First Awakenings

Chapter 1-2

Kella Ta’Qui slid her blade along the thick skin of the guard’s neck. She released the limp body and stepped back into the shadows, scanning the area to make sure there were no more surprises. The guard must have been patrolling the outer perimeter. He had been further than she expected from the tower and hidden from view among the rocks.

They had startled each other when she stepped around the outcropping where he had taken refuge from the rain. She had recovered faster, kicking the laser rifle out of his hands, but he had countered with a stab to her side. The fight had been short but vicious.

Blood dripped from the wound in her side. Kella slid her fingers into the small pouch on the belt around her waist and pulled out a medicated patch. She pressed the cloth to her side. Heat flared against her skin, drawing a soft hiss from her. Activated by her blood, the chemical in the cloth cauterized the torn flesh and temporarily stopped the bleeding. She would have to wait until she returned to her ship to do a more permanent treatment.

She bent and stripped the uniform off the guard’s body. The uniform was too big, but by slipping it over her clothing it helped her look bulkier. She fastened her own belt under the one she had taken from the guard to keep the clothing in place. Next, she pulled the guard’s helmet off, slid it over her head, and adjusted the view inside. After checking to make sure her black hair was hidden inside the helmet, she picked up the laser rifle lying at her feet and checked to make sure it was charged and working properly.

Once she was satisfied the uniform would adequately conceal her identity, Kella activated the computer inside the helmet. A quick scan gave her the information she desired. She turned her attention to her next target. The guard was standing on the bridge several meters above her current position.

She used the crevices and large boulders in the rocky incline to conceal her presence. She turned her head in slow, measured movements. The sensors in the helmet scanned the area. She paused when she saw a series of red security beams crisscross the front entrance of the tower above. She would deal with them once she cleared the two guards standing on either side of the beams.

Kella climbed up the last stretch of rocks, using the bad weather and darkness to help conceal her presence in the otherwise open area. Sprinting, she crossed the uneven ground and used the bridge to conceal her from the guards above. She knelt and prepared for the next part of her mission. Slipping on a pair of magnetic hand grips from her belt, she adjusted them before she activated the power. She stood up and lifted her arms over her head. The magnetic fields reacted to the electrical charge in the grips and her body rose off the ground as her hands were pulled to the underside of the bridge.

Swinging from one hand to the other, Kella moved under the line of soldiers patrolling the bridge. She would never have made it unnoticed through all of them without the magnetic grips. In the end, she would only need to make it through the security grid near the entrance. At least, that was what she thought until she saw the large conduit where the electrical and water lines entered the tower. It would be a tight fit, but it would get her inside.

Her arms felt like lead by the time she reached the end of the bridge. Kella paused, staring up through the metal slats as a dozen soldiers walked in formation out of the tower. Once they passed, she took advantage of the noise from their boots stomping on the metal slats and the closing of the doors to release the magnetic grips and drop down onto one of the large pipes. She bent forward, barely catching herself when she slid on the damp, curved surface. Her gaze flickered to the side. The tower complex was positioned hundreds of kilometers above the rocky surface of the planet. If she fell, there would be nothing to stop her descent.

Kella pushed up, ignoring everything around her, then crossed the short stretch of pipe to the opening. She climbed inside and began crawling. Her gaze flickered to the different command functions inside the helmet. She narrowed in on the night vision mode, activated it before she switched to the schematic of the tower downloaded into the helmet.

Reaching the end of the crawl space, she slid down behind a cluster of storage barrels. Her eyes narrowed when she saw someone move in the shadows on the other side of the open area beyond the barrels. Her lips tightened before she forced her body to relax. The sound of an alarm alerted her to the fact that security had been informed of a breach.

Kella waited until a large group of soldiers ran by before stepping out. She adjusted the uniform and walked at a brisk pace to the lifts. Stepping inside, she turned, holding her weapon in front of her. The other assassin started across the open area, heading in the direction she had just vacated. Kella raised the weapon she was holding and fired, striking the man in the side just as the doors to the lift closed.

“Bridge,” she ordered.

