***
"Mesata for your thoughts?" a voice said, pulling Ben back to reality. Looking away from the view of Pioneer Two's skyline he'd been staring
out of aimlessly for the last ten minutes, he smiled slightly. Amy smiled back, standing in the hallway in a hospital gown.
"Actually, I wasn't thinking at all," he admitted. "They done with you already?"
"Not really," she replied, holding up her hands, both totally encased in a plastic cast. "They put on synth-skin and the like, but they want to
keep me in overnight. They're a little worried about how much damage that... stuff did."
"Ah. Yeah, I can see why," he admitted. "They looked pretty bad."
"Skin eaten away, flesh underneath badly scared and damaged... My knees are wrapped up too," she noted, hobbling over to a seat and sitting down
carefully. "I freaked out the doctors and staff pretty bad."
"How so?" he asked, sitting down next to her. Amy looked somewhat ill as she thought about it.
"They weren't really burns. Doctor Everett said the closest thing he'd seen to them was, well, digestion." Ben blinked, looking over at her.
"That place was, it was..." she looked over at him, still horrified. "It was eating me."
Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright," he said softly. "We're out of there, and there's no way we're going back in,
right?"
"I guess," she murmured, looking out the window, Ragol visible in the 'night' sky. "I've never been so scared before," she
admitted softly. "I've been a Hunter for five years, I've seen things that would make some people lock themselves in a room and never come out.
But when I saw into that things mind..." She closed her eyes, and Ben realized she was fighting back tears. "It was evil," she whispered.
"Pure evil given life. It was like it had been broken somehow, scattered. But it's waking up. Slowly but surely, it's regaining its
strength."
Slowly, not even totally realizing he was doing it, Ben slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "You saw all that?" he asked gently.
"One of the flaws of being a psyker," she replied, slightly bitter. "When something that powerful stirs in its sleep, you can see the
dreams."
"But it's still asleep," Ben said. "It won't last forever, and those idiots poking it probably made it worse, but we still have time. It
can be stopped."
"Yeah... the Hunter's Guild and the military are already moving. They'll want to debrief all of us, but they're going down to kill it
anyway." She opened her eyes. "I'm not going back down there."
"In your current condition, you wouldn't be going back down anyway," he pointed out.
"I mean Ragol. I'm not going back down there. I can't." Ben looked at her, slightly surprised. "I can't face that thing again, and
if I go back to Ragol, I'll have to." She looked up at him. "Maybe it's cowardly of me, but..." she shrugged. "I don't
know..."
"I don't blame you," he said. "I mean, I don't want to go down there again, and I didn't get the full dose of it. But to have
something like that on what will be your homeworld..."
She nodded, looking up at Ragol again. "I think I need to get away from here for a while," she commented. "See the stars, put some distance
between me and that thing."
"Well hey, you're always welcome on the Duskwalker," he offered. She glanced over at him and smiled.
"Thanks, but... don't you need to ask the Captain?"
"Hey, I know what Chris would say in this situation," he said, looking in the direction of the solid doors leading to the Operating Room.
"I'd say he'd be the first to offer you a place."
She smiled slightly. "Thanks Ben." The smile faded slightly. "Have they let you know anything yet?"
The man shook his head, taking his hand off her shoulder. "No, not yet. It's been nearly four hours, and no one's come out of there to tell me a
damn thing. I..." he closed his eyes for a moment. "I just wish I knew how he was doing..."
***
"Well, that did us a lot of good," Skuld muttered. "We spend ages getting grilled on that disaster, and they don't even have the decency to
tell us what the heck it was."
Optimal shrugged, walking along with his hands behind his head. "What'd you expect? The secret handshake and a look at the top secret files?"
Fiona snorted. "Right... whatever those idiots were messing with down there, I get the feeling your Guild doesn't want to share anything of what it
knows about it."
"Yeah, and I for one am more then happy to leave it that way," Noriko said. "As it is, I think I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of
my life." She shuddered. "Still, at least they're sending people down there to kill it."
"You think they can?" Skuld asked. "Kill it, I mean. From what little I heard from you and those evacuees, it was huge. After all, you were
inside it."
"If it's alive, it can be killed," Optimal said. "Now can we please change the subject?"
Fiona chuckled as they left the Guild headquarters and stepped out onto the street. "A little uncomfortable with the topic Optimal?"
"Heck yeah," he muttered. "I mean, it's bad enough I hardly got to do any good, but now Chris and Amy are in the hospital."
"I did tell you Ben called with news on Amy, right?" Skuld asked.
"You did tell me, but I'm still twitchy."
Noriko sighed. "Optimal, you always do this. During a mission you're all gun-happy, getting your fix of action and violence."
"Then comes the downward mood," Skuld continued. "You get all worried and grumpy, worrying about things you can't change." He looked at
them both, and chuckled.
"Well, I guess that's true."
