Chapter VII
Bullets

Fifteen hours, six stops, two quarrels and an empty apology later, the three Vusstran travelers found themselves standing in the most desolate little spaceport in the Spiral Arm. The docking tunnels were so dusty that the first thing Cale did when he stepped out of the massive shuttle was sneeze so hard he tripped over Iji. Iji had been complaining all the while, amidst the endless mutters of discontent from Cale. Tek was silent.

The docking tunnels were only signs of what was to come.

The spaceport floors were unkempt and lined with various sorts of grime and dust. The lights were all yellowed and flickering, and there were holes of darkness everywhere a light had burnt out. There was no one around.

Cale rubbed his nose on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. "This place is a dump," he sniffed.

Tek shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yes, I suppose you could put it that way..."

Iji clutched the small bag she had brought along. "I don't like it here at all," she whispered, "its dusty and dirty, and it smells funny."

Cale rolled his eyes. "Where is everyone? Why did you bring us here again, Tek?"

Tek blinked. "Hmm, well, I thought this would, perhaps, be the best place to look now…"

"Why's that?" Cale interrupted, toeing something crawling along the deck. It squealed and began to scramble away on ten spindly legs.

"Well," Tek began, waving with a clawed hand, "First of all, this…dump… was at one point a large mine built on the asteroid we stand on. When the resources were depleted, the mine, and the small city that surrounds it, was abandoned. Can you guess what it's used for now?"

Cale blanched and took another look around. "Uh… a salvage yard?"

Tek chuckled. "No, but I suppose that's close enough. Actually, it's a sanctuary. This city's abandoned buildings now house all those who are lost, forgotten, outcast, or, above all, want to hide. I have heard that many runaways come here, and that is why I think we will have the most luck here. Perhaps someone can give us a hint of where to look."

Cale raised a dubious eyebrow. Iji shifted nervously. Unphased, Tek started walking off, humming to himself. With a glance at Iji, who was mouthing some words of disbelief, Cale started after Tek.

The rest of the abandoned city was much the same as the spaceport. The windows were all dark and barren in the hollowed out shells of buildings. A haunting breeze was blowing layers of soot and dust along the street. How anything or anyone could live here, Cale didn't know. He hadn't seen much in the ways of living things at all, though once in awhile he thought he could see the glint of eyes watching him, or he'd catch just glimpses of movement among the ruins. He stopped to peer into the rubble, trying to catch some hint of life. There was just silence.

It occurred to Cale he hadn't heard any of Iji's whining for a while now, and he could no longer see the form of his foster father skipping ahead. He was alone on an empty street. Cale hadn't even noticed he had strayed off. Worst of all, he had no idea where he was. Being alone in a colony full of outcasts and fugitives didn't feel like the most intelligent idea. As Cale stood there, trying to think of which way he had come and how to get back somehow, he felt something tap his shoulder. With a gasp, he spun around.

A woman stood there, not much taller than himself. She was clad in what once had probably been some sort of uniform, but was now dusty rags. She appeared to be in her forties, but her face was deeply lined, her skin a grayish color. Her eyes were thin and almond-shaped, and her irises were an endless void of black. Her long dark hair was matted and thin.

Cale stepped back, trying to catch up with his heart. He thought of turning and running, but something about the look on her face made him stay. Though worn, she looked very kind, and she smiled at him.

"Hello, young man," she said in a low melodic voice, which cracked every once in awhile. "Are you lost?"

Cale nodded, "I think so… I mean… I was just with two others not too long ago, but I, uh… guess I took a wrong turn… you seen them?"

The woman just smiled and didn't respond. Quite suddenly she said, "I have not seen you around here before… tell me, why are you here?"

Cale stared at her, and it was only then, as he looked her up and down once more, then he noticed something odd on her left wrist; a sort of black marking, a code of some kind, was engraved on her skin. The skin around the markings was white and uneven. Cale looked away.

"Well, actually, I came here hoping someone could help me… you see, a while ago my friend was… kidnapped. We have no idea where they might have taken him. I… well, we… were hoping that someone could… give us a hint where to look for him. We want him back."

The woman was silent, nodding her head. She watched as a tear flowed down his left cheek. All his pent-up grief, loneliness, and frustration had been put into that single teardrop, and as it flowed it took away the layer of soot and regret on is face. After a pause, the woman spoke again. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Cale again. "Truly amazing, how far the love of another person can take one, isn't it? You two must have a very valuable friendship, and I'm sure wherever your friend may be, he knows how lucky he is.

"As for where you should look... though much has probably changed since then, I still remember the name of the accursed place I was held. It was called the Tyrad then, and I am sure the name hasn't yet changed from that. It's not too far from here. That is probably where you should look first."

Cale let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, it really means a lot… I wish I could repay you somehow…"

The woman shook her head, smiling. "Oh, no need… you just promise me one thing, alright, dear?"

"What's that?"

"Help him." The woman looked down at her wrist. "I never want another soul to go through what I went through. You find him, and help him."

Cale smiled. "I will. Thank you." He looked down at his feet, and when he raised his head again, the woman was gone. Cale looked around puzzled, and then sighed. From the end of the street behind him came the sound of footsteps, and Iji's voice calling to him. "Cale! There you are! Why did you run off? Tek and I were so worried, and Tek was going on and on about this and that, and I…"

Cale rolled his eyes and turned to join his pod sister and the approaching Tek. "Alright, well, here I am, aren't I?" Cale looked to Tek. "And I found something."


