spicy piece of stringy meat inside a bland bread pocket. While I was eating I was watching them and they were watching me.

The Black dressed Oghr said, after I had finished the last bite. “I mistook you for a Skaakh, but sometimes these hungry bastards do crazy things. Still needing a ride?”

I nodded. “Yes I do.”

He directed me to one of the armored and armed flyers and at his command the door opened. He said. “I have not lost a customer yet and my Hoogley is well protected. So hop on in.”

I climbed into the passenger compartment, there was a bare steel seat and two Neuro Rippers pointed at whoever would be sitting on that seat.

I heard his voice through a speaker. “A word of advice, hunter, touch your guns and the Computronic will fry you on the spot. Fare is 10 Union Creds per 15 minutes or Two-weight Telluri coin.” I saw him turn behind the transparent barrier that separated us and he pointed at a slot below.” First payment is upfront and don’t try to cheat. I don’t take Kerms, too much of a hassle to fly out to the Kermac enclave and try to argue with those white skins.”

I dropped one of the bigger coins in the slot and he grunted satisfied. “A fiver will certainly do the trick. Very well then, where would you want to go?”

“A decent hotel.”

“You’re in luck. My wives’ brother works for a fine establishment. Clean, heavy security, right in the Donheer District and all Insurances paid to the Syndicate.”

The Cab whisked up through these artificial crisscrossing canyons diving underneath sky bridges into a higher region of the city where the advertisement signs became brighter and the sky bridges were lit.

After about eight or nine minutes the cab slowed down before the entrance platform of a Hotel with a bright blue sign reading ‘Sleep save on a Budget Hotel’ and two line blaster armed Oghrs guarding a heavy looking steel door.

The Cab pilot turned again and said. “Here we are and be so kind to deposit another one weight, that is the Opening Door fee.”

I swallowed what I wanted to say, arguing with an Oghr behind a trans-plast shield and looking at two Neuro rippers was not a good idea so I dropped another coin in the slot and the door opened with an oily sounding groan. The speaker connection was still open and I heard a voice from his Com System saying. “We are looking for a male human shown on this holo likeness, there is a rew...”

I was already out as I heard him yell.”Get back in now.”

I ran as fast as my leg let me away from the hotel door across the sky bridge. I had to get some kind of cover before he could fire. There was another Sky bridge, about six meters below diagonal to the one I was on, I prayed to Thor to give me strength and courage, flanked over the hand rail and hoped I could land favoring just one leg and roll over my shoulder to lessen the impact of the fall. I was still in the air as a blaster shot melted the hand rail where I had just been.

Trying to use only one leg didn’t work out so well and the impact of the landing made me feel as if I had been hit by a gigantic sledge hammer. I was certain I heard the breaking of a bone. I rolled over on my shoulder and almost tumbled over the edge, this Sky Bridge turned out to be a service pipe or sky tunnel, and it had no hand rail or safety force field of any kind. The surface was slightly curved to each side and slippery metal, still wet from the last rain.

I almost slipped as I struggled to my feet, hoping the All terrain soles would still work and adjust to the slippery condition at least somewhat.

There was no time for safety; the Taxi Cab was already coming after me to get a better firing position. I doubted the H & K rockets were strong enough to damage an armored flier, but I had to buy me a little time, so I turned, knelt down, aimed carefully and fired a five round burst in armor breaking mode right at the narrow wind shield sandwiched between two armor plates.

The mini rockets peppered the windshield and perforated it, one of the taxi cabs guns fired but the blast went at least two meters above my head and slammed somewhere into a wall; the cab went into a steep dive and collided with a sky bridge below me. I limped to the end of the bridge, pulled myself over a railing onto a balcony type side walk circling around this building.

I simply kept on going, to put some distance between me and that cab, who knows if he survived or managed to tell someone that he had seen me. Up here there were few places to hide, but luckily there weren’t many beings out on foot either.

How many hours I limped through that strange city, always staying in the shadows as much as I could, I could not tell, but the sky above me began to brighten and a new day was dawning. My leg was completely numb and my right shoulder throbbed after taking the brunt of the fall, I was sure it was broken. I was at a point where I actually contemplated jumping, simply to end it. What was the point of trying to keep on going? There was no one and nothing on this planet that I could reach out to for help, and at this point I needed help badly. Then I saw what looked like a Dance Club with bright lights and expensive skimmers whisking from and to the Entrance platform.