"You guess?" Skuld grinned. She ignored the look he gave her as she approached the areas transporter. "Anyway, forget about all that," she
said as she entered the destination code for the Guild hospital. "Let's just see to the others and put this whole mess behind us."
Fiona nodded in agreement as they stepped on, vanishing into thin air. After they left, a figure stepped out of the shadows, looking at the machine for a
moment. The pale-skinned man walked away, pulling a phone out of his suit pocket and dialing. "Yes sir, it's me. I retrieved the data you requested.
I'm afraid your suspicions were correct in regards to the situation on Ragol. I also have some information on the Hunters involved." He paused for a
long moment. "Yes sir, there were several non-Ragolians that accompanied them. I'm attempting to learn what I can of them now. Yes sir. Of course,
I'll keep you fully informed." Ending the call, he slipped into the crowd, quickly vanishing.
***
"Fiona Lockley?"
The young woman turned from her conversation with Skuld to see a man in a postal workers uniform. "Yes, that's me," she said, slightly confused.
The man took a long package out of his bag. "Parcel for you. Sign here please."
She took the clipboard, signing it where he marked. "I can't see why I'd be getting a package," she said as the man walked off. "I mean,
I've only been on Ragol for a day."
"And before that, you were floating around in space," Skuld agreed. "Kind of odd."
"Not as odd as this," Fiona said a moment later as she opened the package. Reaching in, she pulled out a longword in a lightly decorated scabbard.
She studied it for a moment, placing the package on a nearby stand, undoing the cord around the hilt and drawing the blade. "Wow," she said, looking
at the silvery blade as it gleamed in the hallway lights.
"I'll say," Ben said, looking through the box and pulling out a card. "These were just the first steps into a very dangerous galaxy. May
this gift serve you and your friends well." He looked up. "No signature." He checked the box again and whistled, pulling out a small wad of
cash. "Damn... this looks like about ten grand."
"That should cover the repairs to the slip-point manifold, right?" Fiona smiled, sheathing the sword and retying the cord. Ben glanced at her,
surprised. "What? It's not like I've got any real use for it at the moment. I might as well pay my rent."
He laughed as he put the money away. "I wouldn't say you needed to pay rent, but if you insist... I'll make sure you get the rest back." She
smiled and nodded as a door behind them opened and Colm Lang stepped out. "Doc," Ben said, the good mood fading suddenly. Everyone gathered close.
"He'll be alright," Colm said after a moment, smiling at the sighs of relief "The claw damaged several major organs, but we were able to
repair most of the damage. The rest should heal naturally over time."
"Thank God," Fiona said, bowing her head.
"We suppressed his higher brain functions at the start of the operation," he continued. "It's set to wake him up in twenty hours. Until
then, I'm afraid you'll have to wait to see him."
"Thank you Colm," Ben said, shaking his hand.
"Hey, it's what they pay me for. Plus, you guys saved my life. It'd be rude not to return the favor. Now, I'd stay and chat more, but I'm
afraid I really need some coffee." Everyone laughed politely at that and stepped out of his way as he made his way towards the elevator.
"More or less good news," Noriko said, a delighted tone in his voice.
"Compared to a few hours ago, you bet," Amy agreed. "Mind you, now I'm left wondering about a few other things."
Fiona held up her sword. "Like my secret admirer?"
"Yeah, like that," she said. "How much do you think he knows about what happened on the surface?"
"Heck with that, who is he?" Optimal wondered. "I don't like people doing us favors in secret. It usually comes back to haunt you later
on."
Ben nodded in agreement, checking the box one last time, not finding anything new. "Anyone else hungry?" he asked.
***
Captain Gareth Angelos turned away from the impressive view of the devastated research facility to see the armored form of his commanding officer approach.
"Major. Good view, isn't it?"
Major Jack Anderson nodded slightly, looking out over the facility. "Not too bad," he said. "Shame about all the dead wildlife ruining it.
Still, you do get a good view of this place. High enough to see everything that goes on outside, far enough away to avoid casual detection." He looked at
Gareth, an amused look on his face. "Something tells me that's why you had me come here."
"Pretty much," the other man said. "There were two people here. They did a damn good job of covering their tracks, but..." he shrugged,
tapping a finger against his forehead. "There are times being a psyker has benefits."
"If you say so," Jack chuckled. "How long were they here for?"
"Several days at least," he replied. "There's a tiny bit of movement, and I think one of them left for a little while. And here's the
worrying bit. They only left an hour ago."
Jack blinked, looking over at him. "And we didn't see them go?"
"Heck, it's luck I picked up the psychic traces of them," Gareth admitted. "I noticed the wildlife seemed a bit nervous about coming around
this bit. It's some sort of ward, I think. I've left it in place until we can get a team down to study it."
Jack scowled, looking around. "Okay then, so any ideas just who was watching this place?"
He shrugged, kicking a small rock. "Not much I can tell you, besides the fact it wasn't human. Thought patterns were well and truly alien." The
majors scowl deepened as he looked out over the facility.
