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CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Copyright © 2019, Eve Langlais
Cover Art Dreams2Media © 2019
Produced in Canada
Published by Eve Langlais ~ www.EveLanglais.com
eBook ISBN: 978 177 384 093 2
Print ISBN: 978 177 384 094 9
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This is a work of fiction and the characters, events and dialogue found within the story are of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is completely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email, photocopying, and printing without permission in writing from the author.
INTRODUCTION
Best friends Zak and Ray have only one goal in life: Upgrade their bodies until they’re more metal than flesh.
But to do that, they need to find more gears. And who better to help them find lost treasure than a seer who can predict the future and decipher the past?
Funny how she didn’t predict her own kidnapping. Nema isn’t impressed with her supposed rescue by the Siyborghs. Part male. Part metal. She doesn’t approve of the parasitic cogs in their bodies. Especially since they pose a danger. That doesn’t stop her from desiring them.
Even more tantalizing, they both want her, too. First, though, they need to find the Mecha Origin before it destroys her world.
HELP ME.
The whisper came on the wind, lifted stray strands of her hair, and tickled her nape. Within the mountain range, it wasn’t unusual to hear ghostly shadows. Not that there was anyone to hear them on the steep uninhabited slopes.
Higher.Comehigher .
Again, the strange command danced around her as if floating on a stray breeze. She couldn’t ignore it. Part of her duties as a handmaiden involved scouting the mountain and keeping it free from danger.
Having hiked this terrain many a time, she didn’t feel any strain in her thighs as she took long strides, pushing herself to climb faster, enjoying the exhilaration that came from intense exercise.
Nema spotted the anomaly near the rim where the forest stopped and the rocky façade began. It appeared caught in the branches of a tree, the shape of it strange, the body of it a greenish gray. Not of her world.
Alien.
Most definitely not supposed to be here. She crept slowly toward it, watching for any sign of movement. Having been taught the basics of previous intrusions by outside influences, she recognized it as a machine. Not something seen often on her planet, the only other tech she’d ever encountered being in the safety of a classroom
where her tutors revealed what lived among the stars. Places of metal where nature was ravaged. Entire worlds polluted.
The pictures were enough to make a few of the students gag. Avhallonnians didn’t abuse their home. They didn’t consume it with no care for its survival. They eschewed machines and other metalbased tech. They lived simply, a species at peace with their land.
The land below the mountain to be specific. The mountains maintained a much wilder, dangerous aspect, full of ferocious animals and traps to break the ankles of even the hardiest of hikers.
It fell to the handmaidens of Avhallonn to watch and keep the homes in the valleys between the mountains safe.
The device hadn’t so much as twitched a metal limb since she’d begun watching it. Grimacing, she reached for it, wishing she’d brought gloves. The warmth of the season didn’t require extra layers though, so she gripped the metal with bare fingers and hoped she wouldn’t get shocked. Much outside tech used electricity, and having seen someone hit by lightning, jiggling and steaming in place before dropping dead, she had a deep respect for it.
The machine remained cold in her grip, and lighter than expected given it filled her arms. She set it down and crouched before it, staring. It had a strange shape—a fat, spherical body with hinged legs. From the top extended four propellers to fly.
Not everyone on the planet would have known that. Nema’s studies as a handmaiden and protector of her world meant she got a preview of what existed outside their planet. It wasn’t pretty.
Just like this device. “What are you doing here?” she muttered as she rapped on the body. She half expected a door to pop open and for something to jump out. She laid a hand on the hilt of her knife as she waited.
She inspected it from all angles, searching for a hint of a light or a glass lens, which her tutor had explained might mean someone watched. Although she didn’t see how. They’d have to be fairly small to fit inside.
Turnitover.
The suggestion barely registered before her hands moved to flip the object, and something rattled inside.
“If you’re broken, that probably explains how you crashed here.” Because Avhallonn wasn’t a place you got to easily.
Its legs remained upright, and she ignored them to glance at the belly, noticing the demarcation, rectangular in shape. A hatch of some kind.
“How do I open it?” She rapped the hilt of her dagger against it with a dull metal clang. It remained intact.
Overhead, lightning flashed as a storm moved in. She would prefer to be off the mountain before it hit, but she couldn’t leave the device here. With a sigh, she grabbed it by the legs. As she swung it upward, planning to tuck it under her arm, it quivered.
A slight shock went through her flesh. Gasping, she flung the machine away from her. The body slammed hard into the trunk of a tree. Knife in hand, she stalked toward it. It buzzed, three of the tiny blades on top spinning rapidly, and then it rose from the ground with a distinctive wobble.
