This is a teaser for the upcoming Souja, Queen of Space.
Zack whistled quitely as he looked straight up through the
perfectly clear bubble of the path's roof. Outside, a gigantic
tree forty miles long floated motionless less than half a mile
away. A number of lights dotted the trunk as it stretched over
his head and away, lighting the shadow caused by a large Juraian
destroyer docked in the middle, a little to the right of his own
position.
He could see people, quite small at this distance, moving
through small gardens, homes, and corridors much like the one he
was currently in. The structures wrapped all the way around the
monstrous trunk, and many private homes disappeared below the
thick bark. Only some of the bark was covered in buildings, much
of it was left bare, interrupted only by the single corridor that
stretched from one green, leafy end of the tree to the other,
which also sported greenery.
In the Forest Ring, trees have two crowns.
It was Jurai's oldest colony, located a mere light year
away from their home planet. Long, long ago, when their first
sluggish reaction ships left the planet on a mission of
exploration, the early explorers found a system unlike any other,
a gigantic ring of breathable atmosphere without benefit of land.
Gases had escaped from one of the system's few planets, and each
molecule of air had its own orbit around the system's binary
stars. Strangely enough, there were enough air molecules in
roughly the same orbit to result in an impossibly huge ring of
atmosphere, thousands of times bigger than any planet and home to
all manner of unusual life, living in weightless space.
Much to the delight of the early explorers, one of the most
unusual, and common, forms of life were the giant space trees
that floated through the ring, arranged around the sun like a
spokes of a wheel and giving it its name. These trees not only
provided shelter and a place to land, their ecosystems provided
food and drink, and gravity of a sort. The home planet collapsed
under the weight of its population and civil turmoil before any
more progress was made in colonization, but those first explorers
were still there, growing, expanding, and learning.
Strangely, the people of the Forest Ring found themselves
at peace. Squabbles were few and uncommon, mostly limited to
concrete disputes over food ('Hey! I called dibs on that bird
wing first!'), space ('I was sitting there first!'), and mates
('You've been cheating on me, haven't you?!'). Something in the
Juraian genetic memory associated trees with comfort and safety,
and suddenly all the important political and philisophical
questions of the universe were reduced to finding the next mate
and a bannana. It was probably a side effect of having evolved
from monkeys.
Fascinating properties were also discovered about the
trees, such as their abilities to draw upon some unknown energy
source and use strange abilities to fly to more hospitible areas
of the system. Their unusual leaves also seemed to create their
own light and direct it at each other, narrow beams of rainbow-
hued light that they used to keep track of the other trees in any
one grove and align themselves in the most efficient and least
competitive fashion, and also to kill the few herbiovores that
posed a real threat to them.
These wayward Juraians were so moved by this example of
power and cooperation that they formed a religion out of it,
which still remains in a modified form. This is one of the rare
cases where a religion was based on a true science, not to
mention a real deity. Later, as they progressed, the trees were
mutated into new strains, and the first Treeship was grown.
Using powers tapped from the newly discovered layers of subspace,
these Treeships could live in vacuum, and linked to the people
that had developed along with them, could fly at faster than
light speeds through space.
Even now, a hundred thousand years later, after over a
hundred planets had been colonized and Jurai had been restored
from total devistation, over a third of all Juraians lived in the
Forest.
Zack hated it, of course. While he could admire the scope
and harmony of the colony, it still represented the people who
had destroyed his own in a feirce, if somewhat one-sided, war a
little over six centuries before.
Zack was not a Juraian. However, he would have quickly
slit anyone's throat who knew what he really was. He had skin
just a few shades paler than the average Juraian, with short,
spiky brown hair which also wasn't common among true Juraians.
His features, though, were simian enough that all it took was a
pair of inert contact lenses, which changed his eyes to brown, to
enable him to pass unnoticed. Although a head higher than
average, he looked like any of a billion other inhabitants of the
Forest.
He continued his journey up the tree. The small colony
transport ship he'd arrived on had docked at the weightless
middle of the tree, where most of the docks were located. This
forced Zack to walk about ten miles before he reached the nearly
deserted out-quarter, the poorer section of the tree. Poverty
wasn't really a problem in the Forest, but those who could afford
it generally settled the half of the tree closest to the tiny
star in the center of the system.
Zack resisted the urge to whistle aimlessly as he wandered
the corridors, purposely taking as winding a route as possible,
even going as far to slowly circle the giant trunk before getting
back to the side facing the tree he'd seen when he originally
arrived. Eventually, he found what he was looking for.
It was a small public garden, a dome-shaped atrium filled
with sprawling succulents of many varieties, all edible. Fruit
dominated, because it could be eaten raw, but there were enough
vegetables to make a truly exotic salad, chosen for both taste
and color.