Tai sat against the wall on the bench, his arms behind his head. Steele and Tai had spent what seemed like hours just sitting and talking, and eventually Steele opened up and told parts of his own story to Tai.

He had once been in the army, part of the Global Defense corps that protected Earth in its last days. Before then he had just been the country boy from Texas, the punk who skipped High School so he could hang out with friends. Change only came after his girlfriend disappeared, leaving him alone with his young son. After the shock and confusion hit he joined the army, and drowned his sorrow and past in long marches and training as he transformed from punk to soldier. After hours he was dad; he cared for his son as he hadn't for his girlfriend, somehow believing he could make up for all the damage he had caused. His son was ten years old when the Earth was destroyed. The boy escaped, but the Drej destroyed the shuttle, along with many of Steele's comrades'. With Earth lost, and all that held his life together, Steele ran. Eventually he was salvaged one night as he lay half-dead in an alley and brought to the very station Tai sat in now, where spent the past few years as both worker and slave.

Steele was gone, called off on some errand Tai couldn't begin to guess. Tai had begun to enjoy Steele's company; at least they shared some similar experiences. In the few hours they spent together they grew to be very attached, as if Steele was the father Tai had lost and Tai was the son Steele had lost.

Thinking of time brought Tai to wonder just how much had passed. It seemed like decades ago since he was trudging along a lonely street in Vusstra, though it couldn't have possibly been that long. In the cycle of thought, darkness, and despair, he had lost count of the hours. He didn't know if it had been weeks or only a day or two since he was last free.

Which brought him to another thought, something he had ignored completely: however long it was, he couldn't remember at all the last time he had something to eat. With everything going on and all the thoughts inside his head, he hadn't noticed the gnawing feeling in his stomach. He groaned. Was there no food in this place? Surely the people here ate something.

He had only begun debating the manner when the door of his cell deactivated. Tai looked up, expecting to see Steele there. Instead it was the same burly, piggish guard Tai had run into not long ago when he met Rivin. Tai put the crumpled sneer on the guard's face together with the shackles the guard clasped in his right hand and felt his heart sink.


He squinted into the irises of blinding spotlights, climbing and clawing over each other to get the best view. All across the ceiling of the massive chamber, they shone down in feral anticipation and unblinking fascination. A sea of bodies writhed and flowed beneath the array of stinging neon script and brilliant white. The air was awash with alien tongues, chittering advertisements, laughter and swears. He squirmed, wishing he could cover his ears. His wrists tapped against the inside of the shackles, locked behind his back. Chains ran down to the shackles around his ankles, and into the ground. If he twitched too much in any direction, his balance wavered. Unable to move, unable to breathe under the weight of the noise and the light, he just stood and watched.

Spectators were milling about a large auditorium, looking over the newest stock. Tai watched most of them move right by, only pausing to sneer or make some remark in another language. His muscles shook from the weight of the shackles, but he lifted his chin as high as he could and sneered right back. If he craned his head, he could just see Steele standing not far away. He stood watching the crowd with a dull, distant look. Tai wondered how many times Steele had gone through this. There was a slight curl to Steele's lip as an alien came close, looking him up and down. Tai tried to stand up straight to see better, but the crowd shifted and blocked his view. He stared at their backs, frowning. Something moved out of the corner of his eye and he snapped his head back around.

There was a man standing in front of him. He was nicely dressed in a pressed old suit, and his greasy black hair had been slicked back over his balding skull. He wasn't much taller than Tai, but definitely broader. His browned, calloused hands spoke of a farmer more than an aristocrat. His chisel cut face was set into a calculating scowl, and his black eyes sized up Tai.

Tai gathered his strength to his chest and tried to match the man's strong glare. "What are you looking at?" he growled.

The thin line of his mouth twitched into a smirk. "Watch your tongue, boy, or I'll rip it out."

"With whose money?" Tai retorted.

The man's eyes sparkled with amusement. He stepped closer. His eyes strayed to Tai's side. He grabbed one of Tai's arms and pulled it out from behind him. Tai felt a sharp pain in his muscles as they strained against the pull of the shackles. He tried to wrench his arm away but the man held fast. "Thin, aren't you?" the man remarked. He squeezed Tai's arms, pulling at the muscles. "Bet you've done no real work in your life. No matter." He let Tai's arms fall back behind him. Tai winced. His hands moved to lift up Tai's shirt and Tai was hit with a wave of nausea and repulsion.

"How old are you, boy?" the man grunted, squeezing and poking at Tai's abdomen.

"Old enough not to be called 'boy'," he snarled. He jerked away from the man's cold fingers.

"Issat so?" The man sighed and let the shirt drop back. "At least you still got all yer organs…" he muttered. His hand fell and quickly pulled back the waist of Tai's pants. Flustered, Tai bent over as far as he could, trying to pull away. The man let go, grinning. "Yep, all of 'em." Tai felt his cheeks burn red. The man laughed and started to inspect Tai's face, pulling back his lips to examine his teeth and pulling open his jaw. Finally he stepped back, leaving Tai coughing. "Well boy, at least you ain't some used trash. That lip could use some adjustment, but that ain't hard to fix."

Tai shivered. The shackles felt heavier, pulling him down to the ground. "Fuck you," he spat.

The man grinned and turned away. Tai watched him go, sneering. The man disappeared into the crowd, and the sneer slid off Tai's face. Lethargy clouded his mind and his eyes drooped. Drained, he leaned against the wall behind him. His face still felt hot, his stomach was turning in circles, and his arms stung. The noise of the crowd started to drift together, and the ceiling slid, and he faded back into the recesses of his mind. He didn't look up again.