She lunged at it, and the thing dodged. Not expecting that, she stumbled before managing to turn and see it hovering before her, dipping and rising, the legs waving.
Letting it escape wasn’t an option. She threw herself at it once more, feinting with her knife. Meanwhile, she grabbed a leg with her other hand.
She dropped the knife to secure it with both hands. She leaned her entire weight into it, pulling it down. It protested the entire way, the metallic whine making her wince. But she kept pulling while, at the same time, angling. When she reached the right spot, she relaxed her grip and let the machine rise straight up into a branch. Its spinning blades caught in the thick, unyielding bark. An arm raised over her face protected it from spraying slivers.
Nema took a step back and listened to the whine of the machine as it died. Only when it stopped did she look again, eyeing the single twitching metal leg.
“Are you dead yet?” she grumbled.
The leg stopped moving.
She grinned.
A smile lost, as there was a squeak and the belly of it opened.
Reachinside.
A terrible suggestion. No one with any sense would stick their hand in there.
She preferred to keep her original fingers, thank you. She chose instead to nudge the machine with her foot and flip then kick it away again. The rocky ground with its lichen-like scrub had no place for the item to hide.
A jagged disc of metal, perfectly round and possessing even teeth all around and through its punctured middle.
“What is it?”
Wrong. All her senses cringed at the feel of it. Recoiled at the alien nature of the object. The distaste, not entirely her own, made her hesitate to grab it.
“It’s just a piece of metal.”
Isit?
She cocked her head. “I can’t leave it here. Someone else might find it.” And she got a sense that might be bad. Very bad.
Lightning flashed overhead again, the rumble right after telling how close the storm crept.
She needed to stop wasting time, or she’d get caught. She reached for the object, surprised at its warmth and at the trepidation that suddenly went through her.
Hello. A ghostly whisper that somehow seemed closer than before.
Time to get off the mountain. She wasn’t interested in making friends with something she couldn’t see.
As her fingers closed around the alien object, her own consciousness rose with only one thought: Destroyit.
What made it so dangerous? It appeared rather benign in the palm of her hand, but she trusted her instinct. Destroy it she would, but she couldn’t do it out here on the mountain. She tucked the spoked disc into her pocket and began to sprint. The rocky terrain added an element of challenge. She couldn’t stumble or fall, not if she planned to outrun the storm.
With a challenge for herself, Nema leapt, nimble and sure-footed, the fastest of the handmaidens, and yet she’d not quite made it to
her home at the base of the mountain when the first drops hit.
She lifted her face and tasted the freshness before ducking into the round hole leading into the bole of the tree.
The forest of Kamlott had the fattest trees on the planet, the inner trunks hollowing as they grew, providing shelter to her people. Those who didn’t live in the forests abided in caves by the ocean. While her tree was small, Nema didn’t share it with anyone. Her first real home.
Which was a battle with her mother. “Whydoyouhavetoleave?”
Because a daughter sometimes needed to strike out on her own. Not that she’d gone far. She still saw her mother almost every day.
Shaking her wet hair, she raked fingers through the long strands before twisting it into a bun. Sticking her fingers in her pocket, she retrieved the alien object and placed it on a table made of a single piece of wood. Grown by artisans who coaxed the plants of her world to bend a certain way, it cost her quite a bit of hunting to bring back enough broken branches to pay for it.
The disc sat there, doing nothing. Her inner voice remained quiet.
So she poked at the object, pressing it with a fingertip.
Don’t.
There was panic in the word.
She glanced inward and mouthed, “Why?”
No reply. Not exactly strange, but the quiet fear? Never before experienced.
“Nothing to be scared of. It’s just a hunk of metal.” To prove that, she touched it again.
The spot warmed as if it responded.
She frowned. Metal wasn’t alive. She remembered that from her classes.
Or was this not metal? Grabbing her dagger, she held it over the object for a moment, and then stabbed down.
Cling.
Her dagger left a tiny mark on the metal, barely visible among the other scratches. Or were they scratches?
Nema leaned closer and eyed the markings, noting their neatness and how some of them repeated.
Writing. A language she couldn’t understand. The librarians would want to see it. It could wait until the morning, though. Tonight belonged to the storm. Dropping her dagger, she reached to grab the alien object just as a particularly bright flash pierced every opening in her house. She blinked then flinched, as her lack of attention meant she grabbed her knife rather than the metal thing, slicing her hand.
Blood stained her palm. The irony of getting hurt at home rather than on patrol didn’t escape her. She sucked at the small wound. Too small to bother with a bandage.
