BREATHE IN THE AIR II

He sat in the center of the pitch-black room, so dark he was unable to make out the edges of it. All he saw was the faint white glow of the console in front of him. It was nothing more than a rectangle with a red dot in the center, yet anyone on their first visit would be terrified. Haleth, on the other hand, had been here numerous times before. He heard the clicking of locks behind him, then the machine spoke.

“NAME?”

“Haleth.”

“IDENTIFICATION NUMBER?”

“41-109.” He had the digits etched into his brain at this point.

“HALETH CONFIRMED. SEARCHING FOR REQUESTS.”

As you would expect, hired assassins and mercenaries were illegal in the system. However, absolutely no one cared in the slightest. Most large corporations and government officials used those services regularly, meaning that if one ratted out another, everything would soon come crumbling down. Law enforcement simply turned a blind eye; it just made affairs simpler that way. It had gotten to the point that many of those corporations essentially had their own small militias at their disposal, all willing to die for their paychecks. As long as they kept their business out of the public scene and kept innocent casualties to a reasonable minimum, nothing had to, or really even could, be done.

On the corner of 2nd and Remo Street sat a dusty electronics shop. Tech, new and old, from all corners of the universe, was bought and sold. From the street outside, it looked just like a typical shop of that type. Monitors and gadgets lined the illuminated display windows made of bullet-proof glass.

One item was not for sale, however. In the far left corner was a standard-looking antique refrigerator, but it was merely a facade. Opening the door revealed a staircase to a hidden basement. It was here that mercenaries would take requests from clients, and report on successful missions.

The owner of the shop was a Skaerf named Sharo’Unf. His daily routine was simple. Every day he would show up to work, stand behind the counter, and go the entire time pretending that the entrance did not exist. He was not at all a fan of the hidden entrance. He was unaware of its existence when he had started renting the property, but keeping it there was the only way to keep his shop open. Word would spread quickly to the administrators who would then have a little chat with him that would almost certainly not end well. He had begrudgingly even gave spare keys to the back door to regular users to utilize after shop hours.

Like the law enforcement, it was easier and more convenient just to do nothing.

There were many of these locations scattered around the major cities of planets. Each contained a waiting area and at least one room dedicated to accepting requests, known as the “Faust Chamber.” While he didn’t understand the meaning behind its name, the process of using one was second nature to Haleth at this point. As long as one was open, a willing worker could step right in and take a seat, beginning the procedure. It was securely locked and soundproof to keep the information relayed inside as secret as possible. While the size of the facilities could vary between locations, the one Haleth regularly went to only had a single chamber available.

The jobs requested varied in risk and illegality. Assassinations were the top request, with armed guards to protect from said assassins being the next most common. Many businesses also used the system to seek out those willing to hunt creatures on foreign planets, collect resources, hack into databases, or perform nonlethal captures, among other more niche tasks.

The more risky the job, the better the pay … usually.

When working solo he tended to gravitate more towards the assassination and capture jobs. When working with his usual colleagues on group assignments he was fine with whatever. They all had their own unique skills that complimented each other. His good friend Arrugl, for example, was a massive, bulky guy, making him perfect for more defensive positions.

He continued to sit in darkness, waiting for the machine to respond. Suddenly, the light in the middle flashed.

“THIRTY-SEVEN OPEN REQUESTS FOUND. ONE SPECIAL REQUEST FOUND.”

Open requests were, as the name implied, jobs open for anyone to take, and there were usually plenty available at any given time to take. Although being on a first-come first-served basis meant that if you didn’t accept them immediately someone else would swoop in and take the job. Special requests were extremely uncommon and meant that the client specifically chose that person for the job, and would likely mean meeting the client in person. Haleth had never been offered one before.

“View special request.”

“LOADING DATA…”

The mechanics of the console could be heard as it readied the projection. A holographic image with a light blue glow was suspended in midair before him containing the details of the special request.

“THIS IS A REQUEST FROM INFIN-7.”

The information was laid out in much the same way as the standard jobs he had taken before, although this time it was much more concise. There was no image of the client or the target provided. Nor was there a pay amount given, which annoyed him. All it contained was one small paragraph.

