Nebulae and Cosmic Filaments - A Second Anthology of SF SD Shorts

Part 4 - Reavers

As he strode quickly along, the wolf falling in on one side and the Kursed on the other, he dipped a hand into a hidden pocket.  When it came back out, he held a black disk.  With the disk laying flat on his palm, a finger swiped across its top surface caused an image to shimmer into being above it.  An image filled with small glowing balls of light in a number of different colors and the shifting lines that connected them.

"What is that?" the wolf asked, curious.

"A map," was the traveller's simple response.  Without slowing his long strides, he lifted a finger to tap one of the glowing balls.

"This is the realm where we are currently located."  His finger then traced one of the shifting lines to a nearby ball.  "The realm known as the Undying Lands.  A single portal jump instead of dozens.  But passing through a portal brings its own dangers."

The wolf shivered despite herself.

"My father told me of the portal jumps he used to do with you.  Of the darkness that could only be broken by light you brought in with you.  And of the demons that lurked in the inky black beyond, waiting for the opportunity to attack and kill you."

"Or worse," the traveller added with a frown.  "Over the years I've taught them to fear me with magic, techno-magic and technology.  You two, however, they will not fear."  He paused before looking over at the Kursed girl.

"Although you're already dead.  I cannot say what they will do with you."

"Saana," she said and the traveller's eyebrow rose.

"What does that mean?"

"It's my name," the Kursed said in a quiet voice.  "My name is Saana."

"Great," the wolf grumbled.  "Not only are we helping its kind continue to exist.  But the walking corpse actually wants us to call her by name."

Any further commentary was instantly halted by the traveller throwing a quick look in her direction, compelling the wolf to throw her hands up in mute surrender.

"As I'm sure you do, Rekaar's daughter," he said pointedly into the following silence.

"Of course I do, my lord.  But that's because I'm a living, mortal creature."  She made a gesture in Saana's direction.  "Not some bag of bones animated with nanotech and magic."

"Ah."  The traveller's answering smile was barely a crinkling around the eyes and a slight upward twitch of his lips.  "And yet, before Unity, an anthro like you wouldn't have existed either.  Thanks to Unity, both of you walk and talk," he said.  The map disappeared with a flash of light before he returned the disk to its hidden pocket.

"In my eyes, that more or less makes you two equal."

The traveller's smile grew slightly as the wolf began to sputter indignantly in protest.  Only to hear her fall silent as a ripple of disruption washed over them.

"What, ... what was that?" the wolf gasped when the ripple was past, eyes wide.

"Snap portal," the traveller hissed, eyes narrowed and his blasters in his hands as he stopped to look in every direction.  "If we're feeling the shock wave of it opening and disturbing local space-time, it's less than a kilometre away."

"There!" Saana cried, pointing back along the path they had just come.  Turning, the traveller's face tightened when he saw no less than a dozen small aircraft rapidly advancing towards them.

"Reavers," he growled.  Then he was holstering his blasters as he turned to sprint away from the approaching craft.

"Ruuuuuuun!"