To Mourn the Stars (Part 1 of 2)

Science-Fiction / 5000 words

PREFACE: So here’s that far-future spy story I mentioned previously. It turned out much longer than expected, so I had to split it in two to make it fit in an email. Part 2 will come next month, as I have other posts already scheduled (more details about this next Wednesday).

Part 1 of 2

She woke up every morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to destroy it.

Not that she had the power to do either...

Or maybe she did, but just not at the scale she would have liked.

What did anything she do matter in the greater scheme of things?

A molecule of thilium gas in an ailing universe.

With a sigh, she finished dressing up and walked downstairs to the shop.

Cinderella King had been running this joint with her husband for over a decade now. It was good business. People craved anything that reminded them of the old days—before everything went to hell. It was a way to hang on to their memories, to a time when the world still made sense... a much simpler time.

Ashton was already busy setting things up—of course he was. He always rose at dawn, got breakfast ready, let the staff in—they had three employees to assist them during peak times—and set up whatever items had arrived during the night.

She waved at him sleepily as she headed into the backroom where breakfast waited.

The first customers arrived as she drank her coffee.

It was good money, but not very exciting. Truth be told, she longed for action.

“Cindy!” she heard her husband call. “Do we still have some of those vases from Proxon Prime?”

She grunted. Those were always in high demand, but she was pretty sure that obese man from Elintra had knocked the last one down, and it had exploded into a thousand shards when it hit the ground. She suspected the man might even have done it on purpose, the bastard!

With another sigh, she finished her cup, set it down on the table, and walked back into the antiquity shop. She found Ashton at the counter, speaking with a young couple.

She smiled at them as she approached.

“I’m afraid we’re all out, but I’ve placed an order for more. We should get some new ones within a week. Would you like us to notify you when they arrive?”

The customers confirmed they would. Ash jotted down their holo ID, and the couple walked out with smiles on their faces.

She turned a quirked brow toward her husband.

“Why are they in such a good mood?”

He chuckled. “Oh, it wasn’t just the vase they wanted. They bought the Sysyphan Crown. I’ve already arranged for delivery.”

She whistled. They had tried to sell that thing for a long time. It was a rather impressive and beautifully sculpted statue, but it was enormous. And expensive.

“Sounds like we could take—”

A high-pitched sound interrupted her.

They looked at each other with wide grins.

“Perfect timing!” said Ash joyfully.

He tapped his wristpad and the blinking red light vanished, as did the ringing.

Looking around, he waved to one of the employees.

“Dedrick! Could you take over? We need to head out.”

The younger man trotted over to the counter with a smile.

“Another special delivery, Mr. Traylor?”

“That’s right. We’ll let you know when to expect us back as soon as we know.”

Without another word, he grabbed his wife’s hand and they rushed upstairs.

They sat at the table in their living room, and Ashton swiped his wristpad’s screen.

A tri-dimensional face floated between them.

“Hello Ash. Hello Cinder. We have a situation that needs your special expertise.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” said Cindy with a grin.

“Go to Gantsia. Check your messages for instructions. Our local contact will provide you with further information about your target. That is all.”

The face disappeared before either of them could say anything more.

“As chatty as ever,” she commented wryly.

Her husband was already busy going through his messages. He opened the one he was looking for and displayed it in the air before them.

“You know how it is, hon. Can’t put all the information in one place. It’s much safer to spread it out.”

She sighed and nodded. “Yes, but it’s frustrating.”

They read the message together, grinned, and hurried to prepare.

Five minutes later, their ship lifted from the underground hangar, hovered above the antiquity shop, then sped through the burning rocks that dropped from the sky—ignoring the fuming lakes and rivers, the charred ruins of long-dead cities—and hurled toward the stars.

***

Space was as dangerous as any planet out there... perhaps even more.

Giant chunks of rock—ripped from dying worlds—floated everywhere. Deadly particles, produced by ailing suns, drifted through the void. Black and white holes abounded, pulling to them any careless vessel foolish enough to travel within their reach.

