overwhelming malevolence of the yellow sun.
As the last of the ship was destroyed, the single black canister fell free, pulled downward by the intense gravity of the sun. The cylinder struck the liquid magma, splitting open and gushing Deplitoxide onto the sun’s surface. The black chemical spread from the canister hungrily, multiplying and converting the magma in growing tendrils emanating from the point of impact.
Across the Protagon Galaxy, the amphibians crawled from their watery homes to watch in horror as a black plague spread across their sun. Tendrils of darkness spread across the southern hemisphere of their sun, greedily devouring the warmth and light that spread across their planet. The blackness swelled until only slivers of sunlight still remained, and even then the ravenous chemicals continued their conversion of the magma into the dormant liquid covering the sun. The amphibians watched as darkness spread across their planets, casting them into an unnatural night. Without the life-giving sun, a chill began to permeate the planets. Temperatures plummeted and, though the amphibians dove deep into their underwater homes, they couldn’t escape the cold.
Throughout the known universe, the signal reached out to pre-positioned objects. In the Raalst Galaxy, home to the Oterians, two seemingly harmless satellites began their suicidal descents into the red and yellow suns. Near the blue sun of the Avalon’s home galaxy, a canister was ejected from a passing freighter. Beginning with the closest galaxies, suns disappeared one by one under the poisonous chemical.
And still, the signal continued its destructive course.
CHAPTER 4:
Keryn and her crew pushed through the thick jungle until they came to the outskirts of Miller’s Glen. With most planetary and all interstellar travel being conducted by air, there were very few roads that led into the city. This allowed the jungle to creep nearly to the outlying buildings. The trio stopped at the edge of the city, thus far unmolested and unseen.
Reaching under the collar of her jacket, Keryn exposed the radio strapped to her throat. Pressing the talk button, she called back to the ship.
“Talon Base, this is Talon Six,” she called, using the call signs she had established with Cerise before leaving the ship.
After waiting a moment, the small radio receiver concealed in her ear crackled to life. “Talon Six, this is Talon Base.” Cerise’s soft, effeminate voice, typical of the Avalon species, replied over the radio.
“Task Force Talon has reached the city limits. Radio signal reception beyond this point is unknown, but expect delays or communications blackouts due to the tall structures. We will be maintaining radio silence for outgoing messages unless in an emergency, but will still be able to receive signals. How copy?”
Cerise’s voice carried smoothly over the radio. “That’s a good copy. Talon Base will be expecting radio silence for incoming signals.”
“Talon Six out,” Keryn finished her transmission, once again concealing the radio under her jacket collar. She turned back to the other two members of her assault team.
“Remember,” she said, “stealth is the key. Make yourself inconspicuous.”
“Stealth,” they both replied in unison.
Stepping out of the foliage, Keryn and her team slipped past the large stone buildings that marked the beginning of the city. Miller’s Glen sprawled like a miniature metropolis; its stone buildings quickly gave way to the metal and glass structures that jutted from the center of the city in progressively taller and larger buildings. To Keryn, they looked like demons clawing over one another on their way out of hell; their metal spires rose like hands reaching in vain toward the emerald sky. The skies above the city were full of recreational crafts, flying in a carefully orchestrated three-dimensional overlay of airways.
The entire city encompassed no more than two square miles, but the inhabitants packed as much activity into such a small space a possible. Market stalls spread down the narrow streets as merchants hawked their wares. Fabrics from all corners of the known universe stood proudly beside exotic fruits from distant home worlds. Illegal Terran technology was brazenly displayed on the streets by sellers who had little to fear from Interstellar Alliance police forces; the police forces were rarely seen on planets so far removed from commonly traveled space.
Miller’s Glen had been founded as a melting pot of races interested in interspecies trade. Merchants arrived in an amalgamation of ships, each representative of their home worlds and unique physiology. After clearing away a patch of jungle, they established a trading village that catered not just to the legitimate merchants but to black market salesmen and smugglers. What began as a small trader’s haven quickly grew as travelers near the Demilitarized Zone began spreading word of the potential wares available in the small jungle city. The more the money flowed freely through the streets of Miller’s Glen, the larger the established stores. Street stalls were moved into one story stone buildings; one story stone buildings were moved into glistening towers of metal and glass; and those in the glistening towers cared less and less about the quality of inhabitants living in the streets below. The town, in essence, became the perfect hiding place for a traitorous smuggler like Cardax.
“Give me an update,” Keryn said, smiling broadly as merchants flashed their wares from their street stalls.
Adam glanced around, as though deciding what to buy from the nearby tradesmen. “Majority of the populace is armed. It appears that there are bodyguards located at the entrance to most storefronts. Any frontal assaults here are suicidal. Stealth will have to be the word of the day.” Adam grimaced at his own recommendation.
“Penchant?” Keryn prodded the Lithid for his input.
Penchant stared at the hypnotic dance of the small craft flittering overhead. Above them, his faux blue eyes narrowing to see past the smaller ships, he could see the larger merchant vessels floating toward the far side of town like bloated insects.
“The spaceport is located on the far side of town,” his coarse voice seemed out of place on his smooth Terran exterior. “We can assume that Cardax landed there. He wouldn’t travel far from his ship, knowing that he’s being pursued. There are a couple bars and hotels in that area that would cater to Cardax’s tastes.”
Keryn nodded in agreement and led her team through the densely packed streets. They left the flowing shorter stone structures and entered into the cavernous streets of the financial section of town. Though the large buildings blocked the sun, green light filtered down the street, reflected over and over again on the glass exteriors. Here, the flamboyantly dressed merchants gave way to smartly dressed management. The inhabitants of the center of the city consisted of those who had once found themselves hawking wares on the street corners, but had turned a simple stall into a financial empire. Their trade goods were seen across countless worlds and they each had thousands of employees. Some were legitimate businessmen; some no better than mob bosses ruling a business empire by fear and violence. Keryn often had trouble differentiating between the two.
Eventually, the trio found themselves exiting the financial district and were surrounded by the prefabricated buildings and housing subdivisions of those who called Miller’s Glen home. The spaceport dominated the far end of town; a massive steel tower with spiraling arms, each firmly attached to a merchant vessel, space yacht, or in some cases personal warships, their sides rippling with armaments. Despite having Alliance Cruisers in orbit, those in Miller’s Glen knew that they were a facade of security and unlikely to engage any merchant, legal or not, entering the city.
Though this part of the city consisted mainly of residential neighborhoods, Keryn and her crew were unable to escape the constant vendors that created the basis of Miller’s Glen. Glancing at the other two, Keryn noticed the stern looks and darting eyes, true signs of hunters on the prowl.
“You both look like you’re on a mission,” she said coyly.
Penchant tilted his head to the side in a remarkably Lithid movement. “We
Keryn laughed. “That’s my point. You’re not supposed to
Begrudgingly, the trio split up and started looking at some of the nearby booths. Watching over her shoulder,
