The Ballad of Omega Brown:
Omega and the Lizardmen of Karackas

by Tom Vaine

Table of Contents parts: 1, 2, 3

conclusion

“Look Hoonra” — Omega slung the belt across his shoulder — “I hear what you’re saying about honour, I do.” He gestured with his pulse-sword. “I’m happy using this thing, but hear me out. You asked what my plan was. The truth is, I improvise. It’s basically my area of expertise.” He patted the cylinders. “These are what you call an opportunity.

“Now, I understand that you’re probably more than happy taking down each and every one of these scavengers with your bare hands, but I also understand that even if you do, their setup is still going to be here. Others are eventually going to find it, and then the people who hired me are going to be in exactly the same position they are right now.

“We’ve got to cripple the operation here permanently, but we also need to give these goons something to think about. That’s going to require a little extra oompf, you know what I’m saying? Besides, I require satisfaction.”

“Satisfaction?”

“They shot my bird, Hoonra,” Omega said, a little more forcefully than he’d meant to. “That was a damn loyal pterosaur. I’ve been here for weeks looking for these creeps, and the first sign I actually find of them, they shoot my bird.”

Hoonra nodded and moved towards him. Gently she placed her massive hand on his shoulder. “I understand, Omega. I, too, have recently lost a new pet.” Again, that hissing, hiccupping sound.

Omega shrugged her away. “You need to work on your comedic timing. Let’s get this over with.”

The pair jogged down the catwalk. The overhanging foliage became less dense as they moved, and the light from the lamps was bright. Better to move quickly, then. Omega could see they were coming to the big junction in the middle.

“There you are,” he said as he came off the catwalk. Before him sat two smallish fuel tanks set to the side of the landing zone. “Just buy me a minute or two, all right?” he called over his shoulder as he approached the tanks. “This won’t take long.” Omega lay on his stomach, pushing the grenades under the tank supports as he did so.

“Buy you a minute?” Hoonra asked.

“It means stand guard.” Even as he said it, Omega was interrupted by a klaxon’s wail. Scanning the platform, he could see boots scurrying back and forth at the far end of the landing pad. “Behind you!” he called, realizing as he did it that he could no longer see where his companion had gone.

Not great, but also not the best time to worry about it. Omega turned his attention back to the grenades, looping and knotting the belt around the struts that supported the tanks. These ones had been a particularly good find, owing to the timers attached to their detonators. He was keying them all for two minutes when he heard the boots getting closer.

The feet from the other side of the platform had, apparently, decided to get close and drag him out rather than risk a stray shot at the tanks. He could hear more coming from behind him as well, which was fine, except that the alien bodyguard he’d brought was gone, and the dial on the second grenade was loose and, even if he got it working now, they’d all still be standing right beside it when the damn things went off, and where the hell had Hoonra—

There was a crash to his immediate right, followed by screaming. Omega could see two enormous reptilian legs striding through the group of uniforms and boots. As he watched, the boots began scrambling. Several were lifted bodily from the platform, while others were slashed open by the Karackian’s sword.

Omega waited until the nearest guards were fully taken care of before finishing with the last grenade. He scrambled out from beneath the tanks and stood, surveying the sheer depth of Hoonra’s handiwork.

“Yeah. Again, super-impressive. I’m a total fan of your work. We should probably go now, though.” He started running down the catwalk they had taken to reach the platform, Hoonra close behind. He looked back as they neared the place they’d begun.

“Nobody seems too keen on following us.”

“There looked to be a fair number of the scavengers coming from one of the larger tents. I threw one of their colleagues through the side of that shelter to slow them down. I believe I frightened them.”

“No kidding? Hoonra, would I be correct in assuming that you can run quite a bit faster than I can?”

“Yes.”

“Right, then this is where we split up for a little bit.” Omega reached down and activated his boots. The little jets lifted him a foot or so in the air. “We don’t want to be this close when those tanks blow. Head back to Rokan, I’ll meet you there.”

Hoonra nodded and then disappeared into the jungle. Omega keyed the boots with his headset and took off. He hadn’t flown more than twenty seconds before the explosion happened. The blast had a less shattering effect on the surrounding area than Omega had thought. Still, he had to compensate in flight as the shockwave rolled past him.

When he looked back, the trees were still shaking around what looked like a hanging bonfire. He turned back; his helmet located Rokan and his flying mammal. The branches were still swaying when he landed.

Hoonra had managed to arrive first, just as she’d said. She was standing toe to toe with Rokan, and Omega could hear the two saurians growling and hissing at each other. The other two aliens kept a healthy distance. Omega’s headset was having a bit of a problem keeping up, but he didn’t need a translator to tell him he was watching an argument.