Scientists claimed the universe was too old. It was dying. Soon, nothing would remain of it. Two or three generations, at most, was all it had left.

But within this chaos, humanity survived.

If you could call it that.

Gantsia was one among hundreds of worlds that still held life.

It was just as devastated as the others.

Their ship plunged toward the surface.

A surface of molten rock and lava fumes.

Only mountains still stood here, resisting the surrounding destruction.

Ashton straightened the ship and they skimmed over the surface, heading toward the largest of those mountains. It was there, within its stony flanks, that hid the city of Athanal.

They landed five minutes later.

There was no welcoming committee—nor had they expected one. They were here on a secret mission, after all.

Nobody could know.

Except for their contact.

The man’s name was Rolind.

They found him easy enough. The message had given them his address.

His dead and glazed eyes stared at them as they walked into his apartment.

Blood dripped from his chest, where a dagger had struck him.

“Well, this is awkward,” muttered Cindy.

She walked to the body and searched it while her husband looked around the place.

“Do you think we should call Tourniquet?” he asked as he walked back toward her.

“This is why spreading information like that is not a good idea,” she said. “How will we know now what we’re supposed to do?”

“We should call Tourniquet.”

It no longer was a question, as if his resolve had grown with his wife’s words.

She sighed. “Let’s wait a bit before we do that. He might have left something for us...”

“I didn’t find anything.”

“He’d have hidden it well, I’m sure.”

Ashton’s wristpad beeped and he tapped on it.

The dead man’s face appeared, floating in the air before them, looking very much alive.

“If you’re seeing this,” said Rolind, “I’m probably dead.”

Cindy cringed. “You must be kidding me...”

“I think Elias is onto me,” went on the dead man. “I infiltrated his organization, but I slipped up. I’m concerned he’ll send someone to do me in. With some luck, I can skip town before they get here. But I need to record this first.

“As you must have surmised by now, Elias is your target. He is collecting funds to build a powerful device that would allow Gantsia’s leaders to control the minds of other worlds’ leaders. One of his benefactors pulled out when she realized what the money would be used for. They found her body in a dumpster two days ago. We believe Elias had her murdered. He needs to be—”

The image wavered as Rolind turned his head toward the door behind him. He looked back at the camera.

“Someone’s coming! I must go. Good luck.”

The face faded and the couple looked down at the dead man.

“Looks like he never made it out,” muttered Ashton.

“Elias will pay for this,” said his wife with cold determination.

***

Wisps of black hair dripped from the man’s skull. His mouth opened on a forest of broken teeth.

Elias wiped his nose with the back of his hand, grunted, and spat out a blob of green goo.

His gaze went back to her, looking her up and down in a way Cindy found very demeaning, as if he could see right through her clothes.

She remained still, refusing to show any sign of her disgust.

Finally, the man lifted his eyes to meet hers.

“You are pretty enough,” he said in a raspy voice.

She quirked a brow. “What does that have to do with the job?”

Elias had not been difficult to find. He was something of a celebrity in Athanal, albeit not a much loved one. He ran a mining operation and had the reputation of a brutal, unforgiving, and cruel man.

Because of this, employees would often quit without warning, and Elias was constantly looking to replace them.

Ash and Cinder had spent the last two hours combing the job postings and had finally settled for one in the accounting department.

This disgusting excuse for a human being let out a bark of laughter.

“Is it wrong now to like pretty things?”

She would have told him she was not a ‘thing,’ but held her tongue. She was supposed to be a beggar, not a chooser. There’d be time for squaring up later.

“You know how to count?” he asked.

“Of course.”

He grunted. “You would think it’d be that obvious, wouldn’t you? You’d be amazed at the number of people who try to sneak into my business, pretending to know things they know nothing about.” He stood and slid with some difficulty closer to her, bringing a stink of urine and rotting flesh with him. “You know why?”

Cindy tried hard not to stare at the approaching monstrosity, and just shook her head.

“Of course you don’t, silly thing.” He clicked his tongue and waved his hand about, sending a whiff of that wicked stench her way. “Because I pay well, that’s why. They think they can get away with subpar work, that no one will notice. In other words, they think I’m stupid.”