She turned from the table, eyed her bed, and suddenly couldn’t wait to get into it. Maybe read a book.
A particularly violent rumble managed to shake the floor under her feet, and as she put her hand on the table to steady herself, she touched part of the alien object. Images flashed inside her mind of darkness interspersed by light, then a room with people advancing, bearing strange weapons, then more darkness…One after another, she was bombarded, until her inner voice screamed.
Nomore.
Yanking her hand away, she tried to break contact with the object. It followed, sticking to her.
“What on Avhallonn is happening?” she muttered as she stared at her hand. It didn’t change the situation. The metal disc clung to her flesh right over the wound. A leech of some kind.
Utterly repulsive. She gripped it and tugged, gasping at the pain, feeling a tiny thread of fear as the thing refused to release her.
Helpme.
She blinked. The ghostly voice from the mountain brought a frown. She’d never had one follow her before.
“Who’s speaking?” she asked aloud.
Youhavetohelp.
“Help who? And how?”
TheLake.ImusttouchtheLake.
Her eyes widened, and she stared at the thing, which now adhered entirely to her hand. An alien parasite that wanted her to take it to the most sacred place in her world. A mistake that made her only option clear.
She straightened her spine, hardened her resolve, grabbed her dagger, and gritted her teeth as she sliced herself free.
Even as she dripped blood from the wound, she took her knife in her uninjured hand and slammed the pommel down on the metal ring, startling the whispers into a scream. Lips pressed tight with determination, she hit it, over and over again, until it cracked.
And then she smashed it a few more times until the screaming stopped.
“THE LAKE IS RESTLESS, ” STATED THE HIGH LADY—REFERRED TO AS THE LADY of the Lake—the most important person on the planet. Also known as Nemmuu, Nema’s grandmother.
For once, grandmother didn’t exaggerate. The surface of the massive lake undulated, rippling with discontent. An unusual state given it usually sat still without even a single line marring the clear fluid. Nothing swam in its depths. The smooth basin of rock that provided a cradle held not a single plant. Unlike other waters on Avhallonn, nothing ever took up residence in this most scared of places.
At times Nema wondered if that was by purpose or design. Those that guarded the shores and depths of the Lake—that had no other name because when you said the word a certain way, there was only one place that applied—took their duties of protecting it seriously. The Lake represented life. It was an honor to serve it.
“It’s been restless for a while now,” corrected First Lady Veevii, Nema’s mother. There were actually three First Ladies in total at any given time, assisting the High Lady in her duties and training the one who would eventually take her spot. Hopefully still a long way off yet.
Nema currently only sat in the fourth rank in the hierarchy that ruled the entire population. A government by definition, although philosophers over the ages argued they were more like a religion.
Either way, everyone served the Lake, some more than others. The thing she feared most. Moving up the ranks meant acting in a more confined capacity. Second and third line of their structure tended to have tasks that involved too many meetings and spending copious amounts of time inside. Very unappealing.
She preferred the outdoors. Preferably far from the eerie stone cavern that housed the Lake. A blasphemy she’d only once stated aloud because it sent her Nemmuu into a fit. Nema had received a lecture on how she should bask in the presence of its waters. Feel comforted by the knowledge that it would protect. And she did.
Truthfully, Nema loved the Lake. She just wished it would shut up. Ever since she rose to the rank of handmaiden and received the ceremonial dunking, it talked to her.
All. The. Time.
Even now, it whispered to her. You’re wasting time. It is looking forus.
“Who is looking?” Nema kept asking. The voice within, which was more of a presence than actual words, never had a reply.
Youmustact.Weareindanger .
And by we, the Lake didn’t mean Nema. The water played host to many personalities.
Nema wasn’t alone in hearing the warning.
The Lady of the Lake heard it most of all. “There is something wrong. The lake is crying out.”
“But it won’t say why,” Nema remarked as they stood on the crystal pavers that wound around and around from the shore of the Lake. The moist air brought a light sheen of sweat to her face and body. Nema did her best to not sigh and roll her eyes as she listened to her mother and grandmother argue.
“I’m not getting a clear image of what is bothering it. But it peaked last night.”
Possibly around the time Nema had the issue with the parasitic object. A fine time to tell them about it. She put her hand in her pocket and withdrew the handkerchief with the metal disc inside. “I found something strange on the mountain,” she said.
“Then give it to the herbalist,” Nemmuu said with a wave of her hand.
“It’s not a plant.” She unwrapped it, being careful to not touch the metal. Even though it hadn’t spoken since she’d cracked it, she preferred to not take any chances.
The Lake gave a mighty roll, waves rising and falling, the peaks white and agitated. Because of the object?