The lift quickly ascended the long center support column. Kella checked the weapon before bracing it against her shoulder in preparation for the doors opening. She widened her stance when the lift slowed to a stop. The moment the doors opened, she began firing. Within seconds, the six people inside the bridge were no longer a threat.

She stepped out of the lift, turned her attention to the thick metal doors to her right, and pulled a small disk from her belt. She tossed it at the doors as she stepped to the side. The flashing light sped up before the small chemical pack exploded, coating the doors in a film that super-heated the metal. Kella stepped closer and fired once at the doors. That was all it took for them to explode inward.

Stepping through the smoke, she aimed her weapon at the two individuals inside. The caustic smoke had them coughing into their sleeves. Kella focused on the first male, her finger tightening on the trigger.

“Enough! Stand down, mission complete,” a loud voice ordered.

“Now, assassin,” the voice of her handler ordered.

Frustration and indecision poured through Kella. Her finger trembled on the trigger. With a curse, she lowered her weapon and stepped to the side.

“My mission was to eliminate them,” Kella stated.

“You have achieved your mission,” her handler stated.

Kella shook her head. “They are still alive,” she retorted.

“Yes, Kella, and they will remain that way. Your mission is a success. You are ready.”

Kella turned when she heard the voice of her mentor, Tallei. She reached up and removed her helmet. She knew her eyes were flashing with rage as she glared at the two men.

“They are still alive,” Kella stated in a slow, even tone.

Tallei stared at her. The single black pupil that returned her gaze showed no emotion. Kella barely saw the hand that moved. The two men behind Kella collapsed to the floor, two dark scorch marks marring the center of each man’s chest.

“Your mission is complete,” Tallei stated before lowering her laser pistol. “You have a new assignment waiting for you.”

“When do I leave?” Kella asked.

“Immediately,” Tallei replied. “You will be briefed on the mission after you have departed.”

Kella bowed her head. She started forward, pausing when her mentor didn’t step aside so she could pass. The tall, thin Turbinta pushed back the hood of her charcoal gray cloak to reveal her face. A maze of scars crossed the older woman’s pale green face. Tallei’s left pupil was white, while the right was as dark as a black hole except for the slight dot of red reflected from the overhead lights.

Kella’s smooth, forest green skin and clear, dark brown eyes were a sharp contrast. While she and her mentor were both Turbinta, the name did not refer to their species as much as it did to what they were – assassins. Kella did not know or care what species she was. She had long since accepted that it didn’t matter. She was taken as a child by Tallei to be mentored in the ways of the Turbinta, and that was who she was now.

“Do not fail this mission, Kella,” Tallei said.

Kella heard the warning. She knew that an assassin who could not complete a mission was of little use and a threat to the reputation of all Turbintas. If Kella failed, and survived, Tallei would come after her. Bowing her head in acknowledgement, Kella waited until Tallei stepped to the side.

She returned the way she came, ignoring the soldiers who had returned to their posts. This tower was used for the final training session of the assassins. The soldiers would be sent for reconditioning. Their failure to stop the assassination of the two members at the top of the tower was unacceptable. Each move Kella had made would be reviewed and analyzed. Then, additional measures would be taken to make it more difficult for future students in training.

It wouldn’t matter to Kella. A satisfied smile curved her lips. She succeeded where the others had failed. She lived. Her gaze moved to the body of the man she shot. She didn’t know him. He came from another tribe on Turbinta. If she had not killed him, he would have killed her. It was the way of their kind. They lived by the code of the mission: kill or be killed. There was only safety within your own tribe, and there was no guarantee even there that one might not be killed out of jealousy or fear.

She strode out of the tower, crossed the bridge, and began scaling the side of the cliff back to her ship. It took her almost two treacherous hours due to the pouring rain. The rocks were slippery and minor avalanches forced her to detour several times. After climbing down the last few meters, Kella staggered forward and activated the back platform of her ship. She stumbled up the platform into the cool, dry interior. Pressing her hand against the platform control button, she was thankful it closed all the way, especially since it had a history of sticking.

Only when she was safe did she lean against the door and release her tight hold on the pain piercing her body from the wound in her side. From the amount of blood dampening the outer uniform she not only ripped the wound open again, but it was deeper than she’d realized.

