Vampire Moon
by Graham Catt
Zeezar Boot had tracked Tatters to a moon in the Urzoxes system on the
very edge of the Outer Rim. The moon was so remote it didn't have a
name, just a catalogue reference - Q990. It was the ideal location for
Dash Tatters and his gang.
As Zeezar manoeuvred around rocky outcrops and across dusty grey
plains, he began to wonder if it was wise to be confronting Dash
Tatters on his own. He recalled the last words of his boss, Soliptus
Tux, before leaving Exus. “Remember, Boot, this is a track and trace
only. No heroics!”
But Zeezar recalled those colleagues that had died at the hands of Dash
Tatters and others like him, and he felt he could take them all on his
own. He did have Wex, his giant Marmorean jungle cat, and Wex could be
ferocious. But how would the big cat fare against a blaster or a
light-knife? At the moment, Wex was curled on a blanket, snoring
softly. He looked anything but ferocious.
Zeezar Boot was a ten-foot-tall tigrot from the planet Escopia. Like
all Escopians, Boot was thin and wiry. He augmented the weaker areas of
his physical makeup (hips, elbows, hands) with mechanical components. A
modified Escopian makes for a formidable opponent.
The tracking signal strengthened as they passed over a deep ravine, so
Zeezar slowed, turned, and flew back over the site. Zeezar could see no
sign of any spaceships or any kind of settlement, but this didn't mean
there was nothing there. Tatters could easily conceal his spacecraft in
a cave, or even use his so-called 'magic' to hide from trackers.
Dash Tatters was no ordinary human, he claimed to have gained
supernatural powers after following an ancient ritual. He changed his
appearance - smearing a ghostly white paste over his body and face,
shaving his head and body, and sharpening his incisor teeth. He called
himself a 'vampire', but didn't drink blood, as did the vampires of
legend. Although he did enjoy the occasional frenzy of murder and
bloodlust. It is believed that at least eleven of his gang have gone
through this so-called 'vampire' ritual.
Zeezar Boot brought his ship down at the edge of the ravine. It made an
odd choking sound and wobbled before landing. Zeezar cursed and kicked
the control panel. The ship lurched to a stop, waking Wex, who looked
up from his makeshift bed with dazed eyes.
As Zeezar moved around the ship, shutting down various systems, Wex
yawned, stretched, and went in search of food.
While waiting for Wex, Zeezar sifted through six years of documentation
listing the dozens of crimes Dash Tatters and his gang had committed.
Some recent incidents were among the worst. A colony on Piscopia in the
distant Rhut system was destroyed and all seventy-two colonists were
killed. Following that incident, an A-level Security vessel - the Edeso
- together with twenty men and several attack cyborgs were sent to Rhut
to arrest or destroy Tatters and his men. There is no record of exactly
what happened, but the Edeso was later found drifting near Parcos, a
string of decapitated heads tied to the ship like some obscene flag.
Zeezar paused from his reading, once again worrying over his ability to
confront Dash Tatters on his own. If the crew of the Edeso couldn't do
it, what hope did he have? But he kept telling himself that he knew
Tatters' weak spot. That he was smarter and quicker than Tatters. Now
he wasn't so sure.
He became aware of Wex sitting behind him, licking his lips. Zeezar
turned and stroked the cat's big head.
"How do you feel about going for a walk?" said Zeezar.
*****
After getting into his own spacesuit, Zeezar helped Wex into his
breathing apparatus, a small, synthetic device that fitted over the big
cat's nose and mouth. Zeezar armed himself with blasters, mini-bombs
and a light-knife.
Once ready, they slipped out of the spaceship and made their way down
the rocky slope. There was little natural light on moon C990. The moon
was orbiting a dead planet which, in turn, orbited Urzoxes - a small
pale sun.
Zeezar shone a torch over the boulder-strewn ground. Wex followed him,
picking his way carefully over and around the boulders. As they
approached the bottom of the ravine, Zeezar waved his torch over the
sheer cliff face that ended the valley, and revealed a large opening,
large enough to swallow a spaceship.
As Zeezar entered the cave, he switched his torch to 'dim', and then,
as a light appeared in the distance, he switched his torch off. It was
then that he noticed that Wex was not behind him.