"Reports from the Hunter team sent down and the people going through the computers now both agree that the defense grid was sabotaged," he said.
"We were thinking it was an inside job. But this..."
"You think it was these two? Turn the turrets on the staff, drop the fence and let the wildlife in?" Jack nodded slightly. "But why?"
Gareth wondered.
"Because at the time, the transporter was linked to the underground," his CO replied. "The staff panic and head for the transporter, end up
underground. Contact with this facility is lost, the decision is made to contract the Guild. The Hunters they send find the parasite, and their superiors call
ours."
"And Ragols two biggest armed forces move to deal with the threat," the captain continued. "While the aliens sit back and watch us work. Little
risk, maximum gain." He swore softly. "We've been played."
"I'll talk to the Hunters, get one of their psy-study teams down here," Jack said, walking back towards the base. "I want to know who these
slaggers are."
***
Darkness shifted rapidly to a peaceful light. Chris opened his eyes carefully, studying the ceiling above him. Not finding much there worth looking at, he sat
up slowly, noting that there was much less pain then he would have expected, given his last memories. He looked around the small hospital room, noting that
he'd been lucky enough to get a one-bed room. "Not the penthouse, but workable," he chuckled, cutting it off with a wince. Pulling the blanket
away, his eyes widened at the mass of bandages and med-seals running across his torso. "Damn..." he managed.
"Indeed," said the doctor coming through the door. Chris recognized him from back in the caverns. Amy had called him... Colm? "You suffered
extensive internal injuries," he continued. "Damaged organs, internal bleeding... quite a long list that I doubt you want the full details on,"
he said with a smile.
Chris smiled back. "I was never fond of knowing just how bad off I was," he admitted. "Although I would expect it to hurt a lot more."
The Doctor tapped the side of his forehead. "We attached a neuroprocessor," he said. Chris reached up, his hand brushing over a small metal disc on
his left temple. "It's running a pain editor now."
"Beats being doped up on painkillers," Chris commented, rig before a small group came in around Colm, laughing and cheering. "Heya guys,"
he grinned. "Did I miss the paperwork?"
"Are you kidding?" Ben said, shaking his hand. "We used you as an excuse to put off doing it."
"Such compassion for the injured," his best friend replied as Fiona hugged him carefully.
"Yeah, pretty much," Ben agreed with a smile.
"You scared the hell out of us," Amy said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Chris noted the thick medical gloves she was wearing, not realizing
they'd been wrapped up a lot more until a few hours ago.
Still, it didn't stop him from commenting that, all things considered, he'd have preferred if she'd won the award for worst injury, which got a few
chuckles from the group.
Colm remained near the door, watching the scene with a slight smile on his face.
***
Ben was sitting in a chair, reading a book and half-listening to Chris as he talked on the phone. A slight smirk appeared on his face as Chris tried to explain
the situation to his mother.
"Well, I'm hardly dancing around, but I'm doing alright. Well, yeah, I do have a lot of plastics and synthetic flesh inside me," he admitted,
"but most of it will be taken out soon enough. No, there's no point in you... mum, you're a month away by starliner. By the time you get here, I
should be out of here. Well, yeah, there are faster ways to travel, but given how much they cost... mum, seriously, it does mean a lot to me that you'd be
willing to do it, but I'd rather you didn't hurt your bank accounts like that."
Chris continued to talk to his mother for another five minutes or so, before ending the call and placing the phone on the side table. "How'd she
sound?" Ben asked.
He shrugged. "About what you'd expect really. Upset, worried, panicky, relieved that I'm not dying, wanting to come and look after me but
admitting she's too far away." He thought about that for a long moment. "She didn't try and convince me to come home, even to visit."
Ben chuckled. "Well, she knows that if she started on that topic, you'd assume she was starting on the 'come home and have a safe life' thing
again. You'd get grumpy, she'd get offended, and then we get the argument the both of you try so hard to avoid." Chris nodded, accepting the
point, turning his attention back to the ceiling.
They sat there in silence for a little while longer, before Ben looked back up from his book. "Oh, and before I forget to ask... again, Amy was wondering
if she could come with us when we ship out." Chris glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm serious. She wants to get away from Ragol for a
bit, away from whatever the heck that thing down there was. So she was wondering if she could come with us."
"Crew, or passenger?" Chris asked. "Because having a Hunter on the crew could be useful."
"Actually, I didn't ask her about that," his friend chuckled. "I should have, but I got distracted. Knowing Amy though, she might not mind
doing a bit of work."
Nodding, Chris considered it. "Well, I'm more then happy to have her on board. Hell, extra pair of hands, good friend, and a chance for you to push
forward on the 'relationship' issue." Ben gave him a half-hearted glare, getting a laugh in return. "Yes sir, things are certainly going to
be interesting."
***
"Okay, move it over, easy, easy..."
"Careful, that's my hand."
