The Assassin’s War

first person in his family in generations to step on land! He wondered what it looked like outside the cosmoship. Bailen also wondered how long it would take until he could go. The planet rovers were probably exploring the unknown planet at that moment. Bailen was jealous. When he was younger, he would spend hours daydreaming about what it would have felt like to walk around on uneven ground, or to feel a star’s light on his skin. Educator Akiel told Bailen that the star next to Earth was called the Sun. What an odd name, he thought. Sun.

“Okay, it’s time. Let’s head to the nearest PRS,” exclaimed Educator Akiel. Bailen’s PTD executed a smooth redirection and glided down to the nearest InstanTelepot. Their PTDs entered it one by one and reappeared in a receiving chamber near the CRS. Bailen was giddy with excitement. In the contemporary world of technology, Bailen’s life was comfortably monotonous and repetitive. The new experiences were extremely overwhelming. He had always been a creature of habit. He thought, this is what it must have been like back in ancient times on EarthWorld. People had to interact with their surroundings and make split-second decisions. It must have been so stressful and uncertain. I’m glad that there have been so many new and helpful technological advances. Maybe it’s better we’re not still living on EarthWorld. And imagine life without PTDs! There was no climate control. There’d be perspiration and the risk of being rained on! EarthWorld must have been a brutal place.

“The PRS is now being opened. Keep in mind that your PTD is in ship mode. It is perfectly safe. However, please put on the automatic respiri that your PTD provides. And make sure that your PTD is in antigravitator space detection shutdown mode. It is advised by your Educator to ‘observe your environment during this priceless learning opportunity.’” Bailen was jolted out of his ponderings. He pressed his nose to the SpiriGlass as his PTD attached itself to the cosmoship with a fibrocord. Once attached, Bailen floated out into the nothingness.

~ Lucia Gomez-Ibáñez The Assassin’s War

I slipped through the shadows up to the giant Victorian home. I had been here the night before and I knew what to do. Circling around the side, I looked for the familiar trellis that would be a perfect way to get in. There it was. I surveyed my surroundings once again and began to climb. The little window that led to the attic proved quite a challenge, but I still managed to crawl in without a sound. This was where the fun began. I opened the little trapdoor and climbed down into the house. A censor at every corner made it harder to get to Erica’s bedroom, but there was a reason I was the best at my game. I pranced through the halls and down to the last door. She was in there, I could hear her. Humming her happy little song as the clickity-clack of her typing rang out across the room. There were two ways I could do this, barge in, or sneak in. Of course, I went with the wiser way. The door silently opened and I walked in. As I saw her sitting in the chair across the room, my heart felt a tang of guilt. I shouldn’t be here. She spun around in her chair to face me. “I thought you’d come earlier,” she whispered. “I came as soon as I could. You know I don’t have much time anymore,” I replied. “Anyway, you have any good news? I just came to check in with you. Before I go off-world for a while.” “Well, there isn’t much good news. In fact, it’s horrible,” she hesitates “I- Dad made Dex propose. He-” She couldn’t finish. “That’s- not good.” My palms got sweaty. I couldn’t finish. “What did you say?” “Father decided he would answer for me,” she said, with an edge of hatred in her voice. “Luke, you know I can’t tell him about you. This is our secret.” “I know, I know,” I replied as I sat down on the bed. Erica came over and slung her arm over my shoulders. I leaned over and felt her soft hair on my face. That’s when I heard the footsteps thundering up the stairs.

“I have to go. I wish I didn’t have to leave now. We could figure this out. But you know I’ll come back. I love you, Erica,” I whispered.