He was so close now she could have reached out and touched him—though she had no intention of doing so. The mere thought made her stomach churn.

Elias leaned, bringing his head—and his horrid breath—within inches of hers.

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

There was menace in the man’s voice.

She glanced at his grimacing face.

“No, sir. I rather think the opposite.”

He stared at her a moment longer, then let out another bark of laughter.

“I like you!”

He stepped away and Cindy let out a breath of relief while he had his back turned to her.

“You probably can’t count, but that’s okay. You’re pretty. It’ll do. Worse case, I can give you to my customers.”

“Excuse me?”

She cursed at herself. The words had come out unbidden, her brain shocked by the meaning behind the words.

Elias just shrugged as he sat back at his desk.

“There’s good money to make there, if you’re so inclined. More than in accounting, truth be told. And I only take ten percent.”

She held back a stingy retort, took a deep breath, and shook her head.

“I’d rather work in accounting, sir, if you don’t mind. I’m good with numbers.”

He looked her up and down again. Grunted.

“I’m sure you’re good at a few other things, too. Pity. But I’m not one to force things upon my employees.” He gave her a wide toothless grin. “At least, not when they’re just starting. Very well, then. Accounting it is. Report to Station Five in ten minutes. You may go.”

Cindy turned and headed out, feeling filthy from having that man’s eyes look at her that way.

She needed a shower.

***

Ashton sat at the bar across from the building. He’d watched his wife go in with some apprehension. He didn’t like any of the stories he’d heard about this Elias fellow. Still, it wasn’t their first rodeo. He knew Cindy could take care of herself, but it didn’t stop him from worrying.

He gulped down his drink and paid the bartender.

While she wormed her way into the company, he would talk with some of Elias’ other benefactors. Possibly, others were having similar misgivings. Assuming they knew what was going on. And if not, perhaps he could help open their eyes.

His current target was a man named Kretch, who was known to always come to this bar around this time. Ashton’s wristpad had provided a description of the fellow and he now kept his gaze set on the door, watching every person who walked in.

The man was short, almost bald, with dark red glasses hiding his eyes. When he stepped in, despair poured from every pore of his skin. It was so thick, Ashton could have felt it from two blocks away.

With a sigh, the little man sat at a table. He waved his hand and a waitress rushed to him.

Ash waited for the employee to step away before making his move.

He stepped up to the table.

“Are you the one they call Kretch?” he asked.

The other looked up, curiosity in his eyes.

“That would be me,” he said with a nod.

“My name is Tom Gray. I work for the Interplanetary Bank Consortium. If you have a moment, would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”

The man’s eyes lit up upon hearing the name of the bank. He waved toward the chair across from him.

“Please. Join me. I’d be happy to chat. What is this about?”

Ashton pulled the chair and sat down.

“Well, my employer is thinking of investing in Elias’ mines, and I was tasked with investigating the man and his affairs to see if it’s something we would want to do.”

The man’s despair went up a notch as he seemed to shrink in his chair.

“What does that have to do with me?” he asked in a little voice.

“Our sources say you are yourself one of his investors? So we figured you’d be a good person to ask for advice.”

Kretch shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting in every direction.

The waitress arrived with his drink and he downed its contents before the woman had time to move away. He grabbed her arm and begged for a refill.

After the woman was gone, the little man turned to look at Ashton.

“You want my advice, is that it?”

“That’s what I said, yes.”

“Then... no. Go away. Forget about it. Heck, forget you even ever heard of Elias.”

Ashton quirked a brow.

“I don’t understand... Aren’t you in business with him?”

“Yes,” grunted the other. “Though I wish I wasn’t.”

“Couldn’t you pull out, if you’re so unhappy with the deal?”

“And get my throat slit? I think not.”

“Surely, you jest! That’s not how business transactions are settled...”

“It is how they’re settled here. By him.” Kretch pointed his thumb over his shoulder, toward the building across the street. “He’s a monster.”

“Then why get involved to begin with?”