Grandmother snatched it from her. “Where did you find this?”
“On the mountain during my patrol. It spilled out from the belly of a machine.”
“A machine? On Avhallonn?” Nemmuu’s lips pursed. “Have you touched it?”
Mother interrupted before Nema could reply. “What is it?”
“Dangerous.” Grandmother’s claim was almost as ominous as the whispers that followed, too many and too quick to grasp except for one feeling repeated over and over.
Fear.
Nema frowned. “What is the Lake afraid of?”
“This.” Nemmuu held aloft the metal disk, and the entire Lake shivered.
“It’s alien tech. We must destroy it.” Veevii would drop it in a lava vent without a qualm.
“We don’t even know what it is yet,” Grandmother interjected.
“It obviously poses a threat to the Lake. There is only one recourse.”
But the High Lady shook her head. “It is not enough to just destroy it. We must find out where it came from. How did it find its way here?”
Their planet wasn’t supposed to appear on any maps and was invisible to those who happened to pass by. The Lake hid them from those that might invade their land.
“It’s only one machine,” her mother stated. “And I don’t see what’s so dangerous about a broken piece of metal.”
“It wasn’t broken when I found it,” Nema admitted. Her grandmother’s gaze fixed her. “Explain.”
It didn’t take long, and she finished it by holding out her hand, the scar from where she’d sliced her flesh still healing.
“It spoke to you? You’re sure?” Nemmuu asked.
“Yes, and it was like hearing from the Lake, but not at the same time.” The sensation unpleasant. Slimy almost.
“A sentient metal,” Grandmother mused aloud. “And it asked you to bring it here.”
“Metal can’t think.” Her mother snorted.
“Not the kind we’ve encountered. But our world is but a tiny speck in the universe.”
“Small enough that we’ll probably never see another one.” Veevii kept arguing.
“Or it’s just the start,” Nema interrupted. “We never even knew it was there. I happened upon it by chance. What if there are more? What if the next one finds a willing host to bring it to the Lake?”
“And do what?” scoffed her mother. “Sink?”
“You think it’s so benign. Then toss it in.” Nema snagged the cog and thrust it at her mother. “Do it.”
“I will not.” Veevii pursed her lips. “I think you’re both overreacting.”
“And you’re not grasping the danger. This is more than just a simple metal cog,” Nemmuu exclaimed.
“Cog?” The word sounded odd on her tongue. She glanced at her grandmother. “You recognize what it is?”
“I know of them. It’s a mecha part that forms a machine, which means there will definitely be more pieces.”
“Then we’ll tell the handmaidens to comb the mountains and sift the sands in search of them.”
“That’s not enough.” Nemmuu shook her head. “We must root out the source of the evil.”
“Evil?” her mother repeated with high-pitched incredulity. “That seems a tad dramatic.”
“Tell that to the Lake.” The waves frothed in agitation. “One of the handmaidens will have to leave Avhallonn and find the source of the sentient metal.”
“Are you insane?” Veevii gaped. “You cannot seriously mean to send a handmaiden off-planet.”
Because they usually served only on Avhallonn.
“I don’t mind going.” A spurt of excitement lit within Nema at the very thought.
“Not you.” Mother never even looked at her.
“Why not me?” Nema snapped.
“How do you propose to leave our planet? It’s not as if we have a vessel capable.”
“Don’t lie to your daughter. We have the means to send her.” Nemmuu took Nema’s side.
Mother’s lips flattened. “Those are for an extreme emergency.”
“What is? What are you both talking about?” Nema sighed with exasperation.
“I was referring to the fleet we keep.” At Nema’s blank look, Nemmuu explained. “We have spaceships. Several of them actually.”
“Vessels capable of leaving Avhallonn? To travel the stars?” Nema knew of the concept, but it wasn’t thought to be possible. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to understand. But it’s true. For a long time we’ve maintained a secret fleet that can be used in an emergency or for defense.”
“But how did you get a fleet? We don’t build machines.”
“We are capable of buying, though. Then there’s the occasional intruder that strays too close.” Nemmuu shrugged. “Really, I don’t know why you’re so surprised.”
“So you actually have the means for me to leave here?” The very idea had her heart pounding.
Problem being Mother wasn’t ready. “Nema can’t leave. The handmaidens aren’t trained for off-planet duties.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine. The Lake will look after her.”
As if Mother would give in so easily. “How are we supposed to remain hidden if we suddenly make waves poking our noses in alien affairs? There is a reason we limit outside interaction. It’s for Avhallonn’s protection.”
