A Story Begins Now

By Jane Carver

The Formidable lived up to her name. Sleek, fast, and black as the space she traveled through, she carried Gambrel and Pessios at speeds unheralded.

Though the pair left soon after the Unseen, the larger ship disappeared from the scope. The residue of the ship’s engine mingled with thousands of others in space where traders, pirates and adventurers traveled.

Pessios fell in love with the Formidable within minutes of sitting in the pilot’s seat. “Canfanto choose well. I would steal this ship from you, my friend, if it were not for the seriousness of our mission.” Other than comments necessary to begin the flight and settle into the journey, those were the only words spoken.

Gambrel brooded over his mistakes. First, he allowed himself to be caught up in the beauty and friendship of Vangee and her father. When his natural instincts would have kept him on Ancade working for passage, he accepted her invitation to aboard the Fenix. Worst mistake of all, he fell in love with her. And told her so. Likewise, he grew to love petite Dara, she of the curly orange hair and gamin grin. Could he have made more blunders in such a short time? He didn’t think so.

* * * *

The Formidable entered port two weeks later at Zachtos, a cold planet with few major cities and only one water-port. Freezing weather usually prevented ships from landing. However, a warming spell had recently thawed the gigantic lake, and a few ships landed.

Questioning locals at the dock drew little results. Few dockworkers could tell if a ship was Ancadian or not and didn’t act like they particularly cared. Under surly suspicious stares, Gambrel and Pessios withdrew to an inn further into the heart of the town. They choose one that attracted less savory clientele. If Haggin and his men had landed and gone anywhere, the Last Outpost might have been that choice.

The women who worked the floor cared not for a man’s looks. Only his coins interested them. They told Gambrel little about recent visitors. However, an elderly crone seated on a worn wooden bench in dim light near the door motioned Pessios over while Gambrel sought information elsewhere.

A few words in the small man’s ear, and he waved his friend over. “This good one has knowledge of a large man who entered here a seven-day span ago. A man with thick arms, short legs but a part in his hair that is white and scarred.” Haggin’s lieutenant, Walys.

“Did the man indicate where he would be going once he left this planet?” Gambrel rolled a few coins between the fingers of one hand, the firelight glinting off the gold color of high-priced money.

The woman reached for the coin he held up. He pulled it back. “Answers first. Then coin.” Never once did he spare her a pleasant look.

“He wanted to find sailors. An odd one, him. He acted like finding anyone to sail his ship might be a problem.” A weathered face, deep in wrinkles and dirt, screwed dim eyes. “The tender pointed him in the direction of the last warehouse on the dock. Sailors gather there to wait for ships needing a crew.” She held out her hand, wrapped thick with dark material that smelled as bad as her.

Satisfied she told all, Gambrel dropped coins from lax fingers into the folds of her skirt. A head jerk toward the door and Pessios joined him. Once again, Gambrel threw the thick scarf around his head, this time to cut the icy wind blowing in a straight line down the street between the tight packed dark buildings. “We are unknown to these men, and we seek information, not crewmen. Better to draw one man out and encourage him to share.”

By now Pessios knew the word encourage meant using whatever means necessary to get what was needed.

Nearer the docks, the wind blew spray and foam through the air, coating everything in ice. Rough boardwalks lay deep in frozen trash. They neared the last warehouse with caution. Several burly men stood outside the door, huddled around a large barrel where a fire leapt.

“Lay back, Pessios. Let me approach alone. I’ve done this before and am aware of the dangers. Size and weapons are an advantage.” Gambrel pulled his coat away from his sides and let the blasters in their twin holsters glint in the weak light of morning. Black against black. No one would be fool enough to think this man traveled unarmed.

“Hello!” His shout alerted the men as he drew near the fire pit. The sailors didn’t scramble out of the way so much as move around the pit. After all, they waited for jobs. This man might offer one.

Gambrel held his arms out to his side. When the restless movements ceased, he lowered his arms so his hands lay close to the blasters. No matter how he drew them, from his side or across his body, his aim was deadly. The harshness of his gaze warned the others not to do anything untoward.

“I seek a sailor to fly me into far space.”

“Many would fly if enough coin were tossed their way.” A small man in an oversized coat and pale blue knit cap answered. He didn’t look up from the fire, nor did he stop rubbing his bare hands over the heat.

“Are you willing to take me?” Gambrel mentioned coin, an amount adequate for sailors on this planet.

“Where do you go?” The short man seemed to have the lead in the conversation. The others gave way as he rounded the fire pit and stopped before the taller man.

“Depends.” A wave of his arm and Gambrel motioned back the way he came. “Let me buy you a drink at the Last Outpost, and we will discuss terms.”

Suspicion kept the smaller man far from Gambrel’s side, but they left together. A furious gust of wind blew snow in their faces as they rounded the corner. No one else roamed the street so Gambrel reached out one long arm and pulled the little man with him into an alley behind some crates.

Thinking the two alone, the little man tried to bluff his way out of the implacable grip, only to discover another shadow joined them almost immediately. Pessios nodded to his partner but focused on the walk beyond the alley.

“I seek a large man with thick muscles and a white scar in his hairline. Came through maybe a seven-day ago. Wanted men to crew an Ancadian sailing ship. Not your usual space vessel.” The bunched coat in Gambrel’s hand tightened a bit around the man’s thin chest. “Where did they sail?”