“Because I wasn’t as smart as your employer is. I didn’t do my research. I trusted what my eyes saw and what my ears heard. I mean, sure, Elias looks like a living corpse, but he’s powerful and does everything he can to show that off. He’s also very good at making an impression and finding the right words to win you over when he has half a mind to do so. But, behind the scenes? He’s a monster. And now I’m stuck with him.”

“Couldn’t you just leave Gantsia, then cut him off?”

Kretch made a face. “You’d think it’d be that easy, wouldn’t you? He never leaves this dreadful place, and all his power is here. But he has money, that he does. Money he’s conned out of people like me. And he’s not shy about using that money to reach out beyond Gantsia.”

“Are you saying he’d hire a hitman?”

The waitress returned with a new glass. This time, the little man only took a small sip from it.

He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t he if he can afford it? He has a temper and a mean streak. Besides, who would stop him? It’s not like there’s any justice left in this god-forsaken universe. I’m not chancing it.”

While it was true imperial governments and laws had crumbled along with everything else, there still were some local attempts at maintaining order—with varying degrees of success.

“It wouldn’t be difficult to disappear,” suggested Ashton.

“And abandon all my businesses?” The man grimaced at the thought. “I’m too old to start over.”

“I see. While I’d be inclined to follow your advice, I’m afraid my employer might require more evidence. It’s a fairly large institution that would not have much to fear as to personal retribution.”

Kretch snorted.

“Even large institutions have heads at the top that can roll. But if you want evidence...”

The man fell quiet and lowered his eyes, staring into his glass.

“Yes?”

Kretch downed what was left of his drink and stood. He pressed his credcard against the top of the table to pay his tab while he looked at Ash.

“You should talk to his son. Ask him about Marietta.”

He turned and left without waiting for a response.

***

“Elias has a son?” Disgust dripped from Cindy’s voice. “I pity the woman who bore him.”

“Maybe the guy was young and dashing at the time?”

She snorted. “I doubt ‘dashing’ was ever a relevant term to describe that walking pile of malodorous waste.”

For this mission, they had deemed it best if no one knew they were together. So they had taken separate rooms and different jobs, and communicated using their wristpads.

Ashton laughed. “It can’t be that bad!”

“You’re not the one who had to stand within inches of his nauseating stench or to feel the touch of his viscous hands. I feel filthy just thinking about it.”

“He touched you?”

“Well, no, but he stood close enough that I felt it all the same.”

Ashton wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He didn’t like her being so close to that monster, but he also knew she could take care of herself. Besides, taking risks was part of their job description.

“What I don’t understand,” he finally said, “is why there are no mentions of him in our records. I’ve been going through everything we have on Elias and there’s absolutely nothing about a son—let alone a wife.”

“You think she could be Marietta?”

He shrugged. “All I know is that it’s a rather unusual name. What about you, hon? What did you find out?”

“You mean aside from the fact that Elias is a sleazy and putrid piece of garbage?”

“Aside from that, yes.”

She snorted again. “It’s too early to say, love. I just got in. All I know for sure is that there is a lot of money going in and out of that business.”

“Alright. Let’s keep digging, and we’ll reconvene tomorrow.”

***

After talking with more of their target’s investors, it became obvious everyone was afraid of the man, and all had similar misgivings as Kretch.

One other thing soon became crystal clear.

Though there were no official traces of a son, everyone in Athanal had heard of him... though no one had ever seen him. All they had were rumors. The most outrageous one stated the boy—whose name was Lueck—had been gifted to Elias by the dying universe itself.

Ashton would have preferred if Lueck had been conceived by aliens. It would have been more believable, at least—even if no alien form had been seen in over two hundred years.

It took a lot of asking around—and spending hundreds of credits, with a fair amount of guesswork—to finally locate the boy.

Because no one ever saw him, they assumed his father kept him locked at home.

Now, it only was a matter of getting to him...

***

“Why even bother?” asked Cindy.

“What do you mean?”

“Kretch told you the boy could provide evidence, but I’d argue we have more than enough. Besides, our mission isn’t to gather evidence, but to stop Elias.”