“And I’m telling you that Nema must go to protect our sacred waters.” Her grandmother paced. “We must find the origin of that cog.”
“Where would I even start?” Nema asked.
A question that took a few days to find an answer. Days where she received a crash course in the world outside her galaxy, a much vaster place than she realized.
During that time, they set Avhallonn’s librarians to work. When they reconvened by the Lake, it was Nema who reported what they discovered.
“That thing we found is definitely known as a cog. Or a gear. A few have even called it a sprocket. Whatever word you use, it’s a mecha part and is considered very basic tech of the lowest sort.”
“So it’s junk,” her mother said smugly.
“Not entirely. It is valuable to one race known as the Siyborgh.” She struggled to pronounce the strange word she’d seen in the book.
“Metal people?” Mother didn’t have to fake the skepticism. Nema had felt much the same way when the librarians brought her the first reference.
“Not entirely metal. They start out biological and appear much like us.”
“Why would they bond themselves to machines?” Grandmother sounded perplexed. With good reason. Nema didn’t understand it either.
“From the little I’ve gleaned, it is to repair or enhance the original host.” Again, not much was said about why they did it. Their histories and knowledge of other races was woefully lacking.
“If they’re injured, why not just visit a Healer?”
“I don’t know.” Nema shrugged. “I’m just telling you what I discovered.”
“But they are collectors of cogs?”
Nema nodded. “Yes.”
“What of the one you found? Did you destroy it as we discussed?” Grandmother asked.
“I did. I dropped it in the fissure.” A crack in the planet that always bubbled with lava. Despite the cog being broken, once it hit the molten rock and began to sink, it spoke, begging for her to save it. Then it uttered a final scream before disappearing from sight.
“Good. If we find any others, we’ll do the same.”
“What am I to do if I find the origin of the sentient mecha?” Because Nema was doing this. Leaving her planet.
Her home.
Everything familiar for the unknown.
It almost made her sick.
“If you can, cleanse the taint before it can infect the Lake.”
“Who says it would hurt the Lake?” Mother argued still in her attempt to keep Nema at home.
“The Lake itself. The waters roll in fear and weep. They fill my dreams with a future full of darkness.” Grandmother knew how to make a bold statement, and it sounded authentic and frightening.
Unless you’d been practically raised by her. Nema rolled her eyes. “You act as if you think this alien tech can get to the Lake.”
Their talk had taken their steps round the spiral surrounding the basin, drawing them closer and closer to the water itself.
“It would have had you been weaker. Do you think everyone would have had the bravery to slice into their own flesh?” Grandmother asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “We must stop the evil before it spreads.”
“Evil? Really?” Mother’s sarcasm emerged rich and mirth-filled.
“You mock the gravity of the situation?” Grandmother hissed.
“You’re not ready to take my place if you can’t see the danger.”
“Who says I want to be High Lady of the Lake?” Her mother arched a brow even as she obviously lied. “Maybe we should let cousin Gwnn be the heir incumbent.”
“She’s too soft.” Nema could have winced as she admitted the blunt truth aloud.
Nemmuu snorted. “Observant. Perhaps we should ask Nema who among my three first ladies is worthy. Let her decide who will inherit the mantle.”
She shook her head. “Oh no. I am not getting involved in this argument.” This wasn’t the kind of thing she could win. Which meant they needed to get back on track. “Sorry, Mother, but I agree with Grandmother. We shouldn’t wait. If you’d felt what I did when that thing touched me…” She rolled her shoulders. “I don’t know if I’d call it evil, but there was something wrong with it. I don’t think it should be ignored.” Nema stopped by the glittering rim of the lake, staring out across its still waters. The surface—despite the clarity—did not reflect anything around it and appeared to absorb the single beam of daylight that came from a hole in the ceiling.
Nema resisted the temptation to slip off her sandals and dip her toe in the liquid. A handmaiden, especially of the fourth rank, had to earn the privilege to bathe any part of the body or drink from the Lake.
“It is not just the Lake that is restless. There is a disturbance in the universe,” Nemmuu uttered in her gravest voice.
“Then let the universe handle it.” Her mother remained stubborn to the bitter end.
“They might not know it’s happening yet. It is subtle and yet building pressure so that when the strife explodes most will be taken by surprise.”
“We can’t save everyone,” Mother warned.
“Perhaps not, but we can try and act before too many are affected. If we don’t…” Grandmother trailed off. “Stretch for the truth, Veevii. Let it enter you and you’ll understand why I fear for our family and Avhallonn.”
Gifted with sarcasm, Nema’s mother had a quick reply. “Probably on account Nema won’t do her duty and ensure the continuance of our line.”
