Maggie
Driok is, as usual, completely full of himself. But I can’t exactly say he’s not competent. After all, he has this huge space ship, his warriors seem extremely well trained, and he had a plan, which is more than can be said for other Sarkarnii warlords I’ve come across.
I go with him, through the ship and a series of airlocks. In one, he picks up a bag and slings it over his shoulder with a wink at me.
“Sometimes it’s not always possible to change into my Sarkarnii form.” He pats the bag. “Which is where these come in useful.” He stows his big ray gun rifle inside.
“Any chance I can have a weapon?”
Driok narrows his eyes.
“I know how to use a pulsar pistol. Kerra taught me.”
“Who is Kerra?”
I glare at him. “She’s one of my friends. One of the other human females.”
Driok nods as if he was just making sure, and not that he hadn’t a clue what my friends’ names are. He studies my face for a while, then puts his hand in the bag, bringing out a tiny pulsar pistol and handing it to me. I check it over and then slide it into my pocket without a word.
Is that a growl I hear? I’m not sure. All I know is Driok turns his back, and I follow him through the final airlock where a hot breath of wind hits my face filled with a myriad of smells.
Quite a lot of them are…not good.
I cover my face with my hand.
“Where the hell have you brought me?” I look at Driok as the airlock opens further and the outside reveals itself.
“This is Szorn, and it is the ass end of this universe,” Driok replies.
“You sure know how to show a girl a good time,” I respond, my voice muffled by my hand and my stomach churning.
I rather wish I hadn’t had the fee now.
“Here.” Driok hands me a small folded thing which looks like plastic.
I take it from him with my free hand and shake it out.
“Use it to cover your face,” he says.
I wrinkle my nose, but what other options do I have?
I doubt very much I’m leaving the ship if the rest of the planet smells like this.
I slap the thing on my face, feeling for the elastic which will go over my ears, but there’s nothing.
I slide my hands around and find it is…stuck.
But the best thing? I can’t smell anything anymore.
“Does it work for you?” Driok asks.
“It does, or you’d be leaving me behind.”
“Good,” Driok replies. “Szorn is an appalling place, but it is the place we need to be.”
“In my experience, that’s how things always go,” I grumble as I follow Driok out of the airlock and onto the ash-grey surface.
We appear to be a long way from anywhere, but past a heat haze, I see buildings in the distance.
“What now?”
“For now, we are keeping our Sarkarnii sides to ourselves,” Driok says. “So, we get to travel a different way.”
I can’t deny I’m slightly disappointed at not being able to fly with him again.
Driok presses his thumb on his comm, and there’s a soft metallic whooshing sound.
I look around to see two sleek craft skimming the ground towards us.
They look like a motorcycle and a blimp had a baby and then dipped it in chrome.
“You expect me to ride one of these?”
“I don’t just expect you, I’m sure you will.” Driok gives me a knicker melting grin. “You are my little spitfire and you can do anything.”
His words catch me off guard. I wasn’t expecting a compliment. For a moment, my lungs stop working.
And then life rushes to catch up with me. The grey planet, the ground underneath which looks like it’s desiccated bone, the stench I fortunately cannot smell anymore. The Sarkarnii warlord who isn’t treating me like a china doll, easily broken.
“Okay.” I smile back. “Let’s go!”
I jump astride the nearest machine, and I’m faced with a range of controls which are completely alien. Driok leans over me, and I find I’m missing the spicy, smoky scent which usually accompanies him because I’m wearing the mask.
“This makes it go.” He presses a huge digit tipped with a claw on the screen, which lights up. “This controls the speed.” He points at the lefthand panel. “Just put your hand on it and drag it up or down.”
“Seems pretty easy,” I reply. “How do I steer?”
Driok opens a hidden chamber at the front of the craft and extracts something which looks like a head band, which he wraps around my forehead.
“Just think where you want to go, and it will follow.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Driok strides over to his space bike and puts on his head band. Somehow he makes it look cool. I probably look like a leftover from the seventies. He slings his bag of weapons behind the seat and climbs on.
“Watch me, little mate. Then you try.”
The craft hums to life, and Driok shoots off, moving from left to right before coming to a halt.
“How hard can this be?” I press on the screen to start it up and then move my hand to increase the speed.
Looking ahead, I start to move, and as I think about going left, I go left. I think about going right, and I go right. I laugh out loud.
“Are you ready?” Driok asks. I nod, far too excited to say anything. “Then follow me,” he says. “To victory.”