“True.” Ashton pondered his wife’s words for a moment as he admired her face. It was projected on his retina, and he longed to touch her. They hadn’t seen each other in the flesh for three days now, and he missed her dearly. “And yet, I can’t help but feel this is significant. Call it intuition.”

Cindy sighed. “Fine. And how do you propose we get to him without blowing our covers?”

That would be the tricky part, of course.

“Elias knows you, but he doesn’t know me. Maybe I can get in pretending to be...” He paused for a moment, thinking, then laughed. “I could say he sent me to check on his son.”

Cindy gave him a dubious look. “What if he’s home?”

“Can you access his schedule so we know when he isn’t?”

“Maybe...”

“Anything new on your end?”

“That device he’s building... Isn’t it supposed to be for the Gantsian government?”

“I believe so.”

“Then why is he spending so little money on equipment? Instead, I see him transferring large sums to hundreds of small, shady accounts.”

“Why shady?”

“For one, why so many different accounts? For another, the names on them make no sense. A few are businesses, but most belong to civilians.”

“Could they be salaries?”

Cindy snorted. “I’ve seen what those look like, and this is not it. There’s nothing official about these transactions. It’s all very hush-hush. No one wants to talk about it, let alone ask questions.”

“Interesting. You’ll have to dig deeper.” He paused, looking around him. “Gotta go, hon. Get me that schedule as soon as you can and I’ll work something out.”

“Will do.”

***

Thunder roared in the distance as Ashton marched under a burning sky. He’d had to worm his way out of the city—and the mountain—as Elias’ house was built beyond the safety of the rock chambers. Which was an odd choice.

It took him two hours to reach it. A bleak and enormous block of white stone walls. He stared at it for a long moment and shook his head.

This place was probably just as sturdy—if not more—as the mountain itself.

He could have used a glider to get here, but he had deemed it wiser not to. It would have been safer, but also trickier. If anyone had controlled the vehicle, they would have seen he’d never gone anywhere near Elias, which would make his entire story crumble.

Better safe than sorry.

On the other hand, no one in his right mind would come out here on foot—let alone someone sent by Elias. But he’d come up with a story to counter that.

He walked up to the door—a metal thing with rusty hinges—and knocked.

After a five-minute wait, it swung open, and he stepped into a dark room.

Inside, three men squinted at him.

“Who are you and what do you want?” asked one of them, who had gray hair and a gray beard.

“I’m Ashley,” he lied. “Elias sent me to check on his son.”

The guard frowned. “Well, that’s a first. Why the hell would he do that?”

“That’s not for the likes of us to know,” he answered with as much confidence as he could muster. “When the boss gives me an order, I don’t question it. Do you?”

The other tensed. A few seconds of silence followed.

“I need to double-check your story,” the man finally said.

“Of course.”

This was not unexpected.

Which was why he had planted a dozen jammers on his way here.

The guard turned and walked toward the back of the room.

Now that his vision had adjusted to the darkness, Ashton saw the wall across from him was covered with screens and dials. There were blinking lights, too, of varying colors.

As the man started pressing buttons, another stepped forward.

“Where’s your glider? We didn’t detect any approaching.”

“I got hit by a meteor on the way. I barely had time to eject before it blew.”

The second guard grunted as the first returned, a frown on his face.

“Can’t reach Athanal. You’ll have to wait until I can speak to the boss.”

Ashton took on an annoyed expression.

“Look, you can call him all you want, but I am not waiting. He told me this was urgent and that I should get back to him by the end of the day. Having to walk here made me waste enough time as it is. I don’t care to have my skin peeled off, if you know what I mean.”

“Not my problem.”

“Oh, but it is! Who do you think I’ll make sure to blame before I get flayed? I’m not going down alone, you can be sure of that.”

The three men looked at each other, clearly hesitant.

“Or do you think he’ll be happy not to get what he wants?” added Ash. “Maybe you believe he has a sunny disposition?”

They grimaced. The first who had addressed him clicked his tongue.

“Fine. You can go in, but make it quick. Finton will go with you.”

