Chapter One- Syzygy

The first chapter opens on the ocean planet Haru'tai, with the crew of the Sun Runner looking for a new technician. From the limited 3rd POV of Ka'et Syzygy, first mate on the sunship.

A freezing wind screamed across the endless sea, whipping over the floating city of Rao'haru. Small against the spherical buildings, a tiny avian Gwentor flattened his ears against the chilling blast, his four taloned feet clicking briskly against the glittering tiles. Behind him walked a dusky golden Dracotaur, stepping carefully across the suspended walkway.

“I don’t like this-” Azul growled. Her weight was causing the silvery supports to bend beneath them, bringing the street dangerously close to the freezing water. Awkwardly, the giant Dracotaur shuffled onto the nearest platform and curled her tail around her claws.

Rao’haru, like every city in the Oceanic zones of Haru’tai, was a series of floating platforms, connected by the slim, tiled walkway bridges. Both species native to the planet, the Haploka and the Ce’taai, were considerably smaller than Dracotauri and had not built their cities to easily accommodate the large reptiles.

Kraik and Charaik flicked their ears, laughing silently as they sauntered lightly over the tiles of the walkway. Syzygy followed them, his feathers ruffling slightly as a cold breeze swept across the Haru’tai ocean. The small Gwentor and the massive Dracotaur were out of place on the floating cityscape amongst the slim, grey forms of the robed Haploka and bejeweled Ce’taai.

“Remember, we’re looking for a technician.” Syzygy clicked as the Haploka twins began to inspect the wares at a fabric booth. He did feel sorry that they weren’t able to spend more time on Kraik and Charaik’s homeworld, but they had a very tight mission schedule to fill. They’d been payed in advance to eradicate the Void Pirate ships around the space station, and the next job would take almost two weeks in space. With a small sigh, Kraik set down the heavy silken scarf that she had been holding next to her robes.

As the four moved on, a hooded stranger began to follow them through the crowds, a dark cape brushing the glittering tiles beneath his feet.

Syzygy was uneasy. Angling his ear tufts back, the small quadrupedal Gwentor turned slightly to look at the swarm of Haploka behind them. Tall. Short grey fur covering their bodies. Flat, featureless faces with round golden eyes. Brightly colored, embroidered robes. Birdlike Ce’taai flitted in and out of the stands, feathers glistening pale blues, pinks and lilacs in the late morning light. A glimpse of blackness caught his eye, stark against the flowing scarves and colorful robes. Moving closer to Azul, he murmured,

“Captain. We may be being followed. Do not look.” he added rapidly as the reptilian captain began to turn her head. Kraik rested a light hand on the holster of the blaster slung around her hip, tall ears swiveling around.  “Whatever it is, must be myrkru crazy to try anything in a town full of Haplok amra-myet.” her twin thrummed under his breath, beginning to unsheathe a knife from under his cloak. The other Haploka around them began to stir, flickering their tall ears and thrumming uneasily as they detected Kraik and Charaik’s alarm.

Slowly, the cloaked stranger came to a halt and turned down the weapon-maker’s street. Azul glanced after him, spines raising slightly. “Do you think he could still be following us?” Syzygy clicked uneasily and trotted in the same direction, weaving between the bright red and purple robes of the Haploka.

The stranger soon came into sight, his long black cloak swishing against the tiles of the sidewalk. His hooded head whipped around, scanning the crowd. Safely under the stranger’s viewpoint, Syzygy ruffled his tufted feathers and began to speak to the nearest stallkeeper, a female Haplok selling the city’s famous rearka, sonic energy blasters. Standing on his hind legs so that his avian head was above the display of weapons, Syzygy asked conversationally,

“That  piarav- have you seen him around before?” Her golden-brown eyes thoughtfully narrowed, the stallkeeper slowly nodded her head, but then paused. “Not sure where.”

‘I have.” chirped one of the Ce’taai on the street behind him, spreading her glimmering pink wings. “He’s been around Rao'haru for a few days. Always the same. Mera’taa strange, too. Almost never talks. Sounds like Dracotaur, looks like Haplok. May be thinks like Gwentori, too. Smart one. Mera’taa piarav, gnaka?.”

Syzygy took a moment to sort out the metropolitan mix of Haplo and Ce’aat the birdlike creature was using- Cursed strange wanderer, no? and began to move again, keeping the long black cloak in sight.  As he suspected, the stranger turned at the next corner, moving back towards the cloth-maker’s street.

Cautiously, Syzygy sent out a thought pulse towards the stranger, sensing the heartbeats of the Haploka who stood between him and the stranger, as well as the flurrying heartbeats of the Ce’taai female, who was now ambling away down the street. What he did not sense was the black-cloaked stranger. Sending out a slightly more powerful pulse, Syzygy counted seven Haploka within range, plus two Ce’taai, but still nothing from the stranger. Just then, Azul’s dusky golden bulk slithered around the corner, confronting the stranger. Kraik and Chraik dropped from the rooftops, unsheathing slender blades. As disturbance rippled through the bystanding Haploka, they began to hum uneasily and draw rearka, glistening metallic silver in the light.