Zack crouched to the dark brown dirt and picked a red fruit
reminiscent of a zucchini and bit deeply into it with a cruch.
The peel was tough, but the inside was watery, juicy purple pulp.
It tasted like a mixed fruit punch. Swallowing, he glanced
around to make sure he was alone. Seeing no-one, he looked up to
gauge the distance, then jumped so hard he left footprints half a
foot deep in the packed dirt.
Most other beings would have slammed headfirst into the
clear dome, but Zack simply phased through it, a minor exercise
of power he was sure would be overlooked by the sensitives who
kept a mental ear open for unauthorized use of power. His jump
quickly carried him clear of the limited gravity generated by
strips buried beneath the floors of the corridors on the trunk,
leaving him on a free-fall trip through the air between the
trees, streaking toward the opposite trunk.
The only likely danger was that someone from the tree he
just left would look up and spot him. Questions would be asked,
and eventually certain future events might be connected with him.
Zack wasn't worried, though. He intended to be long gone by
then.
Zack doubled his body and spun, now falling feet-first
toward the tree and still munching on his fruit. There was only
a single, unoccupied corridor running the length of the trunk
before him, and he intended to hit right beside it. His target
destination was owned by a fantastically rich man who defied
conventional wisdom by living in the outside crown of leaves.
The view was gorgeous, here alone between trees.
Atmospheric haze made everything farther than a few miles away
fuzzy, but he could still see distant trees over eighty miles
away. Zack felt dwarfed by the scale of it all. He ate the last
bite of pulp and let a hard scrap of rind fly away into open air,
to be eventually swept from the sky by the massive, broomlike
ends of the trees.
The bark rushed at him and he hit with a thump, quickly
acting to dig his incredibly strong fingers in the spongy wood so
that he didn't bounce back into the air. The corridor was only a
few tens of yards away.
Zack started to climb over to it, but the temptation to
view the ultimate prize was strong. Deciding that it couldn't
hurt, he quickly adopted a four-limbed run and climbed around the
tree, traveling nearly half a mile before he reached the other
side, where an identical corridor ran the length of the tree.
Docked between the opposite tree and the tree he was own
was a ship. A _made_ ship. Fifteen miles long and ten wide with
a distinctly unaerodynamic shape, it was clearly never ment for
planetfall. Not a single space tree had been used in its
contruction, and it had a metallic gleam in the dim light from
the neutron star. It was the fastest, most powerful, most
spacious ship in the surrounding hundred galaxies. Armed to the
teeth yet fantastically luxurious, it was the cruise ship to end
all cruise ships, ment to visit the surrounding galaxies with a
load of rich tourists. Even the most powerful pirate or hostile
navy would balk at attacking it.
Zack smiled. The Souja was a truly amazing ship, and it
would be even more amazing when he got through with it. But
first, a few last minute design changes needed to be fed to the
construction crew.
****************
Several hours later, Zack whistled happily to himself as he
walked the corridor on another, more populous tree in a grove
that served as a spaceport. Massive crusiers and cargo ships of
all sorts lined its length, including Zack's own little runabout.
His mission completed, he prepared to leave.
A tasteful holographic sign caught his eye as he neared the
checkpoint, advertising drink and companionship. Zack slowed his
purposful strides as he neared the opening to what he saw as a
large, claustrophobic orchard. The companionship didn't interest
him in the slightest, but it had been a long time since he last
had a drink of something besides water or juice. In fact, he'd
never actually been in a bar before.
It was certainly not something he would do while on a
mission. He was far more professional than that. But... His
mission was over, and it had been a long, strenuous life. The
Goal was all-consuming, as it was supposed to be, but couldn't
there be a little time to relax? The Juraian authorities weren't
likely to find the mess he'd left behind in time to do anything
about it.
Giving a little shrug, he entered the bar. It was a
surprisingly gloomy place. True night was unheard of in the
Forest Ring, but anything from being in the shadow of the trunk,
on the opposite side of the system from the big second sun that
actually provided light to the system, or under a thick, leafy
canopy such as the roof of the bar could make any place look dark
and foreboding.
A polished wooden counter with a number of stools in front
of it cut off the lower end of the orchard, leaving the rest
filled by tailored fungoid growths and sculpted fruit trees which
combined to make tables and surprisingly comfortable seats. Only
about a dozen people nursed drinks in the gloom, and they all had
a sullen, depressed look.
Zack ignored these, chosing instead to sit alone at the
bar.
A disinterested female bartender ambled over, wiping her
hands on a pale apron stained brown in a number of places. She
was slightly overweight and a little taller than average, with a
greasy look about her. Most of the time she kept her eyes on a
flickering holographic screen at one corner of the bar, the only
source of artificial light in the place. She glanced at him and
grunted what might have been a question.
