The Fredorian Destiny: Book 2 of the Evaran Chronicles Page 6

  Evaran put his right hand on his chin, with a finger extended a little past the right part of his lip. “How much did they put out for me?”

  Kreol gave Evaran a strained look. “Most low-level scum go for twenty thousand credits. More important people can go from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand. Yours is five million. That is unheard of for a bounty.”

  “Sounds like a lot. Whoever this is must really want me.”

  “Not a person. This is a corporate-issued bounty from Seeros Industries. I don’t know why they want you, and I don’t care. All that matters to me is I get paid,” said Kreol as he turned back to the equipment.

  “Kreagans only allow state-sponsored bounty hunting. It would be illegal for an individual to issue one, much less a corporation.”

  “They don’t publicize it to the Kreagans. They use proxies and the black market, but everyone knows who they are for. There are also those in power who look the other way if it’s discovered, for the right price.”

  Evaran relaxed into the chair with his hands laced in front of him. “Interesting. So if you do this visual proof, but do not deliver, what happens?”

  Kreol spoke without looking up. “I don’t get anything for my effort, then. That’s laughable, though.” Kreol pressed a button on the device he was working on, and it lit up with blue and orange lights. He grabbed an orb from his pouch and held it near the device. The orb lit up. “Now we can get this visual proof out of the way. What a pain in the ass.” Kreol tossed the orb into the air, where it hovered. He activated the device on the shelf, and a light coalesced around the orb, ending in the shape of a female Ildoran. She had on a crisp black-and-gold uniform.

  “Seeros Industries, Bounty Agency. How may I help you?” said the Ildoran.

  “This is Kreol Juul. This bounty requires visual proof. The bounty is Evaran.”

  The Ildoran tapped at a console in front of her and, with wide eyes, said, “Oh! Okay. Note on bounty says Seeros personally wants to do it. Patching him through.”

  Kreol clenched his fists several times and paced around. The Ildoran disappeared, and Seeros appeared.

  “Boost your signal, Kreol. I can’t see anything except blobs,” said Seeros.

  Kreol went to the device and adjusted it. “Can you see now?”

  Seeros looked around and immediately fixated on Evaran. “It is you. So, we meet again.”

  Evaran leaned forward with clasped hands just below his chin and studied Seeros. “I am not sure we have met.”

  Seeros walked up to the motion field and studied Evaran. He then turned to face Kreol. “Kreol, did you read the bounty profile on Evaran?”

  “Yeah,” said Kreol.

  “Then you didn’t read the special notes section very well. Where are his wrist and ankle constraints?” asked Seeros.

  “I didn’t think they were necessary. He’s behind a zapping motion sensor field, and when I transfer him, I will have my Tyralian wide-beam phaser covering him. I don’t see the issue,” said Kreol.

  Seeros sighed and looked at Evaran and tilted his head. “His utility handle is missing as well. Where is it?”

  Kreol tapped his chest. “If you mean that thing on his side, I have it here.”

  Seeros dipped his head and put his hand on his forehead while massaging his temples. “Well, I will give you a hundred thousand for providing the opportunity to at least talk to Evaran. Even getting that is difficult. Your reputation may take a hit, though.”

  Kreol’s face contorted. “What are you talking about? Once this is over, I am flying him right over.”

  Seeros faced Kreol. “Here’s why you won’t. First, those constraints dampen his movement significantly. They were custom built specifically for Evaran. They lock up his legs and arms. You should have procured them before attempting this. Second, you have his utility handle on your chest. If you read the special notes section, you would know why that is a bad idea.” He turned to Evaran. “You may as well get it over with. I would like to talk with you afterward, however.”

  Evaran nodded. “I am sorry for this, Kreol.” He interacted with his ARI, causing blue electricity from the utility handle to envelop Kreol.

  Kreol shouted out in surprise and then slumped to the ground, unconscious.

