Synthetic Reality

Z for Zorpia Zorr

She finally remembered him when he placed a dagger into her hand. Early childhood memories came flooding back.

When she was four she was left in the custody of a bizarre collection of teachers from across the galaxy. The Varan lizardman who seemed so oddly familiar was her first fencing instructor. Twenty-two years had passed since she'd last seen him and he hadn't aged a day.

"Tongue-Tong?" A tear escaped and ran down her cheek crashing into a dumbfounded smile.

Zorpia Zorr was half-human, her bright sapphire eyes and contrasting dark brown complexion were considered human characteristics on her homeworld. Her thick curly dark hair had natural sky blue highlights, a recessive trait like her eyes that she got from her father, along with his Zorr agility.

A smirk of a smile curled in the corner of Mox's snout. He shot his serpentine forked tongue out twice in succession.

"You mean you just now remember me?"

She threw her arms around the walking green Komodo Dragon, who was roughly her height with stumpy legs, a slouching curved spine, and sporting old leather pants and a vest. She squeezed him with all her might.

"Uncle! I can't believe it's really you!"

For a moment, recent events melted away. She felt like she was five again, in trouble, and in need of being rescued.

"Wait, did my father send you?"

"Actually he didn't, though, I contacted him. He asked if I'd bring you home. I was going to wait until we crossed the sector, but given our situation, would you like a lift?"

She looked around the hall they were standing in. It was covered in bodies. There were fourteen dead Klandar soldiers, eleven dead crewmen, and Bobby. Dear sweet Bobby, galactic bad boy and her on-again, off-again boyfriend. She couldn't believe they got him. He was so god damn tough.

"That shit. He'd love that I'm crying over him. I was the only one that called him Bobby. My little boy Blue."

Bobby was known by most as Blue Beard, the Captain of the Dead Barge; a twenty deck souped-up transport that could leave most slick racers in its wake. Its outside was decorated with corpses, covered in gun turrets, and painted like a rock-n-roll nightmare.

A charismatic charmer, Bobby was just the type to attract the renegade daughter of a planetary viceroy. When she met him they instantly connected. She would have mated with him in time. He was the one, he smelled right, and now, he was gone.

Zorpia bent down and closed his crazed radiant eyes. His long blue beard was soaked with azure blood from the bio-disruptor blasts of the Klandar Police. He hated the pigs. He killed every last one of them before he died.

Mox placed a clawed hand on her shoulder. "Come with me, we have to keep moving."

Zorpia looked up into the lifeless reptilian eyes of her Uncle, she had no memory of knowing his real name as a child. His tongue slid in and out of his mouth tasting the air. She remembered him as a kind teacher, someone who made her feel safe, long-lost family.

"Where do you want to go? The Klandar control the bridge and the hangar bay, that little ship you traded Bobby can't outrun 'em, even if we could fight our way to it."

"We're going to the lower storage vault."

"What, that giant chunk of rusty metal you paid Bobby to smuggle across the system?" Her spirits certainly weren't lifted by this idea.

"Exactly, that chunk is my real ship," said Mox in a pleased with himself way. He scratched the end of his snout. "Of course, it is known to the Klandar and how shall I put it, they aren't fans."