"Where's that darned cat got to?" he muttered. He thought to turn back
and look for Wex, but decided against it when he heard voices up ahead.
He found the spaceship first. It was a converted military ship from
Malathusa - tough and fast.
But it was empty. And except for a few blinking lights, it was dark.
The voices Zeezar could hear were coming from further into the cave.
As Zeezar walked on, the cave widened, and the ceiling stretched away
above, until it felt as though he were walking in empty space. There
was a bend in the path, and Zeezar found a wall of boulders behind
which he could hide and watch the proceedings below.
There was a large circular chamber, at the centre of which was a fire.
Around the fire were Dash Tatters and his men. One of them knelt before
the fire, while Tatters stood over him with a curved blade. He drew his
blade across the other man's throat and, as blood spurted onto the
ground, the man collapsed. Dash Tatters managed to catch some of the
blood in a dish. He tipped the blood into the fire, and flames shot up
towards the ceiling of the chamber. A minute or so passed, and the man
who'd had his throat cut, got slowly to his feet. He glowed a ghostly
white, and a fire burned in his chest. He seemed taller, more muscular,
than he did only minutes ago. Dash Tatters and the other men surrounded
him and took turns cutting into him with knives. The knives left no
mark and drew no blood.
Zeezar did not know what he was seeing, but he didn't like it. "This
must be how they generate their superhuman strength," he told himself,
as he turned and made his way quietly out of the cave. He still had
some way to go when he heard shouting from the chamber he'd just
visited. When the yelling was accompanied by the sound of feet charging
towards him, Zeezar realised that Tatters and his men had somehow
discovered that there was an intruder in the cave.
As Dash Tatters and his men neared, laser blasts joined their shouting,
as they shot blindly at shadows and boulders.
As he passed the Tatters' spaceship, Zeezar attached miniature bombs to
the front and rear of the ship. If he couldn't arrest Dash Tatters, he
would make sure that Tatters and his men never left Q990.
It was only a short distance from the ship to the cave entrance. After
leaving the cave, Zeezar found a hidden vantage point from where he
could watch the results of his explosions. He waited until he was sure
Dash Tatters and his men were close to the ship, then triggered the
bombs.
A cascade of rock shot out of the cave entrance, and the cliff above
gave way and fell into the ravine, filling it as though a flood of
water. It was a far greater effect than Zeezar had expected. And he
hoped that Wex hadn't been caught up in it.
While waiting for the dust clouds to clear, Zeezar clambered about the
ravine calling for Wex. It was unlike the cat to disappear, and Boot
began to fear for the worst. When he heard rocks shifting behind him,
he assumed it was Wex, and turned to express his relief.
But it was not Wex, it was Dash Tatters, lifting enormous boulders as
though they were made of paper. His men were around and behind him,
clearing the cave entrance, as easily as sweeping a dusty floor. Not
one of them appeared hurt by the explosion.
Zeezar Boot realised that it was going to be impossible to get past
Tatters, climb out of the ravine, find Wex, and get away in his ship.
"But maybe I can take a few of them with me?" he thought, drawing out
his blasters.
Boot had been hiding behind a group of boulders. He stepped out from
his hiding place and aimed two shots at Dash Tatters' chest. Tatters
staggered backwards slightly but was otherwise unhurt.
"Zeezar Boot! You're a long way from home!" growled Dash Tatters, his
enormous incisors glinting in the pale light. "But it was awful nice of
you to bring us a replacement ship."
As he spoke, the others of his group walked towards Boot, who shot at
them repeatedly.
"Don't waste your blasters, Boot. They have no effect on us," said Dash
Tatters.
Zeezar turned and ran, scrambling up the steep slope towards his ship.
"Soliptus Tux was right," he told himself. "I'm not strong enough to
deal with Dash Tatters on my own."
He was near the top of the slope, when a fist-sized boulder sailed up
behind him and smacked him on the back of the head. Boot wore a metal
plate over his skull, but it did not protect him. The Escopian toppled
over like a great, wiry tree.