Slowly stepping backwards, the stranger lifted his hands and tugged back his hood. Azul jerked back, baring her fangs. “Easy there-” muttered the stranger, raising his arms. Sword still drawn, Chraik waved away the other Haploka. Syzygy circled to stand beside Azul, peering at the stranger’s face.

Dark red spikes of hair fell over brilliant golden eyes. His face looked almost like a Haplok, flat, with forward-facing eyes, but pale and pointed. A faded pink scar ran across the bridge of what Syzygy assumed was the creature’s nose. Ruffling his feathers warily, the Gwentor wanted to know, “What are you?” Shrugging, the stranger pulled on a thin silver chain around his neck, lifting the amber medallion strung onto the chain to his eye level and staring into it.

“Eridanus. My name is Eridanus.” Dropping the medallion, he looked at Azul. “What would a Dracotaur, a young Gwentori, and a pair of Haplok warriors be doing in a guild town like Rao'haru, if not looking for someone? Someone  like. . . a sunship technician, perhaps?” Azul narrowed her eyes and folded both pairs of her four front limbs menacingly across her chest. Eridanus, Syzygy noticed, seemed supremely unruffled. “And you wouldn’t be a technician, would you?” he clicked suspiciously, stepping in front of Azul before the situation escalated.  

“Matter of fact, I might be. Part-time sort of thing. This crew seems pretty interesting, too. And I was headed offworld anyway. . .”  Azul growled deep in her throat, and Eridanus’ smiling mask fell.

“All right then,” he continued seriously, tugging on the amber medallion. Syzygy noticed that the creature wore jeweled gauntlets made out of what looked like steel.  “I’m the best of the best. And I infer that you lot are bounty hunters, am I right? Maybe just guns for hire, then. That’s it. And you’ll find it hard to get another willing tech anywhere on Haru’tai. Not since the pirate attacks started.”

Eridanus paused as Azul’s posture relaxed slightly. “You trust your first mate? The Gwentor, if I’m not mistaken. He can verify my intentions.” Holding out a gauntleted hand, Eridanus let Syzygy tap his claws against the small amount of exposed flesh. A wave of emotion swept over the Gwentor, who shrugged it off, sorting the thoughts into individual threads. Sorrow. A dark thread that led off into the back of Eridanus’ mind, more bitter and angry than any sadness Syzygy had encountered before. Curiosity, an eagerness for another adventure, another sunrise. Faintly, a few wisps of blue-green fear. Only an echo of happiness. There were odd mindthreads missing, though- golden hope. Red passion. No poisonous green envy, though. A wisp of greed, bound up in Sorrow and Fear, but not directed towards the crew of the Sun Runner. Pride. Maybe a little cowardice.

“He bears us no ill will,” Syzygy finally announced. “He believes, at least, that he is the best for the job. Although his assessment of his own abilities may be slightly hyperbolic.” Azul nodded. “Do you need to collect anything?”

The stranger shook his head, patting a small knapsack slung haphazardly around one shoulder. “I’ve got everything I need with me.”

Thinking of mindthreads, Syzygy saw a brief glimpse of the captain’s. Hope. Wonder. Loyalty, royal blue. A little anger hidden beneath the surface, orange and red like the setting sun. He knew the mind-weaves of the entire crew, but Azul’s was the most brilliant. Almost as bright as the brightest weave he had ever known, his hatch-sister Takiait.

“Haai, haai pirava!” a nearby Ce’taai warbled, skittering in front of them. It pushed a small cart ahead of itself, jingling with merchandise. “You want to buy something? Bit of decoration for the crew quarters, maybe?”

Azul growled deep in her throat as Eridanus and Syzygy both leaned forwards to inspect the cart. Unlicensed street vendors, mostly Ce’taai, were common in the city of Rao’haru. Syzygy spotted a ring marked with engraved Dracotauri letters hanging from a hook on the rickety cart- at least, it would be a ring for a Dracotaur, although it was many times too large for his own talons. Perhaps it was even larger than his wrist, although he doubted it. Peering more closely at the engraving, her held up the ring to catch the light.

“Look at this- it’s a poem.” He offered the ring to Azul, who took it reluctantly and narrowed her eyes at the carvings.

“It is the beginning of the Seven Great Cycles of our legends. The inscriptions read-”

Eridanus finished the sentence. “Once there was nothing. The sun flew alone in the heart of the Void, and she was lonely, for she was in herself the entirety of the universe.”

Nodding, Azul smiled. “How much?”

The vendor took a quick glance at the ring. “Five klicks.”

She fished a short string of klicks out of the pouch strung around her waist and tossed it to the Ce’taai. “There’s six, ssa?” The vendor moved out of the way. Weaving through the Rao'haru crowds, the odd group worked their way towards the port

Author's Note

Please tell me if this seems too confusing- especially the descriptions of the different species. I also appreciate notes on the characters- do they seem distinct from each other? Thanks!

Reviews

[MJ]

I'm not lying when I see a ton of potential in this. There is so much imagination and passion in what I've read. That being said, there is one problem. Your story appears to have so much background and lore that as someone who's reading it without any knowledge of your universe, I'm lost. if you can find away to introduce the lore, all the names, and fantastic ideas at a more comprehensible pace you could be dealing with some really good material.

[NoahDrake]

I really like this so far definitely going to read the rest