  Evaran stood up and approached the motion-sensing shield, eyeing the two zappers just outside it on opposite walls. He extended his right arm through the shield and angled it. The zappers fired, with both beams bouncing off Evaran’s shield and hitting each other. They exploded, and the motion-sensing field dissipated.

  Evaran reached down and rolled Kreol over. He grabbed his utility handle and put it back on his belt while looking around the room, and then focused on Seeros. “That is taken care of. I have some questions for you.”

  Seeros scrutinized Evaran, then waved a dismissive gesture at him. “Likewise. Go ahead.”

  “Why do you have a bounty on me?”

  Seeros laughed. “You’re kidding me, right? After all that you’ve done?”

  “I am not sure what you are referring to.”

  Seeros tilted his head as he looked at Evaran. He paused before speaking. “Hmm … could it be?” He peered closer at Evaran. “I know you are traveling with Dr. Snowden and Emily. I had your credentials flagged false when Kreol reported you to me. I had hoped to just come pick you all up, but it appears you split up, and now the credentials are valid somehow. Have you forgotten what happened on Selius Prime?”

  “I have never been there.”

  Seeros drew his lips flat. “Well then. That explains a lot. It would seem this is your first time meeting me. How ironic. When you meet me next, it will most likely be me meeting you for the first time. That would explain how you knew so much about me back then, given the available information of this time period.” He shook his head. “Time travel and its quirks.”

  “So you met a future possible version of me,” said Evaran.

  Seeros smirked. “Several times. You escaped me every time. I suspect you will this time too. Otherwise those future meetings from your perspective will never occur. I wonder, though, if I were to capture you now, if that would cause those meetings to disappear, thus changing my own timeline.”

  “Anything is possible, time travel is complex. It appears you know this already. You still have not explained what it is I did to you,” said Evaran.

  Seeros exhaled sharply through his nose. “Well, for starters, the amount of lives you take is staggering. You’re a mass murderer, on a scale I have never seen before. You travel through time, that is established. You make changes in the timeline. However, when you make changes, it causes things in the future to change. Whole civilizations can blink out of existence. I suspect you don’t even give it a second thought, or even care. I studied the rifts since you mentioned it to me in one of our previous meetings, and although they do the same thing as you, they do not have a consciousness. You do. You willingly interfere in the timeline. I can’t do anything with the rifts just yet. I can, however, do something about you.”

  Evaran looked at the ground, then back at Seeros. “Yes, those things can happen. You are wrong, however. I do consider what impacts my presence can do. I do not think you are hunting me because I time travel.”

  Seeros chuckled. “You’re right. I’m an Antigulan. The last of my race, thanks to you. The Antigulan civilization was one of the casualties of one of your timeline changes due to something you will do in your future or have already done in your past. I don’t know which. Thankfully, my area of research was temporal shielding. I was able to apply it to my ship. One day, I stepped out of my ship, and my world was a desert. My race gone. My family, friends, loved ones, all gone. Took me a while to piece together what happened. A race that shouldn’t have existed destroyed my civilization before it had time to develop, and I believe you were responsible for it.” Seeros smiled. “Don’t worry, the planet that race lived on is no more.” Seeros cleared his throat and licked his lips. “You must be sto
pped.”

  “I am sorry to hear that. However, since you mentioned it to me, I will make a note to stay away from Antigulan space,” said Evaran.

  “It won’t matter. We have already had this discussion. The fact that we have means nothing changes by you knowing about it. However, not all is lost if I can capture you now, even if it changes my past,” said Seeros.

  Evaran half grinned. “I can feel the vibration of a group coming this way. I will not be here when they arrive. Your attempt to stall me was unsuccessful. However, before I go, two things. One, the timeline can be changed as you know, and two, what happens in this timeline is of little consequence to the universe.”

  Seeros’s eyes widened. “Are you implying there are other timelines?”

  Evaran pulled out his utility handle and extended it into a baton. “Something for you to think about.”

  Seeros’s face contorted in anger. “No! You always do this. You leave me with some obscure reference and then run away.”