"Beer," he replied gruffly. He'd had beer before, many
years ago.
"What kind?" she asked tiredly, never taking her eyes of
the screen. She seemed to resent the extra effort his one word
answer required from her.
Zack fought the urge to look bewildered. What kind? There
were more than one? "What you got?" he asked cautiously.
She sighed and turned her full attention to him. "Hedge-
Blossom-Heimlik-Bapst-Genius-Muff-Shining-Willer-and-Whipped,"
she said in a rapidfire voice.
Zack blinked. Ordering a drink seemed more daunting than
breaking into a heavily guarded facility and tearing a few
Juraian heads off with his bare hands. He recovered his
composure quickly, however. He'd just done the latter without
trouble, so the former couldn't be too bad. "I'll take a...
Hedge," he offered.
Her hands dropped below the level of the counter, out of
sight. Her arms shifted slightly for a few seconds, and then she
casually dropped a foaming mug on the counter in front of him.
Her attention had already returned to the screen by the time he
started reaching for the handle.
The first drink did not immediately give him an
appreciation for fine Juraian beers. It was thin and watery,
with too much of a malt flavor to really sit well on the tongue.
Still, it beat the hell out of water.
As he drank, he turned his head toward the holographic
screen to see what was so fascinating. TBA was written in red
letters on the bottom right of the screen, and two obviously
drunk guys were fighting each other with energy blades in an
arena that bore more than a passing resemblance to the bar Zack
was currently sitting in.
Zack sniffed disdainfully at their sloppy fighting style
and took another drink.
"Sound is two creds," the bartender said offhand. "You
might want to pay attention, they've been showing reruns of the
big fight Princess Ayeka was in a few days ago."
Zack snorted foam and jerked his head back up, a question
forming on his lips.
"Yeah," she drawled to his unspoken words. "The first
princess finally slipped up and was seen in a bar on Mariposa."
"The first princess?!" he choked out. "She's been missing
for almost a year!" I should know, he added mentally, because
I've been trying to find her, and I'm good at it.
The bartender nodded, a faint smile of wicked glee sneaking
onto her otherwise apathetic features. "Yep. Seems she got in a
squabble with the space pirate Ryoko over some cute little
barbarian and wound up on a short leash."
Zack nearly fell off his stool. "Sound, quick!"
Smiling smugly, she tapped a holographic key with one
finger.
The grunts and electric crackle of energy from the fight on
screen filled his ears, followed quickly by a short scream that
indicated the end of the fight. Statistics were soon displayed
on the screen.
"Who is this 'Ryoko'?" he asked out of the corner of his
mouth, never looking away from the screen.
She glanced at him. "You've never heard of Ryoko, the
galaxy's most wanted space pirate?"
Dumbly, he shook his head.
"Damn..." she said with a whistle. "Have you been living
on a derilict space station for the last decade? She's had the
number one spot on our list of famous criminals for the past five
years! She's amazingly powerful, and she flies the Ryo-Ohki, one
of the rare cabbits."
Zack shrugged.
"She disappeared almost a year ago, something to do with
the Galaxy Police." The large woman hmmed to herself.
"Actually, she disappeared about the same time Princess Ayeka
dropped out of the news. While she was gone a newcomer took her
spot, but she showed up on Mariposa three days ago." She
chuckled evilly. "Guess who she had on a leash?"
"Princess Ayeka of Jurai," Zack finished drily, turning to
look at his hostess.
She nodded enthusiastically. "And this cute young
barbarian from some pre-contact planet or another." She winked
at Zack suggestively. "Damn! he was fine. I could tie that
little bit in my bedroom and _ravage_ him till there wasn't
nothing left." Caught up in her own fantasy, she slid one hand
down her stained apron and grabbed her crotch hard.
Zack shuddered and looked away.
"This is TBN, The Bar Network, bringing you the best in bar
to bar entertainment," announced a fresh young man sitting on a
bar stool. "Next up is a replay of the now famous Space Pirate
Ryoko/Princess Ayeka showdown, brought to you by the Hardwood Bar
on fabulous free planet Mariposa. Next time you're looking for
an adventure, visit the Hardwood Bar, a regular hangout for the
best this Galaxy has to offer in crime."
"Fight's up!" the bartender called to the rest of the bar.
Immediately there was a scuffling and punching for sound,
as well as private screens at individual tables.
"This fight not only marks the return of both our missing
star, Ryoko, and that of our missing Princess Ayeka, it also
gives us remarkable insight into their private lives." The
announcer looked quite pleased with himself as he stated
everything in a lightly conversational tone. "First, a little
pre-fight background. So, Riku, what can you tell us about these
combatants that we don't already know?"