"Ah, I'll get you another one," Ben grunted as he and Fiona carefully lowered a large part of the manifold onto a small grav platform. Wiping at
her forehead, Fiona tapped the platforms control panel, sending it back down to the docking bay floor far below them. "How many more of those are
there?" she asked.
"Another five," he replied, smiling at the groan he got in return. "Hey, you offered to help out."
"Yeah, I know. If I'm going to travel with you guys, I should earn my keep." She rolled her eyes. "Mind you, I was expecting an extra pair
of hands."
"So I'm a little late," came a call from the floor. Ben leaned over the edge of the lift to see Amy walking towards them, clad in some old work
clothes. "I got a call from the Guild on the way here. Had to stop off and talk to them."
"What about?" Ben asked, lowering the lift back to the ground.
"A few final things they wanted to go over one more time," she said. "The review board makes its final statement tomorrow at one."
"What have they really got to add?" Fiona wondered, opening the gate and hopping off the lift."I mean, they're not going to tell us what
that thing was, are they?"
The Ragolian shrugged. "I doubt it," she admitted."But hey, it's the way the world works. You guys were hired to do a job, so they need to
review everything."
"And then we get paid," Ben said with some satisfaction. "That part, I'm looking forward to," he added, grinning. The girls chuckled as
he pulled his gloves off. "So, how are the hands?"
Amy laughed. "Oh, they're just fine, thank you. But I don't need to stress them with heavy lifting, do I?" she asked.
"It is pretty much what we're doing today," Fiona said with a grin.
Shaking her head, Amy merely smiled. "No, I think I'll just exploit my natural advantages." Fiona blinked, slightly confused at Amys amusement,
before Ben tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the manifold block, now hovering a foot above its platform.
The young woman looked at it for a moment, then looked back at Amy in surprise. "You're a telekinetic?" she asked.
"Yeah... I thought you knew," Amy said, looking at Ben.
"I didn't mention it," he said. The Ragolian chuckled, looking amused. "I'd have thought one of us would've mentioned it," he
added. "That's not a problem is it?" he asked.
"Oh, no, of course not!" Fiona said. "I.. just took me by surprise, that's all." She looked over at Amy. "I thought you would have
used it in the fighting."
"Oh, I did," she smiled. "There's more to being a teek then just lifting stuff." Fiona considered that, then nodded, accepting the
point. "So. What's next?"
"We get back up there and pull out more manifold parts," Ben said, climbing back on the lift.
***
It took nearly a month for Chris to be discharged from hospital, his body having slowly been knitted back together. In that time, Duskwalker had been given
some much needed repairs to the slip-space manifold (Along with some mock-complaints from Ben about Chris slacking off), Fiona and Amy had used the chance to
actually clean out the dirt and grime, both agreeing that if they were going to live there, it might as well be good to look at, and Ben had managed to track
down a transport run that would take them in the direction of New Wales.
At the same time, they were all called to testify at Justin Osbourne's trial, the Ragol government getting it done in almost total secrecy and record time.
It seemed that they had a very dim view on people foolish enough to break the underground restrictions and wake up whatever was slumbering down there.
Much to the frustration of Chris, Fiona, Skuld and at least several other people, Amy and Ben seemed to still be lingering at the same point in their
friendship. Chris made a note to see what he could do about that once they were in deep space.
Eventually though, the time came for them to move on. After saying their final farewells to their friends, the now four strong crew (Five, if you counted Amys
Mag) closed Duskwalkers cargo bay doors and headed up to the control room.
"I still can't believe you installed air fresheners," Ben muttered as he dropped into the pilots chair, hands darting over the dozens of switches
to his right.
"What? This place smelt too... musty," Fiona mused.
"I liked that smell. It was peaceful."
"You did get something other then strawberry, right?" Chris asked. "I hate strawberries."
"Everyone's a critic," Amy chuckled at the comm station. "Ragol ATC, this is Duskwalker, requesting departure clearance..."
Five minutes later, the bulky ship was pulling away from Pioneer Two slowly, taking a wide arc around the planet to enjoy the view one last time.
"You know, that thing's still down there," Ben mused.
"Doesn't ruin the view," Amy said. "Besides, it may be powerful, but it's up against a lot of resistance." She smiled.
"We'll claim our world."
"Well, in the meantime, let's see what other worlds are out there," Chris commented. "Ben, set a course for the slip-space limit."
"You got it Captain," Ben said, adjusting the throttle. Engines glowing, Duskwalker dived into the void.
***
Duskwalker
By Chris Wood
Starring
(In Order of Appearance)
Ben Cook
Chris Wood
Fiona Lockley
Amy Rose
Skuld Ellison
Noriko
Optimal
Colm Lang
Justin Osbourne
Gareth Angelos
Jack Anderson
Along with some nameless Extras
Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Story-Either
Big Daddy
With Thanks To
Optimal Megatron
Unicorna
Sofaspud
And all my other fans (All six or seven of you
)
The crew of Duskwalker will return in 'Duskwalker: Homecoming'
2006, reposted 2009
"Mesata for your thoughts?" a voice said, pulling Ben back to reality. Looking away from the view of Pioneer Two's skyline he'd been staring
out of aimlessly for the last ten minutes, he smiled slightly. Amy smiled back, standing in the hallway in a hospital gown.
