"Wings of the Spirit"
(Science fiction - space opera)
For more information, read about my Will & Tass stories

This appeared in the final two issues of Amazing Journeys magazine (#11 and #12, in 2006) as a two-part tale. "Wings" is my first-ever "sequel story," revisiting characters who first appeared in "White Ribbons, Red Roses" in the anthology Unparalleled Journeys.

The characters in question are former galactic cop Will Duncan, who in "White Ribbons" had to learn to forgive himself over the deaths of his wife and daughter, and his star-hopping partner, the cybernetic Tass Keaverly. I had never written a sequel to a short story, but I found myself wondering just ever happened with these characters. My curiosity was strong enough that I decided to find out. I don't think my thirst has been entirely quenched, and expect more Will and Tass stories in the future—perhaps a few exclusively on this web site.

In "Wings," Will and Tass make a routine delivery to a planet where they run into all kinds of trouble—and meet a young girl who changes Will's life forever.

This is a very brief excerpt, because only Part One will appear in AJ #11. After that, I'll excerpt all of Part One and some of Part Two.

NOTE: Sadly, Amazing Journeys ceased publication after #12--the end of one of the finest small press magazines that had a lot of potential. We're all sorry to see it go, but I thank Ed Knight for publishing several of my works--especially both of the Will & Tass stories, which has spawned a powerful interest in me to write more of them.
 

"Wings of the Spirit"
(Excerpt: 2,159 of 11,436 words)
by David M. Fitzpatrick

 

Will Duncan woke suddenly, immediately aware that he hadn’t dreamed of Kathleen and Katy. He’d had no nightmares about their terrible deaths since his life-changing trip to Vazhgar, but he’d always still dreamed of them—pleasant dreams of cherished memories. But now there had been no dreams, and he felt terribly wrong—as if he were immersed in a cold, vast ocean of guilt.

He realized Tass Keaverly was standing there. Her beautiful face, framed by a lot of artificial white hair, stared down at him. Silver eyes gleamed in the dim light of the barracks bay. He tried to blink himself awake.

“Good morning,” she said, waving a blue-skinned hand. She wore a golden-red jumpsuit and yellow knee-high boots—typical utilitarian attire for her.

Duncan propped himself up on his elbows. His feelings weighed on him like a chain of asteroids heading for a gas giant. He tried to keep his emotions from showing, but Tass didn’t miss much.

“Something’s wrong,” she said. “Are the nightmares back?”

She’d been annoyingly observant since the night they’d met in a seedy bar on Tarquin, back when he’d still been a cop in charge of a whole galactic sector. It frustrated him, but at the same time there was something comforting about it. “No,” he said. “Just no dreams of Kathleen and Katy at all. It’s a little unsettling.”

She pursed her lips. “Duncan, you learned to let go of that pain back on Vazhgar, and you’ve had good dreams for three months. Don’t downplay your successes just because you didn’t dream about them.”

He didn’t want to discuss it just then. “Is there a reason you woke me?”

“Yes. We’re in orbit around Jox, so get moving. We have a delivery to make.”

*  *  *

Jox filled the port third of the control bay window, a brilliant world of swirling pinks and purples over the greens of island continents. “Before we land,” Tass said from the pilot’s seat, “there’s something we have to discuss about this shipment.”

“A little late for that, isn’t it?” he said from the co-pilot’s, looking suspiciously at her. “You’d better not tell me we’re hauling contraband.”

“Not at all,” she said firmly. “The cargo we picked up on Reeshu is a collection of ancient literature, just like I told you. The Jukian Overlord who bought them is a collector with arguably the largest library in the galaxy.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is the planet Jox,” she said as she programmed the nav computer. “There’s a lot about it you won’t like.”

“Jox is a popular tourist planet within our space, but it isn’t a member world,” Duncan said, recalling what he knew from his days in law enforcement as a sector chief. “It’s ruled by nineteen authoritarian, continental Overlords.”

“But there are things you don’t know,” she said, “and I don’t need you getting revolutionary and trying to save the world.”

He grimaced. “Give me some credit.”

“I am—I think it’s admirable that you’d want to save a world.” She finished with the computer and turned to him. “Jox is a slave planet, Duncan.”

