13
Liam’s eyes creaked open. As he tried to focus, he realized he was still on the stone floor in the room atop the spire. Saturn and Ju-Long lay splayed out next to him, still unconscious. The six troops had given them a wide berth, their weapons now pointed at the ground, their stance non-threatening. Liam put his hands underneath his body and pushed up to one knee. His brain felt compacted, crushed by some unseen weight. Next to him, Saturn and Ju-Long began to stir.
Liam came onto both knees before trying to stand. On his way up he stumbled into the jagged desk, bracing his weight against it. The alien in charge still looked out the window, aloof. They couldn’t have been out for too long.
“What the hell did you do to us?” Liam asked him, though he knew the alien wouldn’t understand.
The alien turned to face him, hands held behind his back as he walked toward his desk and sat down in his uncomfortable-looking chair. Saturn stood up and braced herself against Liam’s shoulder, gripping it a little tighter than he would have liked. Ju-Long stumbled twice before successfully standing, though he still swayed as though he were drunk.
“You’re welcome,” the fish-man said.
Liam’s eyes grew and his mouth hung open. The alien had spoken in his native language, but Liam’s mind translated it into Earth Common. The alien’s lips didn’t match the speech Liam heard in his head, like a bad dub in a low-budget film.
“How is this possible?” Saturn asked.
“The device implanted into your spine can translate anything, sending pulses along your nerves so you can understand.”
Liam and Saturn exchanged looks. Liam spoke first, “How did you know it would work?”
“We scanned you when you entered. Your biology seemed compatible.”
“Seemed?” Saturn interjected. “What if we’d died?”
The alien gave what Liam knew was his version of a smile. The translation device must also have translated body language, because the alien’s smile would have been a look of discomfort for a human.
The alien said, “It was a risk we were willing to take.”
“You were willing,” Saturn began hastily, pointing at the alien, “Listen, buddy, no one screws with my body without my consent, got it?”
Liam lowered Saturn’s arm and shook his head. “Let me handle this.”
The alien’s smile faded. “In the future we will be more careful. I assure you we mean you no harm. Please, sit.”
Liam looked around the desk. There were no chairs. Then, a purple glow surrounded three square tiles. They each took a step back as the tile levitated up to an appropriate height. Liam took the seat in the middle without hesitation. Saturn and Ju-Long were a little more hesitant, but Ju-Long seemed to be more focused on what Liam knew was a pounding headache. Finally, they each took their seats. The alien put his elbows on the desk and put his hands together.
“Good, let me introduce myself. I am Ragnar of House Ansara. Caretaker of Garuda Colony and emissary of the Ansara Alliance.”
“That’s some title,” Saturn jeered.
Liam smacked her arm lightly. Saturn wasn’t the best at reining it in.
“I am Liam Kidd and this is my crew, Saturn Vera and Ju-Long Ma. We come from Earth.”
“I have not heard of this Earth. A planet not known to us is some feat. You must be a long way from home.”
“Ten thousand light years by our estimation.”
“Ten thousand,” Ragnar mused, his large pointed ears pricking at the sound. “How is it you are here?”
Liam explained the alien ship and the wormhole, everything up to crash-landing on the planet. The whole time, Ragnar sat with his hands together in front of him, deep in thought. Liam kept getting the feeling he knew more than he let on. When Liam was finished, Ragnar sat back in his stone chair, slumping down a bit. Liam noticed he’d shed some white scales on the jagged rock of his desk.
“The Kraven Throng,” Ragnar stated.
“Who are they?”
“To know that, you’ll have to learn about the Ansarans and our less civilized cousins, the Dinari. Thirty thousand years ago three clans lived on a planet together. Not this planet, but one far away named Ansara. We were a young race, and made war with each other over land and resources. Petty things given our knowledge now. One clan, the Kraven, were far more violent than the rest, and they were banished. It took centuries, but eventually, they were rounded up and sent to a far off planet. It was not one of our finer moments, to be sure.”
Liam took in every word. If they had the power to send an entire race of people to another planet thirty thousand years ago, how much had they grown since? Or, had they regressed to a less advanced state? Liam never was much of a history buff on Earth, but something about these new cultures invigorated him, like he was meant to know every fact and every story.
Ragnar continued, “The planet the Kraven inhabited was far colder than Ansara. Over the years, they shed their scales to survive. Their blood boiled and they grew into monsters. It took thousands of years for them to develop space flight, but when they did, they sought revenge. The Dinari, our lesser cousins you could say, helped us force back the Kraven Throng after countless generations of war. Ever since, every few hundred years or so we hear of a sighting, mostly from trade ships. They’ve become ghosts, legends even. Tales of their makeshift crafts are rife within the mercenary circles. If you’ve truly seen the Kraven Throng then we should all be frightened from the deepest parts of our hearts.”
There was silence while Liam and the crew sorted through what was said. If they’d stumbled into an old war, perhaps their presence would agitate things. Liam asked the first question that reached his tongue, “How did the Kraven Throng get to our solar system?”
“That I do not know. Perhaps it was luck that a wormhole opened between our systems. Perhaps not.”
Liam wondered if he was suggesting someone created the wormhole. The best physicists on Earth had only postulated their existence. This would be manipulation of forces unheard of by Earth standards. Though the Ansarans were far more advanced than even he’d imagined, he wasn’t sure they had the ability to open a singularity. Though, he supposed, anything was possible.
“Do the Ansarans have the kind of technology to open a wormhole?” Ju-Long asked.
“I only lead this small colony. Besides, knowledge of our latest advancements would be restricted to those who must know. Understand, you are outsiders to our race.”
“What happens now?” Liam asked.
“We have never seen your kind before. I would ask that you stay on Garuda. At least for a while longer. We would like to learn more about you, and I’m sure you have questions of us as well.”
Saturn stood up from her floating chair and paced behind the solid desk. Liam turned to her questioningly and asked, “What’s wrong.”
“This, all of this. It’s too much. I can’t do this, Liam. I didn’t sign up for this,” she said. “I’m not trying to get caught in the middle of someone else’s war. The longer we stay here the worse off we’ll be.”
Liam sighed and stood up. Though he saw Saturn’s point, they couldn’t go back. Saturn must have known that. She wasn’t the kind of person who appreciated situations that were out of her control. He’d seen it on their missions together for Vesta Corporation. Her personality was domineering at best. Liam tried to calm her down. “Even if we could get back through the wormhole, there’s no guarantee Earth still exists. This Kraven Throng might be on their way there now.”
“All the more reason we should go back. We can help.”
“With what ship?”
Saturn’s shoulders slumped. They were caught in the middle of three race’s politics whether they liked it or not. At least on this side of the wormhole, they stood a chance of finding out if the wormhole was random or manufactured. For now, they would have to take Ragnar up on his offer and play the good guest. They would have their time for action. Now was a time for learning what they could ab
out Garuda and its strange inhabitants. Liam turned to Ragnar and said, “Where do we start?”
Ragnar motioned to one of his troops, who brought out large cups of water for them that looked more like bowls than anything else. He motioned for them to drink and Liam hesitantly obliged. When he seemed okay, Ju-Long and Saturn followed suit. Ragnar sat back in his chair once more.
“Let’s start with you telling me all about Earth,” Ragnar said with an odd smile curling up his scaled cheeks.