"Actually, I wasn't thinking at all," he admitted. "They done with you already?"
"Not really," she replied, holding up her hands, both totally encased in a plastic cast. "They put on synth-skin and the like, but they want to
keep me in overnight. They're a little worried about how much damage that... stuff did."
"Ah. Yeah, I can see why," he admitted. "They looked pretty bad."
"Skin eaten away, flesh underneath badly scared and damaged... My knees are wrapped up too," she noted, hobbling over to a seat and sitting down
carefully. "I freaked out the doctors and staff pretty bad."
"How so?" he asked, sitting down next to her. Amy looked somewhat ill as she thought about it.
"They weren't really burns. Doctor Everett said the closest thing he'd seen to them was, well, digestion." Ben blinked, looking over at her.
"That place was, it was..." she looked over at him, still horrified. "It was eating me."
Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright," he said softly. "We're out of there, and there's no way we're going back in,
right?"
"I guess," she murmured, looking out the window, Ragol visible in the 'night' sky. "I've never been so scared before," she
admitted softly. "I've been a Hunter for five years, I've seen things that would make some people lock themselves in a room and never come out.
But when I saw into that things mind..." She closed her eyes, and Ben realized she was fighting back tears. "It was evil," she whispered.
"Pure evil given life. It was like it had been broken somehow, scattered. But it's waking up. Slowly but surely, it's regaining its
strength."
Slowly, not even totally realizing he was doing it, Ben slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "You saw all that?" he asked gently.
"One of the flaws of being a psyker," she replied, slightly bitter. "When something that powerful stirs in its sleep, you can see the
dreams."
"But it's still asleep," Ben said. "It won't last forever, and those idiots poking it probably made it worse, but we still have time. It
can be stopped."
"Yeah... the Hunter's Guild and the military are already moving. They'll want to debrief all of us, but they're going down to kill it
anyway." She opened her eyes. "I'm not going back down there."
"In your current condition, you wouldn't be going back down anyway," he pointed out.
"I mean Ragol. I'm not going back down there. I can't." Ben looked at her, slightly surprised. "I can't face that thing again, and
if I go back to Ragol, I'll have to." She looked up at him. "Maybe it's cowardly of me, but..." she shrugged. "I don't
know..."
"I don't blame you," he said. "I mean, I don't want to go down there again, and I didn't get the full dose of it. But to have
something like that on what will be your homeworld..."
She nodded, looking up at Ragol again. "I think I need to get away from here for a while," she commented. "See the stars, put some distance
between me and that thing."
"Well hey, you're always welcome on the Duskwalker," he offered. She glanced over at him and smiled.
"Thanks, but... don't you need to ask the Captain?"
"Hey, I know what Chris would say in this situation," he said, looking in the direction of the solid doors leading to the Operating Room.
"I'd say he'd be the first to offer you a place."
She smiled slightly. "Thanks Ben." The smile faded slightly. "Have they let you know anything yet?"
The man shook his head, taking his hand off her shoulder. "No, not yet. It's been nearly four hours, and no one's come out of there to tell me a
damn thing. I..." he closed his eyes for a moment. "I just wish I knew how he was doing..."
***
"Well, that did us a lot of good," Skuld muttered. "We spend ages getting grilled on that disaster, and they don't even have the decency to
tell us what the heck it was."
Optimal shrugged, walking along with his hands behind his head. "What'd you expect? The secret handshake and a look at the top secret files?"
Fiona snorted. "Right... whatever those idiots were messing with down there, I get the feeling your Guild doesn't want to share anything of what it
knows about it."
"Yeah, and I for one am more then happy to leave it that way," Noriko said. "As it is, I think I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of
my life." She shuddered. "Still, at least they're sending people down there to kill it."
"You think they can?" Skuld asked. "Kill it, I mean. From what little I heard from you and those evacuees, it was huge. After all, you were
inside it."
"If it's alive, it can be killed," Optimal said. "Now can we please change the subject?"
Fiona chuckled as they left the Guild headquarters and stepped out onto the street. "A little uncomfortable with the topic Optimal?"
"Heck yeah," he muttered. "I mean, it's bad enough I hardly got to do any good, but now Chris and Amy are in the hospital."
"I did tell you Ben called with news on Amy, right?" Skuld asked.
"You did tell me, but I'm still twitchy."
Noriko sighed. "Optimal, you always do this. During a mission you're all gun-happy, getting your fix of action and violence."
"Then comes the downward mood," Skuld continued. "You get all worried and grumpy, worrying about things you can't change." He looked at
them both, and chuckled.
"Well, I guess that's true."