“We’re not sailing together?” The short man’s question sounded ludicrous, but Gambrel answered anyway.

“No, we are not.”

“But I still get coin?” Meaning he wanted to be paid for the information he gave.

Normally Gambrel did not pay an informant, but jobs seemed in short order on this desolate planet. “I will give some if you tell the truth.” He pulled Shorty off his feet, left his toes dangling a foot off the ground as he gave him an evil grimace. “I pay if the information is correct. Untruths, and no one ever sees you again.”

When one swallows loud enough to be heard over howling wind then one has taken the threat seriously. The knot in Shorty’s throat rose and fell, the thump audible as he nodded. His head barely moved because Gambrel held him so tight.

“Three men followed the one you described. They’d worked on Ancadian ships before. Were familiar with their operation. The man was in a hurry. Said little else besides needing sailors. Before they left, one of the three—a friend of mine named Micos—told me they headed to the Outer Rim. For Dasari.” Shorty grinned. “You know this place?”

Gambrel tossed the man on the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious then let coins fall at his side. Without another word, he and Pessios disappeared into the white swirls of snow that thickened as Shorty woke and collected his money.

* * * *

Why didn’t Haggin abandon the larger vessel for something faster, smaller? The Unseen zigzagged across space but never in a pattern Pessios figured out. Always behind, by a full-light or a seven-day, Gambrel couldn’t catch man or ship.

A moon-time and several full-lights passed before their luck turned. Another informant gave them a break. “Heard the smaller man, some foreign piece, say they’d be sailing the Tally Circle. Goes past three planets that support life. If they sail the current and follow the curve, you should catch up by going the direct path. Harder on your ship ‘cause the atmosphere is a bit unpredictable, but faster.”

Made sense to Gambrel despite the risks involved. Pessios checked sector maps and found the faint swath of stars and planets in a graceful curve referred to as the Tally Circle. By setting a direct course, they determined to arrive at the second planet ahead of Haggin and the Unseen.

Canfanto contacted Pessios who said the contact still held strong. Pirates attacked several ships near the rear of the fleet, and passengers panicked. Many were hurt. A mother giving birth during the attack died along with her infant. He relayed a message from Captain Merlo. Vangee was missed, not only for herself, but also as a valuable expedition member. However, the captain added, Gambrel would not give up so hoped he would see all soon.

Gambrel’s despair grew with each passing full-light. By now Vangee might be dead. If that happened, he would avenge her death then disappear. The fleet and Merlo would never know what became of him. Pessios could return in the Forbidden.

Happier times with his lover, Effie and Jacon often played through his mind. Occasionally Pessios would begin, “Remember the time Dara…” Despite his reluctance to speak of those lost to him, he found himself part of the conversation.

When Pessios turned in for the full dark, Gambrel scanned the instrument panel and the stars beyond the glass. He felt a loss of hope. How big and bulky he was, how small and delicate Vangee. How violent and single-minded his life compared to her open-heartedness. Even little Dara created light where he brought only darkness.

Here he sat, hundreds of years left in his life cycle. One family and one true love had come and gone. After all this time, nothing remained to show Gambrel Sarjean had left a mark on the future. Until he met Vangee and the other Ancadians—Jacon and Merlo—he never thought much of eternity. Now emptiness spread out before him like a banquet of ashes and bone. Nothing appealed to him.

* * * *

When the attack came, it was vicious, loud, blinding, and a total surprise.

Gambrel and Pessios hid the Forbidden in a narrow valley some distance from Westinblat on the planet Dasari. They took a room in a disreputable inn near the docks. No one had seen the ship, Walys, Haggin or Gastrojan. Each full-light the two separated and scoured the town for news.

Two full-lights past before anything happened. When it did, all the gods of the universe must have wanted in on the action.

Early one eventide when fading light still shaded the sky, Gambrel met Pessios at the corner of their inn, the Meeting Place. In a few terse words the two agreed the men they searched for were not yet in town.

Suddenly he seized Pessios’ arm. “Look,” he whispered as he pointed across the street. “Isn’t that the sailor I hustled on Zachtos?” A small man in a large coat and blue knit cap stood on the other side of the street, undecided which way to go.

“What the fick? That is Shorty.” Pessios called the man that since they didn’t know his real one. “Quick. He’s on the move.”

Both started forward. Pessios crossed the narrow street and attempted to stay in the shadows as much as possible. Too big to be inconspicuous, Gambrel stayed well behind Shorty. The little sailor wandered leisurely down the walk before rounding the next corner.

Gambrel and Pessios met at the wall. “He’s gone into a shop. We’d better not follow him but wait for him to come out.” Pessios stepped forward then added, “I’ll guard the back in case he spotted us and wants to avoid our company.” He smiled before disappearing into the narrow space between the two buildings.

Not far away, Gambrel took up position in the inset front door of another shop. A sign indicated the business closed for the night so no one would bother him by entering or leaving.

“Too much time,” he muttered as shadows crept out further and darkened the landscape. Shorty hadn’t come out yet. A sick feeling churned in the pit of his stomach. If Shorty left through the back, where was Pessios?

* * * *

I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. Gambrel and Pessios are on the hunt.

Speaking of on the hunt, Jake Border and the Knight he awakened are on the hunt as well, each hoping to find their respective home worlds because where they are at their meeting is NOT their homes.