The view shifted, showing a grizzled old man with a half
empty mug in his hand sitting at a table. He cast one baleful
eye at the camera, took a drink, and belched. "Well, Tsuri,
everyone that ain't got'is head stuffed up'is ass knows at least
SOME about both of these fine hellraisers."
Zack ignored the elbow jab from the bartender.
"Ryoko, better known as the dread space pirate Ryoko, the
most wanted criminal in the galaxy, is something of an enigma."
The old man disappeared, replaced with a slow spiraling view of
Ryoko in a victory pose, her red energy blade held high.
Zack studied the picture intently. She looked familiar,
somehow. Her features weren't too different from the average
Juraian, although possibly a little sharper. Her long hair
seemed to clump together in spikes, something that reminded him
of his own necessity of keeping his hair so short his similar
problem wasn't noticable.
"No one knows who she really is or where she comes from,
but Ryoko has made a name for herself on The Bar Network as the
most beautiful, powerful, ferocious pirate to ever raid the
shipping lanes. Her recent ten month disappearance led to a
brief fall from grace when Hirame, currently number two, stole
her number one spot with a number of daring raids on industrial
complexes."
Ryoko disappeared and was replaced by a tasteful, very
formal still picture of Ayeka in royal dress, posing for the
camera in front of a fountain.
"Princess Ayeka certainly needs no introduction," continued
Riku. "As she herself would put it, our princess is gifted with
great beauty, intellect, and power. There aren't many people in
the galaxy that would dare to take on someone as daunting as our
number one princess."
The picture of Ayeka was replaced by another sill, this
time just of her legs, the rest obscured by the edge of the
fountain and the spray of water she kicked up as she entered.
Ryoko floated in mid-air nearby, holding a sign which read 'Ayeka
sure is clumsy, isn't she?'
Everyone in the bar chuckled, Zack most of all. He liked
this Ryoko already.
The picture shifted back to the old man chuckling quietly.
"Well, as you can see, Ryoko is one of those people. She and
Ayeka have had an ongoing public rivalry for most of their lives,
the exact origins of which only they know."
"Huh. That's interesting." Zack took a pull of his beer.
"Apparently, during their mutual disappearance, the two
have been at it again, this time over the hand of a young
barbarian named Tenchi."
Tenchi appeared on screen, wearing only a tattered scrap of
fur as a loincloth. He looked very put-upon as he stared through
the camera.
"Ook ook," muttered the bartender.
Zack shook his head.
The old man reappeared. "And this time, it appears
Princess Ayeka has lost. When Ryoko entered the Hardwood Bar,
she had the barbarian in tow and Princess Ayeka in an energy
collar and harem silks. Ryoko declared her to be a Pleasure
Slave, a claim that our princess could not bring herself to
dispute."
The image changed to a six-second clip of Ryoko walking in
boldly, Ayeka and Tenchi on her heels. Tenchi was the spitting
image of a sullen barbarian slave, and Ayeka kept her head down,
humbled embarrasment written on her face.
"However, it seems that a princess of Jurai does not submit
easily, even when captured. Witnesses report that the first
Princess not only mocked and teased her captor, she also tricked
her into drinking Sweetwood wine." Riku smirked. "Twice."
The bartender groaned sympathetically, and several people
chuckled. Seeing Zack's confusion, she leaned over and whispered
an explaination.
Zack winced accordingly.
"Matters came to a head when, with the support of the bar,
Princess Ayeka destroyed her collar and challenged her mistress
Ryoko, winner take all."
Zack watched the fight in awe. The princess was powerful,
that much was true. She was also a skilled fighter, giving as
good as she took for several moments. He would expect no less
from a princess of Jurai, she who had the blessing of all the
Juraian space trees. But Ryoko... Ryoko was poetry in motion.
She slashed, she teleported, she flew, she spun, and in the end,
it was she who tugged Ayeka's harem pants down and administered a
hard bare-hand spanking to the royal tush exposed for all to see.
Zack became uncomfortably aware that he was incredibly
hard.
"Yeeaah... That's the stuff," breathed the big woman
beside him. This time, he was forced to agree.
He watched in a mix of arousal, approval, and admiration as
Ryoko held her arms out to the embarrassed princess, now
surrounded by the jeering, cruelly laughing crowd. Her will
broken, Ayeka rushed into her mistress's arms for comfort.
The camera zoomed in for a closeup as Ryoko held her pet
and gave a victory sign to the crowd.
Zack gaped in astonishment. Her eyes! Yellow, catlike
eyes! They were exactly like the ones that stared back at him
when he looked in a mirror, a feature he took care to disguise
when traveling in the Juraian Empire. And now that he knew what
to look for, he saw it.
"Princess..."