"You guess?" Skuld grinned. She ignored the look he gave her as she approached the areas transporter. "Anyway, forget about all that," she
said as she entered the destination code for the Guild hospital. "Let's just see to the others and put this whole mess behind us."
Fiona nodded in agreement as they stepped on, vanishing into thin air. After they left, a figure stepped out of the shadows, looking at the machine for a
moment. The pale-skinned man walked away, pulling a phone out of his suit pocket and dialing. "Yes sir, it's me. I retrieved the data you requested.
I'm afraid your suspicions were correct in regards to the situation on Ragol. I also have some information on the Hunters involved." He paused for a
long moment. "Yes sir, there were several non-Ragolians that accompanied them. I'm attempting to learn what I can of them now. Yes sir. Of course,
I'll keep you fully informed." Ending the call, he slipped into the crowd, quickly vanishing.
***
"Fiona Lockley?"
The young woman turned from her conversation with Skuld to see a man in a postal workers uniform. "Yes, that's me," she said, slightly confused.
The man took a long package out of his bag. "Parcel for you. Sign here please."
She took the clipboard, signing it where he marked. "I can't see why I'd be getting a package," she said as the man walked off. "I mean,
I've only been on Ragol for a day."
"And before that, you were floating around in space," Skuld agreed. "Kind of odd."
"Not as odd as this," Fiona said a moment later as she opened the package. Reaching in, she pulled out a longword in a lightly decorated scabbard.
She studied it for a moment, placing the package on a nearby stand, undoing the cord around the hilt and drawing the blade. "Wow," she said, looking
at the silvery blade as it gleamed in the hallway lights.
"I'll say," Ben said, looking through the box and pulling out a card. "These were just the first steps into a very dangerous galaxy. May
this gift serve you and your friends well." He looked up. "No signature." He checked the box again and whistled, pulling out a small wad of
cash. "Damn... this looks like about ten grand."
"That should cover the repairs to the slip-point manifold, right?" Fiona smiled, sheathing the sword and retying the cord. Ben glanced at her,
surprised. "What? It's not like I've got any real use for it at the moment. I might as well pay my rent."
He laughed as he put the money away. "I wouldn't say you needed to pay rent, but if you insist... I'll make sure you get the rest back." She
smiled and nodded as a door behind them opened and Colm Lang stepped out. "Doc," Ben said, the good mood fading suddenly. Everyone gathered close.
"He'll be alright," Colm said after a moment, smiling at the sighs of relief "The claw damaged several major organs, but we were able to
repair most of the damage. The rest should heal naturally over time."
"Thank God," Fiona said, bowing her head.
"We suppressed his higher brain functions at the start of the operation," he continued. "It's set to wake him up in twenty hours. Until
then, I'm afraid you'll have to wait to see him."
"Thank you Colm," Ben said, shaking his hand.
"Hey, it's what they pay me for. Plus, you guys saved my life. It'd be rude not to return the favor. Now, I'd stay and chat more, but I'm
afraid I really need some coffee." Everyone laughed politely at that and stepped out of his way as he made his way towards the elevator.
"More or less good news," Noriko said, a delighted tone in his voice.
"Compared to a few hours ago, you bet," Amy agreed. "Mind you, now I'm left wondering about a few other things."
Fiona held up her sword. "Like my secret admirer?"
"Yeah, like that," she said. "How much do you think he knows about what happened on the surface?"
"Heck with that, who is he?" Optimal wondered. "I don't like people doing us favors in secret. It usually comes back to haunt you later
on."
Ben nodded in agreement, checking the box one last time, not finding anything new. "Anyone else hungry?" he asked.
***
Captain Gareth Angelos turned away from the impressive view of the devastated research facility to see the armored form of his commanding officer approach.
"Major. Good view, isn't it?"
Major Jack Anderson nodded slightly, looking out over the facility. "Not too bad," he said. "Shame about all the dead wildlife ruining it.
Still, you do get a good view of this place. High enough to see everything that goes on outside, far enough away to avoid casual detection." He looked at
Gareth, an amused look on his face. "Something tells me that's why you had me come here."
"Pretty much," the other man said. "There were two people here. They did a damn good job of covering their tracks, but..." he shrugged,
tapping a finger against his forehead. "There are times being a psyker has benefits."
"If you say so," Jack chuckled. "How long were they here for?"
"Several days at least," he replied. "There's a tiny bit of movement, and I think one of them left for a little while. And here's the
worrying bit. They only left an hour ago."
Jack blinked, looking over at him. "And we didn't see them go?"
"Heck, it's luck I picked up the psychic traces of them," Gareth admitted. "I noticed the wildlife seemed a bit nervous about coming around
this bit. It's some sort of ward, I think. I've left it in place until we can get a team down to study it."
Jack scowled, looking around. "Okay then, so any ideas just who was watching this place?"
He shrugged, kicking a small rock. "Not much I can tell you, besides the fact it wasn't human. Thought patterns were well and truly alien." The
majors scowl deepened as he looked out over the facility.