Nema sighed. “Not this again.”
“Other mothers have the joy of grandchildren to spoil.” The pointed glare at her belly brought Nema’s shoulders back.
“Then borrow a couple from someone who has a few too many. I’m not ready yet.”
Might never be ready. Especially since she’d yet to meet a male she could tolerate. She doubted she’d ever find someone who didn’t
bore her to tears. She once suggested artificial insemination—not something they did on her world—only to receive backlash. It was considered blasphemy against the gift of life. She kind of tuned out as they explained her duty for the umpteenth time. There was a strange law that demanded all progeny be the product of a physical union. Apparently, it was the only way to ensure all the gifts of a parent were passed on.
“One does not borrow the children of others.” Said haughtily by her grandmother.
“Why don’t you harass Lns for a grandbaby.” Her brother was a touch younger than her but perfectly capable of seducing a lady with fine pedigree.
“Your brother is not yet ready for the responsibility.” Because Lns preferred to imbibe and fight and spy. Her lucky brother enjoyed being a scholar many, many days of travel away in the less civilized parts of their world, separated from his family by a few mountain ranges. Which meant he could indulge in his favorite pastime: debauchery.
“It is so unfair you let him get away with his…his…” She struggled for a word that didn’t convey her jealousy.
“Don’t whine. It’s unseemly of a handmaiden,” Grandmother rebuked.
“I didn’t come here to get a lecture on having a baby.”
“Perhaps you need instruction,” was her mother’s tart reply. Nema blushed. “I know how it’s done.”
“That’s a relief, but the continuation of your lineage will have to wait. Nema must leave, and quickly,” Grandmother stated.
“I’m ready.” She rolled her shoulders in agreement. Her mother barked, “She’s needed here.”
“To do what?”
Veevii’s gaze fixed on her. “Your job.”
That brought a roll of her eyes. “Anybody can take over my daily task.” Up the mountain to make sure no one and nothing really bad lurked in the woods. Kind of boring most days.
“We don’t have enough handmaidens here as it is. We should send someone else. Someone older, with experience.” Mother kept
arguing.
“There is no one else, and you know it,” Grandmother stated. Nema reached out to touch her mother. “I can do this.”
“You’re too young.” Now the stupid excuses emerged.
“Lns left when he was much younger than I am now.”
“Only because I didn’t have a choice.” Mother had eventually forgiven him for running away. He’d claimed he needed to spread his freedom wings. More like he wanted fewer rules.
“Don’t force me to make the same decision Lns did.” Dropping the threat, Nema faced her mother boldly.
“Stop trying to stifle Nema,” Grandmother stated. “She is older than I was when I became High Lady of the Lake.” Much older as a matter of fact. Grandmother had inherited after an unfortunate accident in the mountains. A wild beast had been missed by patrols, and it took out the upper echelon in one fell stroke.
Mother paced as she wrung her hands. “It’s dangerous in the universes, especially some of the alternate ones. She isn’t ready for the treachery. You know females—especially those considered fleshy and fragile—aren’t taken seriously.”
Nema snorted. “Then I’ll show them to not mess with me.”
Both Nemmuu and her mother gasped. “You mustn’t.”
Grandmother grabbed her hands and hissed. “No one can ever know your strength. You are a handmaiden of the Lake, one truly blessed. You must guard our secret. A ship has been readied. You are to leave before the sun sets.”
Leaving so soon? Despite the fear of the unknown, she couldn’t stop the grin that tugged her lips.
“You don’t even know where to send her!” Mother exclaimed.
“Actually, because of Nema’s research, we do have a place to start.” Grandmother faced her. “You must seek out the people who like to put the metal inside their bodies. Discover if it the same as the sentient mecha piece you found.”
“How will I find them?”
“The ship is equipped with maps and requires little guidance from you. My advisors say you should make your way to marketplaces, as
they are often where you’ll find the most rumors. And you know what to do when you find the mecha’s origin.”
Rather than elaborate, Nemmuu faced the Lake. They all did. The liquid within rose, millions of drops suspended in the air, silent and yet she heard them as if they all shouted at once.
Saveus.
SOME TIME LATER...
Zak awoke in a room on board his ship, the Solar Eclipse. Lying prove upon his bed, to be exact. Even the rope binding him hand and foot belonged to him.
Which made the humiliation complete.
“Release me at once!” he yelled to an empty room. It did nothing for his situation. Or his temper.
He wiggled on his bed, managing to roll awkwardly, the knots binding his wrists behind his back also tethered to his ankles. But more annoying than that, his strength, enhanced by a series of cogs in his arms, failed him. His gears wouldn’t respond no matter how hard he strained.