Mr. LAST_NAME_ERROR,

We at Infin-7 have noticed your proficiency in working for our company. We would like to personally offer you a new job. In 24 hours, meet us at the central tower of Pandaimon. You know where that is. Failure to comply will result in termination.

Thank you,

Fallax Cassi Aiengal, Personal Secretary of the CEO of Infin-7

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCEPT?” echoed the console’s synthesized voice.

Haleth sat there baffled at the information presented before him. While he had worked for the company numerous times in the past, they would usually specify a certain division it was from. A request from possibly the most powerful man in the universe. With this being a special request, the thought of the extra pay enticed him, but he wondered why he was chosen out of all options. What did he have that others did not?

What does it even mean by “Failure to comply will result in termination?”

Greed and intrigue got a hold of him, and he clearly announced “Accept” to the console, ignoring any possibility that it could be fake.

“REQUEST ACCEPTED. PLEASE PLACE YOUR COMS DEVICE ON THE SENSOR.”

A thin metal arm rose from the ground, topped with a red dome with a slight glow. He placed his device on top to initiate the data transfer. With the sound of a ding, it was complete, and he had been registered for the request.

“SESSION COMPLETE. PLEASE EXIT IMMEDIATELY.”

The locks of the door behind him unlatched, allowing him to exit. He said one final thing to the machine before getting up.

“Thank you.”

It had no reply.

❖❖❖

Haleth stared back at the bird girl, unsure of how to continue the conversation. He assumed she had died quickly after impact seeing as she wasn’t able to even operate a simple escape pod, but there she stood.

“Uh… hey,” was all he could think of.

“You’re the guy who helped me… back on the ship, right?” She was just as nervous as he was.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you for that. I’m not all too familiar with the parts of ships and all that.” Her words were very shaky. “Probably wouldn’t have survived without you there.”

She took a few steps closer to him.

“No problem. Just trying to help people out.” He said this, knowing full well that his entire job relied on the opposite of this.

Might as well be nice to this one person, he thought.

“Um, if you want to keep talking, I suggest we start walking as well. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything of use nearby.”

“Oh, good idea,” she chirped and followed him. Despite her eagerness, he sensed a bit of tension coming from her mannerisms.

He picked up the bag and started their trek. To the left of the cliff was a natural ramp that led down about halfway to the shore below. The pathway was thin and winding and covered in more of the grass and rocks he was familiar with at this point, yet he still felt a small bit of excitement from seeing the nature he was not used to.

“Oh, I probably should have asked this earlier, but what’s your name?” she asked him.

“Haleth.”

“Haleth… got it. Mine’s Ocypet. Ocypet Hesiod. You can just call me Ocy though.”

“Ocy. Okay.” He was glad she didn’t ask about the lack of a last name.

Their trek led them to a land bridge atop a rushing river, situated right beside the beach they saw earlier. The water all came from a series of waterfalls, which while larger than any he had seen before, were nothing compared to the one he saw off in the distance while at the cliff. He wasn’t sure if it would be on their route, but for some reason he really wanted to visit that waterfall.

“So, uh, where are we headed?” Ocypet asked.

“Back on the cliff, I spotted some smoke in the distance. There’s a chance that it might be the ship wreckage. We might be able to send some sort of distress signal from there. There was also some important luggage I had accidentally left on board. I would like to retrieve it as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she replied. “Plus, that seems like a reasonable rendezvous point for other survivors. If we could all regroup there we could better our chances of survival together.”

“Sounds like a plan then.”

The end of the land bridge served as the entrance to a forest. The trees had unusual branch patterns, forming hexagons. There was a thick roof of branches and leaves, but plenty of sunlight still showed through. Taking a glance at Ocypet, he noticed she seemed less tense than when they first met.

A few harmless critters scurried past them as they continued their trek. One was some sort of tiny, green bug. It walked on two hind legs and in its arms carried around some sort of pale crystal that resembled a shard of glass, possibly from wreckage. It walked with purpose, determined to bring its shiny stone somewhere, before disappearing behind a bush. Haleth was relieved to find a bug that wasn’t nearly his size and out to kill him. Following that, there were two small quadrupeds covered in light gray fur with beady, red eyes and a long tail that darkened towards the end. They raced each other through the dirt, leaving the two survivors behind.

