“We should check it out,” I said. The worst-case scenario had popped into my head. What if the birds were circling the dead bodies of Kira’s parents?
Kira steered the sled towards the birds, who didn’t seem at all spooked by our presence.
“They’re so quiet,” I said.
“Jottha lack vocal organs,” TenSix said. “The only sound they make is a hiss.”
“And how do you know that?” I asked. “I thought you said you were not programmed for zoological identification.”
“I’m not, but Dr. Griffin had a particular interest in Sarcogyps jottha, and so I have some knowledge of the bird.”
“Holy shit!” Kira slammed the sled to a stop and vaulted out.
I grabbed TenSix and we started after her. Then I stopped in my tracks.
It wasn’t just the stench that hit me.
A dead Naba-Sa’im lay sprawled out, half obscured by a boulder, and buzzing with flies.
The creature was huge and terrifying, and exactly as Kira had described. It looked like a heavily-muscled goat-human hybrid. And it stank of death. Probably due to the plasma blast hole cored out of its chest.
“Dynark’s blood!” Kira continued walking, her head slowly scanning the landscape.
I followed her down a slight incline into a natural depression. There I was greeted with a grisly sight. At least a dozen Naba-Sa’im corpses were strewn about the area, in various stages of incineration and dismemberment due to being blasted by high-energy weapons. Huge jottha birds hopped from carcass to carcass, ripping out soft tissue and organs.
My stomach heaved in disgust and I had to look away. I had seen death before, but never like this.
Kira had fallen to her knees, choking back sobs. I went over to her and pulled her tightly against me, so she didn’t have to look. Then we walked slowly back to the sled, tailed by TenSix who remained respectfully silent.
Back at the sled, Kira gasped in big gulps of air as she tried to calm herself. “What the fuck was that?”
“It was an aerial attack,” TenSix said.
“How do you know that?” she asked.
“The angle of the wounds,” the bot said. “As well as the placement and elevation of scorch marks on the rocks. Also I did not detect any vehicle tracks nor boot prints.”
“But who…?” Kira’s voice trailed off.
I bet she knew, just like I knew.
The Mayir.
The big question was why.
Darkness began to fall even before we arrived at Ganga Kos. The lights of the spaceport city flickered in the distance, beckoning. It had been well over two weeks since I had been in any modern city, and I had to admit I was looking forward to it.
Kira and I were still shellshocked by the sight of the slaughtered Naba-Sa’im, but we did manage to talk about what we would do once we arrived in Ganga Kos.
“There are a couple of inns in town,” Kira said. “The least disgusting is The Hansard. That’s where we usually stay.”
“What about the sled?”
“GK Municipal has secure freight lockers. We won’t even have to unload. Just park the sled inside and lock it up. We’ll head there first.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
When we finally entered the city, I was pretty much underwhelmed. Ganga Kos was filled with low, squat buildings made of big blocks of the same volcanic rock we had traveled over for the past couple of days. The streets were wide and dusty. But everything was lit up with animaphic signs advertising restaurants, casinos, weapons shops, bars, and brothels. The city reminded me of a jankier version of Nas Meida, but a lot less crowded. In fact, Ganga Kos looked downright empty.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Gone,” Kira said. “It’s like I told you. For the past six months, the Mayir have been expelling everyone. I wouldn’t be surprised if the port is shut down to public traffic by the end of the year.”
“The Mayir are as paranoid as they are cruel,” TenSix said.
“You can say that again,” I muttered.
“Actually, let’s keep it down.” Kira elbowed me. “You see what I see?”
I followed her gaze and saw a two-man Mayir security patrol, uniformed and heavily armed. They stood at the street corner across from us, and regarded us lazily as we moved past. But thankfully they didn’t do more than look.
Kira led us through the heart of Ganga Kos, and then out towards the main docking bay, GK Municipal, which was located on the southwestern edge of the sprawling city.
“There are a few private bays scattered around the city, but most of them were closed down fifteen months ago when we arrived,” Kira said. “My hunch is that GK Municipal is the only one left.”
“What about larger vessels?” I asked. “Is there an orbital station here as well?”
“No, but there’s one over Hango. The big ships use that.”
“And I bet they have H-mesh up there.”
“I bet they do too.”
As we walked, we passed one bar that seemed packed with unruly patrons. Loud music blared from the establishment, and the sidewalk outside the bar was filled with people as well.
“Looks like the entire population is hanging out at one bar tonight,” I said.
“That’s weird. They don’t look like locals.”
“You’re right.”
The bar goers were dressed in expensive sport performance gear like you might find at an upscale boutique outfitter like JMS. And they all seemed to know each other.
“Maybe we should check it out,” I said.
“No. Better if we keep our heads down.”
Kira was right. It would be pretty obvious if we tried to crash that party. Still, I was curious what the fox and hound set was doing on Safadin.
GK Municipal was mostly closed up at this time of the evening, but the freight lockers were all self-service, so we didn’t have any issue securing the sled. We left most of the cargo on the sled. Kira just took one personal bag, a cloak, and her blaster, of course. I didn’t really have anything except the clothes on my back, and the judder knife at my belt.
“You want to stay here for the night, Short Stuff?” Kira