Pressing one hand against her side and the other against the cold metal of the door, she pushed off and stumbled across the cargo bay. Her spacecraft was a small, converted freight hauler. She purchased it with the credits she earned working at the local bar Tallei owned, serving those brave enough to venture into the Turbinta region.

“Ah, assassin’s blood, how could I have been so stupid!” Kella hissed when she stumbled again.

She focused on her feet as they carried her down the short corridor to her bedroom. After stepping into her cabin, she unhooked both belts, peeled the guard’s uniform off and kicked it aside. It was a little more challenging to pull off her black, form-fitting top. Spots danced in her vision and she gritted her teeth to keep from passing out. After tugging it over her head, she tossed the blood-soaked shirt to the side.

A violent shiver ran through her. Kella knew it was a combination of shock and the frigid air inside the freighter. Her fingers trembled as she pulled the small medical kit off the shelf. She pressed the release and the case opened. Inside was everything she would need to take care of any minor injuries. She hoped this was minor enough. Visions of the scars marring Tallei swept through her mind as she reached for the injector. She inserted a small vial into the end, pressed it against her stomach, and pulled the trigger.

A shudder of relief flooded her when the pain began to subside. Bowing her head, she drew in long, deep breaths and waited. A rueful smile curved her lips when she thought of her mentor. Kella had not learned how to find that place inside herself yet where she could cut off the pain. She remembered Tallei telling her about the many times she had to repair her body without the help of medication, including the time when her eye was pierced by another assassin’s blade during a mission.

Kella discharged the vial, tossed the empty container onto the bed, then returned the injector to the kit. Next, she ripped off the patch she placed over the wound earlier. After tossing it aside as well, she picked up a small cauterizing wand from the medical kit, and held the ragged edges of skin together with one hand while she ran the wand over the wound with the other.

A small amount of smoke brought the smell of burning flesh to her nose. The combination of smoke and burnt skin made her gag. She would have looked away if she could, but she didn’t have that luxury. Instead, she held her breath for as long as she could while she sealed the skin.

Fine beads of sweat glistened on her brow despite the coolness of the air around her. Her upper body was coated with fine bumps and she had to lock her knees to keep from collapsing. It took several minutes to ensure that the wound was sealed and no longer bleeding. She covered it with a clean medical patch that contained both a painkiller and medicine to help her heal faster.

She focused on cleaning up the area, replacing the wand in the medical kit, throwing away the empty vial and old medical patch, and carefully replaced the kit back on the shelf. Once the area was restored to its tidy condition, she pulled off her boots and removed her bloodstained pants. She quickly dressed, pulling on a long, thick black sweater over the thin top that restrained her breasts, another pair of black, leather pants, and slipped her boots back on. She would toss the clothing into the cleaner unit on her way to the bridge.

“Tallei’s tit, she is going to be furious with me,” Kella muttered when she realized that almost four hours had passed since she’d left the tower.

As if reading her mind, the communicator on the side table pinged. Kella grabbed the bloodstained clothes in one hand and reached for the communicator with the other. A glance told her that the instructions for her mission were still waiting to be received. A second communication showed that Tallei was not impressed with her tardiness in responding to either of them.

Kella strode down the corridor, pausing only to place her clothing in the cleaner, before hurrying to the bridge. After sliding into the pilot’s chair, she began preparations for her departure. Within minutes, she had programmed her destination into the navigation system, strapped in, and was lifting off the large, flat surface near the bottom of the tower. Her hands tightened on the controls, steering the vessel through the narrow canyon before breaking free and increasing power to the main engines.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she broke through the storm and upper atmosphere. Once she was in orbit, she activated the message with her mission details. An image projected in front of her.

“Assassin, you have been assigned an urgent mission. A foreign capsule has landed on Tesla Terra. Your task is to locate the contents and deliver it directly to Lord Andronikos – preferably alive; but dead, if necessary.”

Kella studied the map of the planet. Tesla Terra was in the northwest quadrant. It would take her at least three days to get there. She would locate the capsule and scan it for information, then search the Spaceport on the other side of the mountains. Someone was bound to have some information.