For a while, neither of them spoke to each other. The silence bothered Haleth, but he had no idea how to start the conversation; he was never usually the one to do so. Looking back at her, he realized there was one topic he had in mind, but the thought of asking her made him feel like a hypocrite.

She could hate being asked about her species just as much as I do. I should just let it be for now and let it come naturally.

The silence continued. There were no threats, no large alien creatures waiting to kill them, no other survivors. The peacefulness started to eat at him. Finally, he decided to just ask it.

“Sorry for asking, but what species are you? I’ve traveled all throughout the galaxy but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with an appearance like yours.” He felt a pit in his stomach develop. I shouldn’t have asked that. That was so insensitive of me. She’s going to hate me. He readied himself to apologize

“Oh, I’m from Dro’Furb; I’m a Lyrey.”

He, as subtly as possible, sighed out of relief. He was glad that she did not take offense to the question, but now he wondered if he was the only one bothered by it.

Maybe it’s just a Human thing?

Still, her answer left him a bit puzzled. Lyrey from Dro’Furb. He had never heard of the planet nor the species. Sure, the universe was incomprehensibly massive, but he thought of himself as well versed in the basic knowledge of all alien species. His line of work required him to know the possible attributes and abilities of everyone and anyone he faced. A Jo’herc’s incredibly tough skin, the length and dexterity of a Kadra’s serpentine tail, the aquatic maneuverability of an Opolaphec. This was all pertinent information for a successful job. The idea that he was unfamiliar with one struck him as odd.

Are they some sort of new uncontacted species or something?

The introduction of a new alien species to the intergalactic network was an incredibly rare process. The last time that happened was just over a hundred years ago with the Simetra. If the Lyrey were a newly integrated species, the news certainly would have reached him by now.

What are the odds of a new species showing up in one of the largest cities with no coverage but just so happening to cross paths with me?

He had a desire to know more, but before he could inquire further, a sense of irony overcame him. He had lived a life of people constantly asking about his human heritage to the point of despising the question being brought up and even hating the word “Human.” Every query was a reminder of his isolation. For once in his life, he was not on the receiving end. He wondered if she had grown tired of the same questions he did.

Despite this, he decided to press on. “Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that planet before.”

“Yeah, I kind of assumed that. No one’s heard of us.”

“I get that. People often ask about me being a Human all the time. I hope you’re not bothered by me asking that.”

“Oh no it’s fine. I got used to answering it this past week. Almost got a routine down for it.” She chuckled slightly.

He was glad the question wasn’t taken the wrong way, and even more glad that the conversation was going well. Normally, his friend Kaiser would be the one to keep conversations going. She was essentially the glue that kept their group together. He tried to think of a new topic.

He noticed a red band tied around her right ankle. The materials it was made out of were incredibly worn, like it had been worn for years. “So, that band around your ankle, what’s that?”

“Oh, that. That’s a friendship bracelet I made when I was younger. My childhood friend has a matching one, although she wears hers on her wrist.” Talking about her friend seemed to liven up her mood.

“Huh, cool. Why don’t you wear one around your wrist too?”

She looked at him with a smug yet slightly incredulous expression. She stopped in place and spread out her arms. Her impressive silver wingspan captivated him. At the end of her wing was a three-fingered hand with the same golden texture as her talons.

“I probably could wear it on my wrist now, but when I was a chick my mom was worried it would impact my flying. She was always worried about those sorts of things. I’ve kept it there for so long that I don’t really feel like changing its spot.” She tucked in her wings, leaving Haleth impressed by just how many feathers she had. “Do, uh, you have anything similar with your friends?”

Do not mention that you’re part of a group of mercenaries and assassins. Do NOT mention that you’re part of a group of mercenaries and assassins.

“No, not really. We have this bar we frequently visit if you consider that to be a friend tradition, but that’s about it. No bracelets or anything like that.”

She looked up at the trees and noticed the waning sunlight from between the leaves. They had been walking together for much longer than either of them realized.

“Seems like it’s getting late. Want to stop for the day and get some rest?” she asked.