“I love you too Luke, but I wish it wasn’t like this.” She leaned back and went back to her desk. With one look back I slipped out the window. It was still dark out. As I walked away from the house, I thought about where to go. At sunrise I would need to be getting ready to go off-world. I only had so much time. Wishing I could just stay with Erica, I reached the road. With lights off, I drove away. I reached the launch pad at dawn. The shuttle was already there. I showed them my forged ticket and a little extra cash, and I was on. I surveyed my surroundings as I made my way to the back of the shuttle. As always there was one escape pod in the back. The basic inner galactic shuttle. This one should go to the mining planet Borix E9R, which is where I could meet my informant. A couple hours later, I was there. I went to the abandoned mine shafts where I always met with him. We had planned to meet at 10:30. It was 10:10 when I arrived and I saw a light flashing further down. I rounded a corner to see two people standing in the big domelike room. One was the informant, the other, I did not recognize. I could faintly hear them speaking. “…just slowing him down. Someone needs to get rid of her. I think you are a good choice for the job.” whispered the informant. “He will be arriving soon though, you must go.” The stranger stepped back, bowed, and hurried out of the room using a tunnel I had never seen before. I walked into the meeting room. “Ahhh, Luke. It’s good to see you. Come in, we have much to discuss. Have you heard of the planet Lovoria? It is on the far side of this system and is heavily populated with diplomats and politicians. So naturally, it is heavily guarded.” He spoke through a vocoder that made his voice deep and metallic. “I have heard it mentioned. Why? Is that where I should go?” I replied. My voice echoed around the room and the informant stepped back and walked to a bench in the corner. Sitting down, he said, “Yes. I am getting old, my boy. And I wished one thing my entire life, to have this system free of the tyranny that rules us. Your job you ask? Make my dream come true.” “You want me to kill the President? Grand Admiral Alistar?” I replied, startled at the thought. “I do. That isn’t such a big task for the best in the galaxy,” He said it as if it was an insult. “I heard what you were saying to that other hunter just before I came in. I know you want to kill Erica. But trust me, she’s not a problem. I can still work, even with her in my life.” I walked over to him. I felt the anger getting to me. He sighed. “That’s where you’re wrong. And plus, the hunter’s already gone. And unless the Interceptor is fixed, you’re too late,” he said quietly. “I have to stop him.” I turned to leave. “Luke, if this is really what you want, then be careful. You know I’ll have to release a message to the hunter’s company. You will be a wanted criminal for treason against the company.” He went quiet. “Good luck.” I walked down the tunnels and back to the landing bay to pad 37. And there she was, right where I left her. The Interceptor. The fastest ship in the system. If I wanted to catch that hunter, this was the ship for it. I walked in and climbed up to the cockpit. With the flick of a switch, everything turned on. This repair crew had really worked their magic. I pointed the needle-shaped ship into the sky, and I was gone. It wasn’t hard to track the other hunter, since all company ships have trackers on them. That would make it hard to escape from the other hunters, but I wasn’t a traitor until I attacked that ship. I looked down at the screen in front of me. The cannons had already locked on. I could finish it with the tap of a button. But that would be too obvious. Instead, I gave the ship one more boost of speed and turned off all the power. It drifted up to the hunter’s cargo vessel and I was able to steer the ship into the docking port. If the ship weren’t destroyed, then they wouldn’t know anything ever happened. I opened the hatch and slipped into the cargo ship. I knew that I had to get to the bridge before we went supersonic, or else the Interceptor would be lost forever. I made my way across the ship to the bridge and there was the hunter. He had a comm beacon in his hand and he was staring right at me. “I was wondering when ya’d arrive,” he said in a heavy southern accent. “You see, I’ve been told to kill your little missus back home. I knew you couldn’t let that happen.” My hand went to my belt where my knife was hidden, but he waved the beacon in my face.

“One click and your name is across the whole company as a traitor. Then it would have just been easier to blow me up, wouldn’t it have been.” He smiled. He turned to the control panel and pressed a button and I heard doors behind me seal shut. “Well it’s just you and me now,” he whispered. “Let’s settle it like the people we really are. He tossed the beacon on the table and drew two long-bladed hunting knives from beneath his cloak. I reached for my belt and took up a silver butterfly knife. I flipped it open and in my other hand, drew a timed coin-sized bomb. “Now there’s a timer,” I muttered as I pressed it and the red light began to flash. I threw it over to a wall and it magnetized itself there. “You’re confident, I’ll give you that,” he said, Ellie Thomas sharpening his blades against each other. “It’s a shame, you were a good hunter. But you care too much.” With that he lunged, both knives pointed forwards. I side-stepped, and he slashed back at me. I deflected it with my blade and as he was redrawing, I went on my own strike. I switched my knife from my left hand to my right and swiped up his chest. He stepped back and crossed his knives over his chest to block the incoming slash. At that point, I saw his defensive strategy and dropped the knife while I was slashing, caught it with my left hand, and cut across his left thigh. I flipped the blade back to my right hand as the hunter stumbled and caught himself against a control panel. Glancing at the bomb, I saw that it was beeping furiously and flashing. The hunter was getting up and limping towards me. I dropped to the ground and swept his feet out from under him. He fell backward and hit his head against the button that controlled the doors; they screeched open behind me and I jumped back and ran to the hallway. One glance at the bomb told me it was about to blow. I tossed the knife up in my hand, caught it, and threw it at the button. It slashed through the hunter’s robes and pinned him to the board. I hit my mark and the doors closed again as the bomb blew a hole in the bridge and everything was sucked into the empty vacuum of space. Alarms blared as I ran down to the Interceptor and jumped in. I demagnetized and set an autopilot path to Earth. I turned and went to put the tracking beacon offline. I was a traitor now. They would be following me. Grabbing a new knife off the rack on the wall, I went and sat in the control chair. The Interceptor went supersonic and blasted toward Earth. I landed in the backfield of the house and Captain Dex ran out with a troop of guards behind him. “You need to leave. The hunter’s company is after you. You aren’t safe here,” I said as I stepped down from the Interceptor. All their guns were facing me. “Let me take Erica.” “Who are you? The company has nothing against me, and you will never take Erica,” he yelled. He motioned for the guards to put down their guns. “Speak.” “I am an assassin of the hunter’s company. I have,” I hesitated, “I have connections with Erica, and the company knows this. They want to kill her.” “I’ve never seen you before. Get off this property or I’ll gut you where you stand,” he yelled as he motioned for the guards to bring up their guns again. I don’t move. “Get Erica. Let her speak her mind.” I told him. “Please. She isn’t safe.” “Get Erica.” He whispered to one of the guards. The guard ran back to the house. Dex stared at me. Moments later, Erica came out. “Luke! I thought you-” She stopped herself. “Sir, who are you, and why have you come.” “Erica you’re in danger. You have to come with me,” I said to her, motioning to the Interceptor. The company is after you.” She started to the Interceptor, but Dex stopped her.