  “My apologies, then,” said Evaran as he extended his baton to the holo orb. It shuddered, then the image of Seeros dissipated. Evaran grabbed the orb and studied it, then put it away in the side tray on his utility belt. He picked up the motion sensors and then pulled off a data device from Kreol’s limp body. With one final look around, he exited the building.

  Dr. Snowden, Emily, and V stood outside the Drodalian exhibit with Andia Kiggs.

  “I’m Dr. Snowden.” He put his right hand across his chest, then motioned at Emily. “This is my niece, Emily, and the robot is our friend V.”

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance. We should head to a less … ,” said Andia as she looked around, “public place.” She pointed to a small ship nearby. “Let’s take my ship to the Fredorian embassy.”

  Dr. Snowden drew his lips flat and cocked his head, then glanced at Emily and V. “Guess we have no choice, then.” He was not too worried about going with Andia, as they had V, and he hoped Evaran would come if there was any serious trouble.

  Together they followed Andia and her guards to the ship. Dr. Snowden noted it was small and had a hatch door on the backside. It reminded him of a sports utility vehicle without wheels. As they approached the ship, the hatch door raised. One of the guards walked in while the other motioned for them to step in.

  They followed Andia into the ship. The interior reminded Dr. Snowden of a cargo airplane. There were benches along the sides, with cabinet-like structures before the piloting area jutting out forming a natural doorway to the front of the ship. The two guards had taken their seats up front already, so he sat down next to V. Emily and Andia had sat down opposite them. The hatch door closed. He looked out the window on the door as the ship took off and verified that the ship was a flying craft.

  Andia cleared her throat. “So, you’re Fredorians I hear.”

  Dr. Snowden nodded. “May as well be honest since we aren’t fooling anyone apparently. No, we’re from Earth. The credentials are forged.”

  Andia tilted her head. “Yes, I know. I validated your credentials when they were reported to us since Kreagans tend to be a bit overhanded when dealing with things like this, especially if it concerns Fredorians.”

  “Someone reported us?” asked Emily.

  “Yes, shortly after you arrived. It wasn’t until Szaris notified me that I was aware of it. Be glad I got to you first,” said Andia. She narrowed her eyes. “How is it you speak fluent Kreagan?”

  Emily shrugged. “We learn fast?”

  Andia tilted her head at Emily. “Unlikely, you speak it better than I do, and I have spoken it for a long time. Why’d you choose to use Fredorian credentials, given our tumultuous relations with the Kreagans and our less-than-stellar image?”

  V raised his hand. “It was my decision to use Fredorian credentials. I was unaware of difficulties in Kreagan and Fredorian relations outside of the many incidents recorded. We were aware of the Kreagan perception of Fredorians as troublemakers. However, given that you are human, it was the logical choice.”

  Andia half smiled. “Well, in that regard, my robot friend, you chose well. However, visitors from Fredoria usually don’t get a good reaction from those who know of us.”

  “The Gungrolix seemed to like Fredoria,” said Emily.

  “The Gungrolix,” said Andia as she studied Emily. “We don’t deal with them much, but they have stood with us before on political matters.” She looked at a device on her wrist. “It’s about dinner time. Have any of you had anything to eat?”

  Emily shook her head. “No, but I could use a burger about now.”

  Dr. Snowden nodded in agreement. “Not sure what is safe to eat here.”

  Andia nodded. “I’m not sure what a burger is, but we can kill two dashiliks with one stone. We can discuss your situation and have dinner. If you will excuse me, I need to head to the front for a bit.”

  Dr. Snowden nodded as he eased back into his seat. He reflected on the situation. Evaran was off doing who knows what. They had visited five different exhibits and learned more about Fredoria. Then there was Andia. She seemed to be very calm and collected. He did not know if they were in trouble or not, but Andia’s friendly banter seemed to indicate they were not. She was also easy on the eyes. He had been hungry when they went to the Drodalian exhibit, but the smell of burnt flesh turned his stomach. Hopefully the Fredorians can do better.

  The ship landed on a pad on top of a building. The hatch door opened, and Andia walked by Dr. Snowden, Emily, and V. “Follow me.”