He chuckled. “No, it’s an indentured servitude world. Servants work hard, but the payoff following contract fulfillment is substantial. And although not a member of the United Worlds, we have treaties with the Jukians. Jox is spacelocked, so if our citzens are treated poorly, Jox is cut off from everything.”

“What about non-citizens?” Tass said. “There are a thousand non-member planets allowed into our space. Non-citizens are at the mercy of the Jukians, and the UW can do nothing about it. The indentured servitude program was formed to satisfy the UW, but the Jukes have enslaved their own people for thousands of years. I’ve heard nasty rumors of slave abuse all over Jox.”

“Rumors,” he echoed, shaking his head with a grin. “Someone once said a cruel story runs on wheels, and every hand oils the wheels as they run.”

*  *  *

Tass brought the ship down over a sparkling ocean reflecting a lilac sky and an orange sun. The coastline of a continent loomed before them, the towering spires of a city spiking up like brass needles. Domes speckled distant hills like gleaming dewdrops in the morning. Tass turned control over to the Jukian satellite air traffic system and the ship banked around the city and streamed inland. At low altitude, it flew through a golden mountain range, over a deep gray valley, across shining lavender lakes.

Tass related some trivia about the Overlords. Millennia ago, nations warred until single leaders controlled entire island continents. Because the oceans teemed with carnivorous sea creatures larger than Earth’s blue whales, the Jukians were never much for seafaring; by the time technology advanced to the point where sea travel was feasible, nineteen Overlords had absolute power over their continents. Warring amongst the Overlords resulted in gargantuan fortresses in the geographic centers of the continents. Today, the Overlords enjoyed a comfortable alliance in the wake of runaway interplanetary tourism.

Tass and Duncan crossed a vast purple sea, and a massive amber mountain range rose up ahead through scintillating mists. Peaks towered above others, and the revamped military transport ship banked and angled, under satellite control, to speed between them. Duncan felt helpless, as if they were riding a mad elephant through a minefield.

When they broke through the peaks, a huge mountain was before them. It was wide and high, and when the ship abruptly climbed and leveled off, Duncan saw the top was a massive plateau. Flat and sprawling, it was topped with a city bigger than the coastal metropolis.

“This is the Overlord’s complex,” Tass said, as if reading his mind. “It covers the whole top of this mountain—”

Suddenly, a much smaller craft burst through a cloud bank just ahead, two other small ships hot on its heels. The pursuers displayed alien markings, but they looked like law enforcement to Will. The ship they were chasing was dangerously close but its angle was steep, and it climbed fast.

“Looks like someone’s running from the law,” Duncan said.

Without warning, the pursuers erupted with forward cannons. Bolts flew like missiles and impacted the fleeing craft, and there was a tremendous explosion. Trailing a plume of black smoke, the burning craft tumbled in the air and its climb suddenly became a dive—right toward Tass and Will.

“No way!” Tass exclaimed, and yarded on her control yoke. The pursuing ships banked sharply away as Tass worked to move her ship out of the damaged vessel’s path.

She almost made it. The burning craft streaked past them to starboard and out of view, but suddenly the ship rocked violently from a broadside collision. Tass hauled hard on the yoke and Duncan hit the computers as the ship skewed sideways and nosed down.
“We’ve lost the starboard stabilizer,” Duncan reported.

Tass regained control, but the ship shuddered menacingly as it flew. “Get on the comm,” she said. “Tell them we’re damaged and we’re bringing her in manually.”

*  *  *

An escort craft responded and guided them to a landing platform in the sprawling city. They were greeted with a crew of maintenance humanoids on the platform as they headed down the lowered ramp.

“Welcome, welcome,” said a strange-looking transparent humanoid. He stood five feet tall, wide-hipped and squat, his body like clear gelatin. He wore clothing, but where his skin was visible, translucent organs could be seen working. “I am Portmaster Joragg. I am instructioned to offer apologetics for damage you have incurs.” His use of the universal neolingo was stilted, but easily understood.

Duncan and Tass made it down the ramp and Tass hurried around to look at the starboard hull. She sucked in her breath when she saw the damage on the huge craft. The entire length of the ship, and most of its depth, was scorched black. There was virtually nothing left of the destroyed stabilizer. Much of the hull was caved in, the metal rippled from heat and impact, and an ugly gash ran half the length of the ship, exposing its interior. It was completely unspaceworthy.

“This can’t be happening,” she said, her voice quavering. “Not my ship.”