I’mbroken.
Shebrokeme.
The she being Nema, the female he and Ray had stolen from a slave market. Not exactly one of his best plans.
Yet from the moment he heard the story in a tavern at a space station, where he’d stopped to refuel, he couldn’t resist.
“…she can see the future and the past,” warbled a tentacled Mnoa, his arms waving around with excitement, slopping the brew fromseveralmugs.
“Sowhat.Onlykingsandqueensandpower-hungryrulersgivea sheee-it aboutthatkindofstuff,”drawledhiscompanion, thespurs
lininghismouthgivinghiswordsa burr . “I’mmore aboutthesimple stuff like, where is my next ale coming from? And I know that answer.”Hetappedthecounter.“Righthere.Rightnow.”
“You’re thinking too small,” the Mnoa replied. “Someone who seesthepastknowssecrets.”
“Idon’tneedsecrets.Ineedtreasure,”chuckledhisfriend.
“Exactly. If she can see thepast, then she knows where things arehiddenorhavebeenlost.”
That statement was what gave Zak the idea.
He listened to their tale only long enough to decipher the location of the so-called seer before tracking down his friend Ray who watched, with a rapier gaze, the roll of a ball upon a spinning wheel —in a gambling den.
Bounce.Bounce.Clack.A simple game of chance and yet it drew an avid audience and plenty of players.
Bounce.Spin.The wheel slowed down. Judging by the glare Ray tossed at the hand scooping the pile of treasure, he’d lost, making this the perfect time to interrupt.
“Ray, we need to go.”
“Kind of busy,” he remarked, waving a hand, the yellow linen sleeve drooping from his wrist and the laces over his chest partially undone.
“You can come back and play later. I need to talk to you,” Zak said, grabbing him by the arm and feeling the reluctance as he tore Ray away from the establishment for vice, thick with smoke and the despair of those who’d lost everything.
“This couldn’t wait?” Ray complained. “I was on a roll.”
“More like losing your shirt again.”
“And so what if I did? I have another on the ship.”
“What if I said I had a way for us to find riches that would ensure you could gamble and never have to do the walk of shame back to the ship?” It should be noted Ray never acted ashamed when he strutted, naked as the day he was born, after having lost everything in a game of chance. Ray had no problem giving every last stitch of clothing, saying the sight of his body usually
encouraged those of feminine persuasion to invite him into their beds for a freebie.
He and Ray hadn’t exactly settled down yet with a permanent partner. And maybe they never would. It wasn’t as if they had much time for a relationship, given they spent most of it hunting for new mechanical parts.
Ray no longer had to be dragged. “That much money, eh? I’m intrigued. Tell me more.”
“Not out in the open where anyone can hear us. Let’s get somewhere private first.”
That entailed going back to where he’d docked his ship, the only truly safe place Zak knew. But he didn’t immediately reply when the door sealed behind them and Ray barked, “So, what’s the scam?”
“Hold on, let me check for any listeners.” Having a ship docked didn’t protect it from spies. Most ports had an extensive spy network that sold information to the highest bidder.
Zak ran two scans to see if anyone had planted any electronic devices or surprises. Then he did a check for biological entities before he finally gave in to Ray’s snapped, “If I’d have known it would take this long, I would have stayed and played a while longer.”
“Patience. I’m almost done.”
“Frukx that.” Ray slammed into Zak and pinned him to the floor, an arm braced over his neck, his knee jamming into his stomach. “Speak now.”
He could have tussled a while longer, possibly even won, but Zak knew Ray only jumped him because he couldn’t contain his excitement. Zak finally told his partner his epic plan. “We are going to buy ourselves a woman.”
Ray blinked a few times, his eyes a very pale blue. “I thought we didn’t believe in slavery.”
“We don’t. And she won’t exactly be a slave. My plan is to give her freedom so long as she helps line our accounts with credits.”
“I don’t know if I’m comfortable whoring someone out to get rich.”
Zak gaped. “What? No. I would never—Why would you—?” He shook his head. “We aren’t selling her to other people for sex. The
woman we’re going to buy is the answer we’ve been looking for. The solution to all our financial woes. To maybe even joining the ranks of the super elite as Mechanized Icons.” The superstars of the Siyborgh race.
From birth, they were taught that the more metal you bore within your body, the closer to a god you became. The most adapted were revered in their culture. Worshipped, especially by females.
Ray’s brown skin crinkled in confusion. “How is buying a slave supposed to accomplish this impossible feat?”