  They followed Andia out of the ship. Dr. Snowden took a look around and could see far in every direction. It was easy for him to see the different exhibits, as they were, for the most part, different in how they appeared, sometimes drastically. Other small ships like the one they came in were flying around. There were several other buildings similar to the one they were on, so he figured this must be some type of embassy grouping. Emily tugged on his arm. He turned and saw Andia motioning for them go into a door on the side of the small-roof building. They walked through the door.

  Once inside, Andia led them down a ramp to a large hall. Several people were milling about and turned to stare at them as they entered the hall. Andia walked past them and into one of the large rooms that hung off the side. Dr. Snowden noticed the amount of guards present. The guards had on body armor with some advanced-looking weaponry. Emily tugged his arm again, and he realized he was doing more sightseeing than following. They walked into the room Andia had went in. It was large and had a circular table in the middle. There were seats scattered around it, and between each seat on the table were black semitranslucent strips, which stood out from the white table. Andia indicated for them to sit. Dr. Snowden eyed the seats and took the nearest one. Emily sat to his left, and V to his right. Andia sat across from them.

  Andia interacted with a table console. “This place is secure. You can talk freely. There is a console on the table you can use to select food items.”

  Dr. Snowden glanced at Emily then at the table console. There were a myriad of options and menus. He messed around with the options, finally selecting a spicy rice dish with what appeared to be chunks of chicken in a thick sauce. With drawn down lips, he tapped at the console. “Well, here goes.” The black strip to his right on the table retracted toward the center of the table, and a tray rose up with his food. He noted that the sauce was a slightly different color than pictured. His eyes widened as he looked at Emily. “Well, that’s different.”

  Emily rested her chin on her left hand. “That looks like Indian food. You hate Indian food.”

  Dr. Snowden paused as he looked at the dish. He inhaled as the smell of hot spices flooded his nostrils. Emily was right. He was not sure why he selected it, but he seemed to have a craving for something spicy, so had selected the nearest thing that looked like it.

  Emily selected a spicy burger-like food item and purple fries from the menu options. Her food appeared, and she tasted one of the fries. “It’s actually not bad.
Tastes a bit like a sweet potato with pepper.”

  Andia smiled, then glanced at V. “Do you want anything? I suppose you don’t eat, but we have various fluids your robotic body might like.”

  “I do not require sustenance. Thank you for your inquiry, Andia Kiggs, prime ambassador of Fredoria.”

  Andia grinned as she pulled a salad with some orange meat on it in front of her. “You can just call me Andia. That will be fine. No need to be so formal.” She turned to Dr. Snowden and Emily. “Now, how did you get here from Earth?”

  Dr. Snowden swallowed his bite and then looked at Andia. “It’s a long story. Maybe we should wait until Evaran arrives before we say anything.”

  Andia nodded. “Suit yourself. Enjoy your dinner while we wait, then.”

  Dr. Snowden cast a sidelong glance at Emily and drew his lips to one side. They continued eating in silence until a woman in a tan-colored robe walked into the room. She stood beside Andia and whispered in her ear. Andia nodded and looked at them. “This is my assistant. She tells me your friend Evaran has arrived and is on his way in.”

  After a few minutes, Evaran entered the room and stood behind Dr. Snowden and Emily, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “So, did I miss anything?”

  Emily gestured at Dr. Snowden. “Other than me and Uncle Albert craving spicy food, not much.”

  Evaran narrowed his eyes as he looked at Dr. Snowden. “I see.”

  Dr. Snowden turned around and studied Evaran. Evaran’s outfit looked dirtied, and he doubted Evaran really went looking for a place for them to stay. He waved to a seat past V. “Just waiting on you to get here before saying anything.”

  Evaran walked over to the seat past V and sat down. “A wise precaution. However, in this case, not necessary. You can speak honestly with Andia. She is to be trusted.”

  Andia jerked her head back. “I don’t believe we’ve met, but thank you for the kind words.”