“Yeah, sounds good to me.” While he wasn’t all too physically tired, he was mentally starting to get worn down. How does Kaiser keep these conversations going like this?

Nearby they found a tree whose roots grew in a peculiar pattern, creating an alcove within the bark. It was much larger than the other trees in the forest, and as it reached up from the ground it spiraled. A short distance away was a thin creak. A couple of fish swam through it that looked fairly normal, or at least what Haleth assumed they normally looked like, since he had never seen a living one in person before. Flowers with purple petals stood at the edges of the water, each around a foot tall.

As he was admiring the scenery, he felt something poking him from within his pocket. Taking it out, he found the green rock he picked up from the crash site that he had completely forgotten about. It still had the same intriguing shimmer from when he first found it.

“What’s that?” Ocypet asked from the creak.

“Just some rock that I found earlier. Looks sorta cool.”

He sat down at the base of the tree which was somehow more comfortable than some of the other places he had slept before. He placed the rock down beside him and started rummaging through his supply bag. He grabbed a can of food, labeled simply as “MEAT FLAVORED” with an ugly mascot beneath it. The mascot was drawn using an often utilized design known as the “All-Encompassing Creature” (“AEC” for short) which aimed to resemble every species at once without exactly looking like one specifically. He found it baffled how many people loved that style while he found it incredibly garish. He questioned whether they were even made by a real person.

Other than the Infin-7 logo on the back, there was no other information on the can. He was unsure of how old they were or how long they would last, especially now that he had to share them with Ocypet too.

Maybe teaming with her was a bad idea, he thought. Though, if I could kill a beast, surely I could find a way to eat it too on my own, right?

Haleth dismissed the thought and looked up from the bag. To his surprise, not only had she started a fire, but also had two fish skewered and cooking above the flame, all while he was investigating the dubious looking food. He couldn’t believe that the girl who struggled to even open a door early did all that in such a short time.

“How did you…get all that done so fast?”

She looked back at him surprised. “Fast? I felt like I could have been a bit quicker at that.”

He was dumbfounded. However, his confusion could not take away how great the roasting fish smelt. Nothing back on Haksel smelt as good as those fish. He no longer cared how she managed to procure the fish so quickly. His mouth watered with anticipation. He got up from the tree and brought himself to the fire. The aroma was even more intense now.

“Give it a little bit longer,” she advised.

“How do you know this isn’t poisonous or anything?”

“I don’t.” Haleth looked at Ocypet concerningly. “But I do know what the fish are like back home, and these seem to be very similar. I’m banking on the fish being similar enough that the knowledge is transferable. Plus,” she pointed towards the can he was holding, “food like that might as well be poisonous to me.”

He put the can down, no longer needing its chemical brew. “Hope it tastes as good as it smells.”

The wait felt like it was going to kill him, but she eventually took the stick out of the ground and handed it to Haleth. It had a beautiful, consistent char to it, and the smell right under his nose was heavenly. He immediately dug in and took a massive bite out of its side. The taste was incomparable to anything he had previously had. It had a rich, full flavor that caressed his taste buds, enough to almost bring him to tears. He took another bite, and then another, until nothing was left but bones and a wooden stick. He was amazed that a dish so simple, so seemingly bland, could taste so good.

Fulfilled, he looked up from this devoured meal to see Ocypet still gently eating her fish, taking small, more delicate bites. He wondered if she ever had to deal with feathers getting in her food the same way Simetra worried about fur getting in their food. He somewhat hoped that she wouldn’t finish so he could have another bite. As full as he was, he still desired more.

“That was… amazing. I’ve never eaten anything like that before. What did you add to it?”

Ocypet looked surprised at him. “You sure it’s that good? I didn’t have anything to add to it, not even salt. It’s honestly really bland.”

The quality of the fish was simply so perfect that even without any sort of seasoning, it trumped any of the fish he had eaten back on Haskel. It activated taste buds on him that had never even been used. He had never heard of Dro’Furb before today, but if it had food that was even half as good as this, he needed to visit it immediately.

Of course, he first needed to get off of this planet.

“So… where did you land?” Haleth asked.

She took a final bite out of her fish before explaining her story.

“After you got me into the pod, I fiddled around with the control pad for a bit, but I was unable to get it to launch. The pilot had to help me with that. After I was off I just listened to music on my new comms device that I got while in the city.”