*****
When Zeezar awoke, he found himself laying on the hard ground next to
his spaceship. He was sore all over, after being dragged up the rocky
slope. His hands and feet were tied. He could hear Tatters and his men
talking angrily to each other. They seemed to be arguing about him.
While Dash Tatters wanted to take him with them, some of the others
wanted to leave him on the moon, and at least one other wanted to kill
him.
"Let's finish him off now - the freak!" snarled Bosh, Tatter's
Lieutenant, the scars on his shaved head seeming to glow angrily in the
dim sunlight.
"Shut it, Bosh, I've other plans for this one," replied Dash Tatters.
Zeezar Boot would never entirely understand what happened next, for it
happened in the blink of an eye, a blur of flesh and fur, of blasters
and knives.
It was Wex, reappeared from the invisible. But this Wex was bigger and
faster than the cat Boot had known - so fast! He leapt from one man to
the other, slashing with knife-like teeth, slicing with long curved
nails. They dropped with insides spilling, limbs missing, their
previous strength no match for this giant Marmorean jungle cat.
Throughout it all, Dash Tatters attempted to bring Wex down with a
blaster, but it was as though he were moving in slow motion, his shots
wayward and useless. When he realised that he didn't stand a chance
against the cat, Tatters turned and fled, running along the ridge away
from the cave entrance and Boot's spaceship.
Meanwhile, having brought down the rest of Tatters' gang, Wex tore
through Boot's hand and foot ties. Zeezar wrapped his long arms around
the cat, burying his face in the cat's muscular neck and shoulders.
“It’s so good to see you, Wex,” he said. The cat was bigger and
stronger than he had been, and his teeth were like knives.
"Where have you been, Wex?" Zeezar asked the cat, running his hand
along its back. "Have you found the source of Dash Tatters' super
strength?” Wex ignored Zeezar’s questions and proceeded to groom
himself with a big rough tongue.
"Speaking of Tatters, did you see which way he ran?" asked Zeezar Boot,
as he stood and shook the dust from his back and sides. Wex did not
wait until Boot was ready but tore off along the ridge in the direction
Tatters had gone.
"Damn you, Wex!" cursed Boot. "There's no way I'm gonna keep up with
you."
Zeezar climbed into his spaceship. After a slight hiccup, the engine
started, and Boot was able to lift the ship several metres off the
ground and move at running pace after Wex.
Presently, he saw the jungle cat leave the ridge, and sprint across an
area free of boulders towards a tall stone structure. As the cat's paws
hit the ground, a spray of dust was thrown up, until it looked as
though Wex was leaving a grey vapour trail.
Boot brought the ship to a stop just as Wex ran the last few metres
across the plain. However, the cat didn't stop so that Zeezar could
join him, but kept running, disappearing into the stone structure. Boot
left the ship, grumbling again about Wex's inability to wait for him.
He carried a laser-rifle and kept a light-knife at his waist. As he
climbed out of his ship, Boot paused and looked over the structure in
front of him.
From a distance, it had looked like a temple, made by man or some other
sentient being. But up close, it was clearly a natural assembly of
enormous stone pillars and domes.
Zeezar tentatively walked towards the structure. He knew enough about
Tatters to be sure that he wouldn't be sitting around daydreaming. Dash
Tatters would be waiting for them.
*****
There was a hollow inside the stone structure, with pillars forming
walls, but no ceiling, so that the sky was visible directly above. Boot
kept his rifle at the ready, anticipating Dash Tatters' appearance. But
there was no sign of Tatters or Wex.
Then he heard a scuffle. High above, atop the pillars, the pale,
muscular figure of Dash Tatters struggled with the big cat, the man's
body decorated with deep scratches. Wex had been pushed back onto his
hind legs, lashing out at Tatters with his forelegs. But even Zeezar
Boot at ground level could see that Wex was overbalanced, and likely to
fall at any moment.
"Be careful, Wex," he whispered to himself.
As if in reply, Dash Tatters lifted a large boulder and heaved it at
the big cat. The boulder hit Wex in the lower body, knocking his left
paw off the pillar. Wex turned awkwardly, to try and hang on, but his
claws just scraped at hard stone, and he fell a dozen or more metres
onto his back, throwing up a big cloud of grey-blue dust.