The third man nodded and waved. “Follow me.”

Ashton did just that, though not before demanding a glider be prepared for him, so he wouldn’t waste more time on his way back.

They went through a door, up a flight of stairs, down a corridor, then through another door.

A boy sat there, on the floor, staring at a wall.

Finton just stood there, waiting.

“Leave us,” commanded Ash.

“Not happening.”

Ashton quirked a brow. “Elias has entrusted me with a message that is for his son’s ears only. Would you disobey him?”

The man flinched, hesitated, then grunted.

“I’ll wait outside the door.”

“Good call.”

He waited for the guard to step out, then turned to the boy.

Lueck hadn’t moved, not even to look at him. He still sat there, staring at the wall.

Ashton glanced in the same direction, but all he saw was white stone.

He sat next to the child.

“Hello, Lueck.”

Silence.

“My name is Ashley. Your father sent me.”

Still silence.

“He wants to know how things are going with Marietta?”

The boy blinked. Turned his head slowly.

“He did not send you.”

Ashton frowned. “Why would you say that?”

“You are not who you say you are. Why do you lie?”

“And who do you think I am?”

The boy tilted his head, staring at him in silence for a moment.

“Who is Cinderella?”

Ashton jerked back.

Could this boy read his thoughts?

“That and many other things,” said Lueck as he turned to face the wall again. He pointed to it. “I can see the world, too. It is dying. As are the stars. And the universe. Everything.”

“How is this possible...”

It was not so much a question as the voicing of his shock. And though he had only muttered the words, the child had heard them clearly.

“Marietta did it,” he answered distractedly.

Something had bothered Ashton since the start of this conversation, and he finally realized now what it was. There was a total lack of emotion in each of the boy’s responses.

Careful to empty his mind of all thoughts, he took a deep breath before voicing his next question.

“Who is Marietta?”

The boy shrugged, still staring at the white wall. “It is not a ‘who’. It is a ‘what’. It is that which drains the stars and replenishes the seas. It is that which feeds the sun and dries the earth. It is—”

“I don’t understand.”

Lueck smiled without looking at his visitor.

“Of course you don’t. No one can understand Marietta. It is everything humans are not. It is beyond your understanding.”

“Is it a machine?”

“If you wish it to be.”

Ashton frowned. Had Elias invented some infernal device and used it to experiment on this child, creating some sort of mutant?

The boy laughed as he looked at the spy again.

“You are funny. Elias does not have enough brain cells to design something even a tenth as powerful as Marietta. He only found it and used it, though he barely understands it. Of course he doesn’t. How could he? He is only human, after all. As are you.”

“Are you claiming not to be human yourself?”

The child blinked, then turned to look at the wall.

“I do not know what I am.” A pause. “I am more. And less. I am something else entirely. Marietta gave me this shape. But did I exist before, or did it create me? I do not know.”

“Could you not ask?”

Lueck smiled. “I ask it many things, all the time, but it does not like to answer.”

“Why not?”

“It would not be worthy of its time. There are other things it would rather do. That is fair.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Are you held prisoner?”

The boy who was no boy let out a very boyish-like sigh.

“I see beyond, but I cannot walk through. I can hear beyond, but I cannot be heard. I can smell the world, the scents of rot and decay, but I cannot heal it.”

“Could you?”

“No. Of course not. Nothing could. I can only mourn.”

“You mourn the world?”

“What else is there to do?”

Ashton let silence come between them again as he tried to process all this new information.

“Where is Marietta?” he asked after a few minutes had passed.

The child pointed toward the ground.

“We sit upon it.”

[Read the conclusion in Part 2]

Want to read more of my Science-Fiction stories? Check out these titles, if you haven’t already:

• Everlife – Chapter 1 (the opening to my debut novel—a Science-Fantasy adventure)

• Malarqi and Thyme (time travelers in Ancient Greece)

If you enjoyed this story, please feel free to forward it to your friends or to share it on social media.

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Thank you!

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Text (c) 2022 by Alex S. Garcia.

Header: royalty-free stock images, edited by me.

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