Oh yeah, she was very into her music back on the ship, he recalled. She didn’t even notice that they exited a rift.

“Not really sure how long it took for it to land, I dozed off for a bit there, but eventually the computer informed me that it had made contact with the surface. Only problem now was that I couldn’t get the door to open. I tried inputting codes on it but still wasn’t able to get it working. After a bit of trial and error, I noticed that the seat was looking a bit loose, so I picked it up and threw it at the door. That got it open.”

She threw the stick she was eating off of and threw it in Haleth’s direction, but purposely missed.

“Poking my head out, I found myself on a small island caught in the middle of a storm. So I was just stuck there for the time being. Can’t really fly that well in the rain, you know?. I waited around a bit in the pod for the weather to clear. Thankfully, that didn’t take too long, and I was finally able to take to the skies again. Hadn’t been able to in quite some time - the buildings in the city are a pain to fly though so I didn’t even bother. Anyways, I saw the cliff by the shore and thought it would be a good spot to land. Lo and behold, you were there.”

She looked at Haleth with a slight smile. He was unsure what exactly she meant by that.

“How about you? How was your landing?”

“Certainly was not as peaceful as you,” he led with. He retold his journey from his crash to her, how he fought the bug, and of the view he got on the cliff right as the fog subsided. Of course, he had to scrub any details about his job in the recount.

“Oh, I hope you’re safe after that bug attack.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine. I’ve been in quite a few worse scuffles before. Unpredictable people in Nuplymth and the like.”

“I’ve noticed quite a few larger creatures since landing here. Back on that island there were a couple giant crustaceans shuffling about. They didn’t seem outwardly hostile or anything, but just to play it safe I avoided them.”

As they spoke, the radiance of the sun slowly disappeared, leaving only the light of the moon to shine through the cracks in the foliage above. Beneath that, there was the fire, still waving dutifully and full of warmth. Those bugs with the trail of lights he had seen back in the gully emerged from the nature once more.

Maybe they were always around me, but I couldn’t notice due to the sunlight?

Haleth yawned, which caught a reaction from Ocypet.

“If you want to go to sleep, go ahead. I have good vision at night, so I’ll keep watch. I got plenty of sleep back in that pod anyway”

“Thank you.”

With a flap of her white wings, she leaped up to a sturdy branch on the tree above. Her talons gripped tightly so as to not fall off while perched. She had an excellent vantage point from up there, and to Haleth, it almost seemed like her eyes were glowing in the dark.

He made his way back to the tree and began emptying his pockets. He carefully set aside his dagger and placed it next to the rock, not wanting to accidentally get stabbed in his sleep. Staring at it one last time, he admired the sleek design of it. Next, he took his jacket off and folded it to use as a pillow. Obviously, it would not be the best source of comfort, but its purple weave would be more than enough for the situation.

And with that, he began to doze off, or at least, tried to. Many thoughts of what had occurred the previous day raced through his mind that kept him awake. While Ocypet had proven to be useful and not some bird-brained alien, like he incorrectly assumed back on the ship, he was still very uncertain of their chances of survival. He reasoned that the outcome would be determined by the status of the ship wreckage, if they can even reach it.

More than likely, the engines are busted. That’s a very safe assumption. Not like I could reasonably fly it anyways. If it still has power, however, there might be something I could work with. There’s got to be some way to make a rescue call in there. But what if everything is unsalvageable? Then what?

The thought of being stuck here forever haunted his thoughts. Sure, he hated the way he lived his life back on Haskel, but this was not much better. The sooner he could get off of this planet, the sooner he could get back to what he was used to.

He recalled what he had read in the job listing. “Failure to comply will result in termination.”

Surely they are aware of what happened by now, right? Maybe they would be able to save us.

Putting the thoughts away, he attempted to finally fall asleep. Through the leaves, he could make out the tiny twinkles of stars lightyears away, a sight very unfamiliar to him while on the surface of a planet. Within the sprawling branches, he could see Ocypet keeping watch over them. Only her eyes were visible through the darkness, giving off a slight canary glow.

Despite everything, he felt somewhat safe.