“Because she is not just any slave. The one we’ll buy is a seer.” Which took a moment to explain as Zak laid out his wonderful plan. Brilliant really.
Ray, overcome by the beautiful simplicity of it, said nothing for a moment. Then exclaimed, “You’re insane.”
“My mental health cog is spinning perfectly fine.” Zak tapped his temple.
“You need to get it checked because there is a lot of crazy in your idea. You want us to visit the Obsidian slave market and bet all our money on some seer you’ve never met because of a rumor you heard in a bar that made you think, if we ask her to look into the past, back when the Mecha Gods existed, she can lead us to the lost temples and a treasure trove of gears.”
Summarized in a way that only showcased the elegant nature of his plan. Zak beamed. “Exactly!”
“It’s insane.”
“You only think that because no one ever thought to do it before. But I did. And we”— Zak pointed to Ray then himself—“are going to reap the reward.”
“Exactly how do you plan for us to buy her?” Ray arched a brow. “Or have you forgotten we’re both low on funds.”
A valid point. Ray had his gambling and fashionable tastes siphoning at his savings, whereas Zak enjoyed upgrades. Not just to his body although he did have quite an intricate set of gears and cogs spinning within. His passion for spending started with his ship, a modernized marvel full of every possible convenience. Where his sister preferred old mechanical engines and drove a very retro
zeppelin without a single microchip or computer on board, he embraced technology.
Everything on his ship could be controlled by the simple press of a button, or—if having a day where all he wanted to do was lie in bed—a voice command from him or Ray would also do the trick, so long as they were very explicit in their instructions. Telling the ship to fly itself required coordinates. The time they spent caught in the dust galaxy, unable to see and even the finest filters unable to prevent all the silt particles getting into the ship, had led to them being more concise.
“I can take out a loan against the ship.” And he’d get a sizeable sum, too, given the upgrades.
“Use the ship as collateral? Oh no.” Ray shook his head. “I thought we said that was the one thing we’d never do.”
Because if they lost the Solar Eclipse, their gear-hunting days would be over, and Ray would have to ask Ursy—his bratty, annoying younger sister—for help. If it came to that, he’d rather retire.
This opportunity was too good to pass up. “Just this once, we’ll make an exception.”
“It’s a big risk,” Ray warned.
“It is. So, what do you say?”
Was it any surprise Ray, the consummate gambler, grinned and said, “I’m in!”
They had a few full turns of the cog before the auction for this supposed seer. Given the market always tried to fetch the best price, the sale of goods, including live ones, had some lead time to ensure the right buyers were present to place a bid.
Spending most of the time on board his ship, Zak did his best to plan while keeping an eye on the thick traffic arriving and departing in a near constant stream. Catering to vice was big business, and the Obsidian Market excelled in offering the illegal and corrupt for a price.
It proved only too easy to secure a loan against his ship, the staggering amount of credits in his account nerve wracking. Zak loved the Eclipse. Like loved as in he’d marry it and have its little
ship babies if he was allowed. But there were laws against that in most galaxies.
The affection for his vessel was part of the reason why he’d never used it in a scheme before. However, this chance couldn’t be ignored. If he could find an ancient Mecha God temple…Maybe, he could adopt a little ship or two and have a family. Not that he was orphaned. Living parents and a sister, plus the friends he’d known since his youth, meant he wasn’t technically alone.
But his life still missed something. The only true thrill he got was from improving himself and the Eclipse. If one vessel made him happy, then surely two would fill the hole within.
With the auction yet to occur, Ray spent their waiting time playing the odds, and losing badly, returning to the ship on one occasion with just his boots. Nice boots, with a glossy shine.
Too soon, not soon enough, it was time for the auction. Time to put his plan in motion.
Zak could barely contain his excitement as he headed for the auction floor level in the space station housing the Obsidian Market. An abandoned mining station, it was converted into a multi-level market catering to every imaginable vice.
Once there, he signaled for Ray, who joined him with a scowl.
“What’s wrong?” Zak asked.
“I ran into Wulff on the way here.” A friend of theirs.
“Was he with my sister?” Ever since their last mission as a crew, Wulff had been tagging along with Ursy, making him either the bravest or dumbest male he knew. His sister could be a touch acerbic.
“Nah, just Wulff. He wanted to know what I was doing here.”
“Did you tell him?”
“Not exactly.”
“Good, because last thing we need is for him to tell Ursy and have her march in here to give us a wire lashing.” Zak was in no mood to deal with his sister. She’d hate his plan on principle, and he didn’t need a lecture, especially since she liked to talk with her fists.
“Why do you think I kept my mouth shut? But we’ll have to tell them something if it works.”
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