"Reports from the Hunter team sent down and the people going through the computers now both agree that the defense grid was sabotaged," he said.
"We were thinking it was an inside job. But this..."
"You think it was these two? Turn the turrets on the staff, drop the fence and let the wildlife in?" Jack nodded slightly. "But why?"
Gareth wondered.
"Because at the time, the transporter was linked to the underground," his CO replied. "The staff panic and head for the transporter, end up
underground. Contact with this facility is lost, the decision is made to contract the Guild. The Hunters they send find the parasite, and their superiors call
ours."
"And Ragols two biggest armed forces move to deal with the threat," the captain continued. "While the aliens sit back and watch us work. Little
risk, maximum gain." He swore softly. "We've been played."
"I'll talk to the Hunters, get one of their psy-study teams down here," Jack said, walking back towards the base. "I want to know who these
slaggers are."
***
Darkness shifted rapidly to a peaceful light. Chris opened his eyes carefully, studying the ceiling above him. Not finding much there worth looking at, he sat
up slowly, noting that there was much less pain then he would have expected, given his last memories. He looked around the small hospital room, noting that
he'd been lucky enough to get a one-bed room. "Not the penthouse, but workable," he chuckled, cutting it off with a wince. Pulling the blanket
away, his eyes widened at the mass of bandages and med-seals running across his torso. "Damn..." he managed.
"Indeed," said the doctor coming through the door. Chris recognized him from back in the caverns. Amy had called him... Colm? "You suffered
extensive internal injuries," he continued. "Damaged organs, internal bleeding... quite a long list that I doubt you want the full details on,"
he said with a smile.
Chris smiled back. "I was never fond of knowing just how bad off I was," he admitted. "Although I would expect it to hurt a lot more."
The Doctor tapped the side of his forehead. "We attached a neuroprocessor," he said. Chris reached up, his hand brushing over a small metal disc on
his left temple. "It's running a pain editor now."
"Beats being doped up on painkillers," Chris commented, rig before a small group came in around Colm, laughing and cheering. "Heya guys,"
he grinned. "Did I miss the paperwork?"
"Are you kidding?" Ben said, shaking his hand. "We used you as an excuse to put off doing it."
"Such compassion for the injured," his best friend replied as Fiona hugged him carefully.
"Yeah, pretty much," Ben agreed with a smile.
"You scared the hell out of us," Amy said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Chris noted the thick medical gloves she was wearing, not realizing
they'd been wrapped up a lot more until a few hours ago.
Still, it didn't stop him from commenting that, all things considered, he'd have preferred if she'd won the award for worst injury, which got a few
chuckles from the group.
Colm remained near the door, watching the scene with a slight smile on his face.
***
Ben was sitting in a chair, reading a book and half-listening to Chris as he talked on the phone. A slight smirk appeared on his face as Chris tried to explain
the situation to his mother.
"Well, I'm hardly dancing around, but I'm doing alright. Well, yeah, I do have a lot of plastics and synthetic flesh inside me," he admitted,
"but most of it will be taken out soon enough. No, there's no point in you... mum, you're a month away by starliner. By the time you get here, I
should be out of here. Well, yeah, there are faster ways to travel, but given how much they cost... mum, seriously, it does mean a lot to me that you'd be
willing to do it, but I'd rather you didn't hurt your bank accounts like that."
Chris continued to talk to his mother for another five minutes or so, before ending the call and placing the phone on the side table. "How'd she
sound?" Ben asked.
He shrugged. "About what you'd expect really. Upset, worried, panicky, relieved that I'm not dying, wanting to come and look after me but
admitting she's too far away." He thought about that for a long moment. "She didn't try and convince me to come home, even to visit."
Ben chuckled. "Well, she knows that if she started on that topic, you'd assume she was starting on the 'come home and have a safe life' thing
again. You'd get grumpy, she'd get offended, and then we get the argument the both of you try so hard to avoid." Chris nodded, accepting the
point, turning his attention back to the ceiling.
They sat there in silence for a little while longer, before Ben looked back up from his book. "Oh, and before I forget to ask... again, Amy was wondering
if she could come with us when we ship out." Chris glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm serious. She wants to get away from Ragol for a
bit, away from whatever the heck that thing down there was. So she was wondering if she could come with us."
"Crew, or passenger?" Chris asked. "Because having a Hunter on the crew could be useful."
"Actually, I didn't ask her about that," his friend chuckled. "I should have, but I got distracted. Knowing Amy though, she might not mind
doing a bit of work."
Nodding, Chris considered it. "Well, I'm more then happy to have her on board. Hell, extra pair of hands, good friend, and a chance for you to push
forward on the 'relationship' issue." Ben gave him a half-hearted glare, getting a laugh in return. "Yes sir, things are certainly going to
be interesting."
***
"Okay, move it over, easy, easy..."
"Careful, that's my hand."