From a lofty sidewalk I saw heavy armed guards and robots and there a little to the side stood Wetmouth, smoking one of Shaka’s smoke sticks. My friends had found me.

That this could have been any Sojonit did not come to my delirious mind at that point. I balanced across a small ledge on the side of the building to make it from the sky bridge I was on to that platform and approached the Sojonit.

“Oh thanks Odin, Wetmouth. You guys found me.”

She looked at me and said.”I am not Wetmouth, I am Moistpromise, I am a Sojonit but do know of Wetmouth.”

A robot and a security guard were approaching but she waved them away and then she looked at me from behind her mask and said.” You are a mess, soldier, you better come with me.”

A sporty pink colored Mercedes open roof Skimmer came floating to the edge of the platform and its doors swung open. The Sojonit took my hand.” Get in fast, before anyone really sees us.”

I did and she sat down behind the controls. The floater was neither armed nor had it any visible armor, but then I saw the controls of a state of the art SII Security shield and knew why she didn’t need armor or guns.

She gunned the engines of this quick luxury skimmer and pulled it in a steep climb into the sky above the buildings. I wanted to say something, tell her who I was but everything became blurry and I passed out.

--””--

INTERLUDE: NEWPORT

There was no panic among the officers in the hearing room, but most of the ones present stared at Dent, his eyes rolled up, drooling from the corner of his mouth and yet he was speaking and making demands. “Six minutes left before this side of the planet and most of this continent are atomized and all of you with it.”

Alyica said. “He is under hypnotic control, but I know he speaks the truth. There is a bomb somewhere near and ready to be activated.”

The Narth declined his head slightly. “One would wager that such a device as the one that is directly below us is not sufficient to atomize half the planet. It is only a 1000 Kilo Bomb of Anti matter, it will however be sufficient to kill. Having been reincarnated so recently I must say I do not look forward to dying again and this time permanently.”

Richard said. “Alyica and Narth you can teleport yourself and hopefully some others with you to safety. Take McElligott and whoever you can. I will stay and try to negotiate.”

Circuit said to Narth, can you teleport me to that bomb? I am sure I can deactivate it.”

Before Circuit even completed his last word, Narth and he vanished into thin air.

The hypnotized Dent cackled with a strange laughter, “Too late, you all die now.”

Nothing happened, but Dent’s eyes rolled down and he looked completely surprised and baffled around. “What did just happen?”

One of the Academy Commandants looked at his PDD. “The ten minutes have just ended.”

Out through the window next to the glaring sun a new star flashed into existence and send blinding light erasing every shadow on this side of Newport for a long moment.

Stahl spoke into his PDD giving orders. McElligott got up and spoke for the first time since the ordeal begun.

“I don’t care what it will take or cost, I want every resource, every man, every ship to hunt that Worm. No one sleeps, takes a break or a vacation until we have eradicated this disease from our fleet.”

Dent still standing behind his desk said. “Never get into something without a Plan B. He pointed his PDD at Stahl, two streaks of sliver hissed through the air one decapitated Dent and the other severed his hand, while an energy bolt from the PDD hit the wall only inches above the head of the ancient Warrior.

Stahl brushed his hand over his singed hair and then gave Har Hi a brief smile. “Marines from the Devastator are dropping on Newport as we speak to secure this place, but you, my Dai friend, saved my life.”

Circuit came in carrying the Narth who appeared dead. “He teleported the bomb into space, he said it would drain all his energies and he was not sure if he could teleport so much weight far enough away so it would not do any damage. He did it, but he collapsed and hasn’t moved since.”

A solemn silence fell over the room and everyone stared at the limp shrouded body in Circuit’s arms.

Stahl was about to break the silence and say something when the Narth stirred and lifted his arm. “One is deeply moved by the feelings directed toward my person. I did somewhat overextend myself and need to return to Narth Prime.

Stahl said to Har Hi. “Take that Barracuda of yours and bring him as fast as you can to Narth Prime. She is the fastest ship.”