“We have excellent repairing facilities,” Joragg said, smiling with glassy teeth beneath oddly pellucid eyes. “No worries.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Tass said, her voice on the edge of throwing a tantrum. Her brow furrowed tightly over gleaming eyes. “You’re not the one with a damaged ship. This ship is my life.”

“Take it easy,” Duncan said gently, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She whirled on him. “I can’t take it easy!” In lower tones, she said, “I just want off this planet as soon as possible. I don’t want to be here any longer than we need to be.”

The scream of an approaching craft broke their conversation, and they turned to the platform beyond her ship, watching as one of the two law enforcement craft that had shot down the fleeing craft eased into the bay and settled down on a waning antigrav field.
“There’s the idiot responsible for ruining my ship,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Keep it calm,” Duncan said. “I think they’re the law.”

“They are Overlord’s police force,” Joragg said as the ship thumped down on its landing struts and a door hissed open. They watched a black-suited humanoid, standing eight feet tall and easily pushing four hundred pounds of solid muscle, clamber down the ramp created by the door. He headed off the platform and straight for them.

“Your identification does indicate you be here on official business,” the humanoid said from behind a black-visored helmet, his command of the universal neolingo not much better than Joragg’s—but an oddly different dialect. His voice was deep and menacing, and he was big. A holstered pulse handgun was at his side.

“Delivering a load of goods to the Overlord himself,” Tass said icily. “You want to tell me what the idea is, shooting down someone right in front of my ship?”

“It be an accident,” he said evenly.

“Accident, my synthetic gluteus,” she said haughtily, pointing at the damage. “It looks like an on-purpose to me. You fired on that ship when it wasn’t remotely safe to do so, and look at the damage to my ship because of it! The Overlord’s cargo could have been destroyed—not to mention we could have been killed!”

Duncan tried not to visibly wince, but rested his hand back on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze to calm her.

Joragg quickly said, “Officer, these off-worlders don’t understanding.”

“No,” he said. “I do suppose they do not understand. We do not see your vessel until we do fire our cannons. We do apologize for the damage.”

“You want to tell me why it was so important to blow that guy up that you risked my ship and our lives?” she said, slightly calmer but still furious.

Duncan couldn’t see his face and gauge emotion, but the officer was silent for many long seconds. Then he stepped forward, towering over her, and leaned down. She backed off a bit.

“That be none of your concern,” he said firmly. “The… lawbreaker… who do attempt to escape do suffer immediate action. We do mean no harm to you.”

“I’m sure it’s all right,” Duncan said. “My friend here is just upset—her ship means a lot to her, you know.”

“I do understand,” he said, straightening up and backing off a step. “I do receive orders from Central Command. The Overlord do request your presence, so he do apologize personally.” To Joragg: “Do take these visitors to the palace.”

While the officer returned to his ship and Joragg hurriedly ran around trying to arrange that, Duncan said to Tass, “You think losing your mind like that will make this easier?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I calmed down.”

“Rather suddenly, in fact. Why the abrupt change in behavior?”

“Did you hear what he said? The lawbreaker who attempted to escape? Who do you think he’s talking about?”

“Don’t start on the slave thing again.”

“Who else would have to escape? Indentured servants wouldn’t have to. They just break their contracts and leave without getting paid.” She sighed. “Look, I just don’t want to be stuck here any longer than we have to be. I wasn’t kidding about the slave issue, and if that lawbreaker was a slave, wouldn’t it figure we ended up in the middle of it. I just don’t want to get tangled up in anything.”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” he said.

“It will be fine when we get off this rock,” she said firmly. “They take their affairs very seriously, and they don’t want off-worlders getting in the way. We’re lucky we made it out alive, and we’ll be luckier still if we can get out of here before this gets any worse.”

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

Of course, it gets a lot worse.

So far, this is a difficult story for me to excerpt fairly. At this point, while many things have been set up, nothing has really happened. But Will Duncan is about to meet someone who will change his life—and certainly change everything about his and Tass' visit to Jox.

However, since "Wings of the Spirit" is appearing in two parts over two issues of Amazing Journeys, I can't go much further than this without giving away the entire Part One. After Part One has been published for a month or so, I'll add to this excerpt, up to and including some of Part Two.

To read the whole story, visit www.JourneyBooksPublishing.com and order Amazing Journeys Issues #11 and #12.


 

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