"Ah, I'll get you another one," Ben grunted as he and Fiona carefully lowered a large part of the manifold onto a small grav platform. Wiping at
her forehead, Fiona tapped the platforms control panel, sending it back down to the docking bay floor far below them. "How many more of those are
there?" she asked.
"Another five," he replied, smiling at the groan he got in return. "Hey, you offered to help out."
"Yeah, I know. If I'm going to travel with you guys, I should earn my keep." She rolled her eyes. "Mind you, I was expecting an extra pair
of hands."
"So I'm a little late," came a call from the floor. Ben leaned over the edge of the lift to see Amy walking towards them, clad in some old work
clothes. "I got a call from the Guild on the way here. Had to stop off and talk to them."
"What about?" Ben asked, lowering the lift back to the ground.
"A few final things they wanted to go over one more time," she said. "The review board makes its final statement tomorrow at one."
"What have they really got to add?" Fiona wondered, opening the gate and hopping off the lift."I mean, they're not going to tell us what
that thing was, are they?"
The Ragolian shrugged. "I doubt it," she admitted."But hey, it's the way the world works. You guys were hired to do a job, so they need to
review everything."
"And then we get paid," Ben said with some satisfaction. "That part, I'm looking forward to," he added, grinning. The girls chuckled as
he pulled his gloves off. "So, how are the hands?"
Amy laughed. "Oh, they're just fine, thank you. But I don't need to stress them with heavy lifting, do I?" she asked.
"It is pretty much what we're doing today," Fiona said with a grin.
Shaking her head, Amy merely smiled. "No, I think I'll just exploit my natural advantages." Fiona blinked, slightly confused at Amys amusement,
before Ben tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the manifold block, now hovering a foot above its platform.
The young woman looked at it for a moment, then looked back at Amy in surprise. "You're a telekinetic?" she asked.
"Yeah... I thought you knew," Amy said, looking at Ben.
"I didn't mention it," he said. The Ragolian chuckled, looking amused. "I'd have thought one of us would've mentioned it," he
added. "That's not a problem is it?" he asked.
"Oh, no, of course not!" Fiona said. "I.. just took me by surprise, that's all." She looked over at Amy. "I thought you would have
used it in the fighting."
"Oh, I did," she smiled. "There's more to being a teek then just lifting stuff." Fiona considered that, then nodded, accepting the
point. "So. What's next?"
"We get back up there and pull out more manifold parts," Ben said, climbing back on the lift.
***
It took nearly a month for Chris to be discharged from hospital, his body having slowly been knitted back together. In that time, Duskwalker had been given
some much needed repairs to the slip-space manifold (Along with some mock-complaints from Ben about Chris slacking off), Fiona and Amy had used the chance to
actually clean out the dirt and grime, both agreeing that if they were going to live there, it might as well be good to look at, and Ben had managed to track
down a transport run that would take them in the direction of New Wales.
At the same time, they were all called to testify at Justin Osbourne's trial, the Ragol government getting it done in almost total secrecy and record time.
It seemed that they had a very dim view on people foolish enough to break the underground restrictions and wake up whatever was slumbering down there.
Much to the frustration of Chris, Fiona, Skuld and at least several other people, Amy and Ben seemed to still be lingering at the same point in their
friendship. Chris made a note to see what he could do about that once they were in deep space.
Eventually though, the time came for them to move on. After saying their final farewells to their friends, the now four strong crew (Five, if you counted Amys
Mag) closed Duskwalkers cargo bay doors and headed up to the control room.
"I still can't believe you installed air fresheners," Ben muttered as he dropped into the pilots chair, hands darting over the dozens of switches
to his right.
"What? This place smelt too... musty," Fiona mused.
"I liked that smell. It was peaceful."
"You did get something other then strawberry, right?" Chris asked. "I hate strawberries."
"Everyone's a critic," Amy chuckled at the comm station. "Ragol ATC, this is Duskwalker, requesting departure clearance..."
Five minutes later, the bulky ship was pulling away from Pioneer Two slowly, taking a wide arc around the planet to enjoy the view one last time.
"You know, that thing's still down there," Ben mused.
"Doesn't ruin the view," Amy said. "Besides, it may be powerful, but it's up against a lot of resistance." She smiled.
"We'll claim our world."
"Well, in the meantime, let's see what other worlds are out there," Chris commented. "Ben, set a course for the slip-space limit."
"You got it Captain," Ben said, adjusting the throttle. Engines glowing, Duskwalker dived into the void.
***
Duskwalker
By Chris Wood
Starring
(In Order of Appearance)
Ben Cook
Chris Wood
Fiona Lockley
Amy Rose
Skuld Ellison
Noriko
Optimal
Colm Lang
Justin Osbourne
Gareth Angelos
Jack Anderson
Along with some nameless Extras
Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Story-Either
Big Daddy
With Thanks To
Optimal Megatron
Unicorna
Sofaspud
And all my other fans (All six or seven of you
)The crew of Duskwalker will return in 'Duskwalker: Homecoming'
2006, reposted 2009