His body lay there inert, and Boot knew that his giant Marmorean jungle
cat had not survived.
Zeezar had fired at Tatters several times during the struggle. Dash
Tatters had now disappeared, but this didn’t mean he'd been shot. Boot
wasn't the greatest sharpshooter, especially over such a long distance.
Tatters was probably hiding high up among the pillars.
But then Boot was suddenly filled with panic - Dash Tatters was more
likely trying to steal Boot's spaceship.
Zeezar Boot looked at the still body of his jungle cat and felt a deep
ache. He promised to come back for Wex after he'd dealt with Dash
Tatters.
He ran from the stone structure towards his ship. As he neared, he
could see Dash Tatters' shaved head through the rear windows. Tatters
was at the controls, trying to get the ship into the air. Boot knew
this wasn't going to be easy. His ship was an old model and had
acquired a few idiosyncrasies.
Boot was within throwing distance of his ship when it rose awkwardly
from the ground and lurched in a forward direction. The ship moved
slowly, but with enough speed to keep well ahead of Zeezar Boot.
Boot took aim with his laser-rifle and shot at the underside of his
spaceship. He hoped to knock out the Warp Drive. If he damaged it
sufficiently, Tatters would be unable to generate enough speed to get
beyond the moon's gravitational pull.
The ship slowed, allowing Boot to catch up. He grabbed one of the
decorative fins on the rear of the ship, and pulled himself up onto
side of the craft, then the roof. Boot slid carefully along the roof
until he was above the hatch door.
The spaceship slowed, extended its landing gear, and lowered onto the
dusty plain. Boot didn't understand why Tatters had stopped, but didn't
really care, for it gave him a chance to capture the criminal.
The hatch slid open, and Dash Tatters climbed out and moved to inspect
the rear of the ship. As he did so, Zeezar jumped from the roof of the
ship onto the surprised Tatters. They fell into the dust and rolled in
a tangle of limbs.
Normally, Dash Tatters would have been the stronger of the two, with
his heavy muscular torso, powerful arms and neck. But Zeezar Boot had
his own particular strengths - all Escopians are tall and agile, but
many opt for additional biomechanical changes to make them even more
formidable. Boot had many such changes - hands, knees, shoulders, eyes,
and others. As he fought with Tatters he called upon every shred of
skill and strength to help him.
Boot's modified hands included long, pointed fingers, each as sharp as
a needle. With Dash Tatters above him, driving pale thumbs into his
throat, Zeezar was able to drag Tatters' head towards him, and slide
his fingers into Tatters' eyes, pushing them until blood ran down his
hands and arms.
*****
As Zeezar Boot prepared to leave Q990, he thought to check on his
passengers one last time. Dash Tatters was securely bound, his eyes had
been bandaged and he had been given some powerful painkillers to put
him to sleep. He would be delivered to the Pan-Galactic Authority on
Exus to answer for his many crimes.
The body of Wex had been carefully wrapped in the cat's favourite
blanket. Boot would make sure that Wex was buried under his favourite
tree back on Escopia.
Boot had also checked the Warp Drive and found it to completely fine.
It seems his rifle shots had come nowhere near their target. He decided
to volunteer for some target practice the next time he was on Exus.
He would also have to discuss Dash Tatters 'vampire' powers with
Soliptus Tux. The 'power' was clearly somehow linked to Q990, but what
it was and how it was accessed were things that would have to be
investigated.
As the spaceship left the Urzoxes system, Zeezar prepared to switch on
the Warp Drive. He was entering the Exus coordinates to the system,
when he became aware of a hot breath on his cheek. He turned to find
Wex sitting next to him, casually looking on, as though nothing unusual
had happened.
"How on Malathusa did you survive that fall?" said Boot, throwing his
arms around the big cat.
Wex didn't answer, of course, but he leant over and ran his tongue
across Zeezar Boot's cheek.
THE END
© 2017 Graham Catt
Bio: Graham Catt is a South Australian writer of poetry and short
stories. He is currently working on a collection of science fantasy
stories for younger readers.
E-mail: Graham Catt
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