“It had to be done, Rokan,” Hoonra insisted as he approached.

“Nonsense,” the older lizard fired back. He pointed over her shoulder at Omega. “He has convinced you to commit this... this transgression.”

Given the look he saw in Rokan’s eyes, Omega thought it best to stay a few feet back with Hoonra stuck between them.

“He did not need to convince me. It was the most effective way to deal with the scavengers quickly and permanently.”

“But honour demands—”

“Hoonra did fight with honour,” Omega interjected. “She used only her steel and her bare hands. I was the one who cheated.” He put on a grim smile. “It was the only way prey like me could have survived.” He could hear Rokan growling deep in his throat which was exactly the kind of thoroughly angry noise he’d been hoping for. Time to play his last card.

“Either way, what’s done is done now, though there’s still the matter of payment to be considered.”

As if on cue, Rokan bellowed. Sudden as a striking snake, he leapt towards Omega. There was nothing he could have done to stop the colossal lizard, and it was only his good luck that Hoonra kept working to stand between them.

“We owe you nothing!” Rokan spat between bared fangs.

“No, of course not,” Omega replied. “You know, Rokan, for being the one in charge, you don’t come across as all that smart.” The Lizardman’s eyes bulged slightly, and Omega continued: “No, I wasn’t asking for credit. I was offering.”

“We want nothing from you,” hissed Rokan.

Omega nodded. “Well then, it’s a handy thing I wasn’t offering it to you. I’m offering it to her.”

Hoonra turned as he spoke. “What do you mean?”

“Well, remember I told you that I was being paid to take care of those scavengers? They’re gone now, and I’ll be getting that payment in full. But I’m not the one who did most of the work. In fact, looking back, it seems like you did almost all of the heavy lifting, Hoonra, which means that you should get a chunk of the pay. After all,” he looked back at Rokan, “it would be the honourable thing for me to do.”

Rokan straightened, his expression becoming bored. “Stupidity, as usual. What use would Hoonra have for your credit on Karackas?”

“Not very much, I guess. That’s why I would encourage her not to go back there. Lots of opportunity to make credits and spend them, if she’s travelling the galaxy working as my bodyguard instead.” Omega held out his hand. “What do you say, Hoonra? You mentioned that you wanted to see more of the galaxy. Here’s your chance.”

Hoonra regarded Omega for a moment. “Truly?” she asked. Her pupils dilated, and Omega’s headset told him her heart rate had shot up. She was, he supposed, excited by the offer.

Instead of taking his hand, she grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into a massive hug. Even her tail curled around him, and Omega could feel the ribs straining to maintain their shape within his chest.

“On Karackas, this is how we express agreement among close friends. I would love to accompany you, Omega. Consider me as your bodyguard,” she said.

“Swell,” Omega wheezed.

“Absolutely not!” shouted Rokan. The alien was so irate that Omega could see the tone of his skin slipping into a bright red even in the predawn light. “The words of outsiders are like sand on a beach. You will hear me when I—”

Hoonra dropped Omega onto the branch and spun around. With one solid push, she heaved Rokan onto his back. Omega couldn’t decide what Rokan looked more full of: surprise or blind rage.

“No, Rokan” — Hoonra overrode her elder when he tried to speak — “You will hear me, instead. I have passed the ritual today, twice now, and I am an adult by every standard our people hold, whether you will acknowledge it or not. As an adult I choose my own path. Omega is unorthodox, but he is honourable. I will follow him and see what this galaxy has to show me. You have no say in this. Goodbye, Rokan.” Hoonra did not even look at the two aliens still in the howdah; she turned her back and moved towards another tree.

Rokan stood, glowering. It was clear to Omega that things had turned decidedly off course as far as the lizard was concerned, and Omega thought this was likely his best chance to leave with all of his limbs still attached. “See you around, Rokan.”

“Pray that you do not.” Rokan’s voice quivered a little, and Omega had to force himself not to walk faster. “Do not ever show your face here, or anywhere else I can find it, or you will live to regret it.”

“Yeah,” Omega chuckled, “like I’ve never heard that one before.” He jumped down to a wide branch growing out of a different tree. When he reached the trunk, he found Hoonra waiting for him. She stood with her arms crossed, her head tilted to the side, listening. Faintly, Omega could hear the soft beating of leathery wings gaining altitude.

“So, any regrets? I got a real rush out of annoying Tall, Green and Ugly like that, but I bet we can still figure out a way for you to get back to Karackas, if that’s what you want.”

Hoonra shook her head. “No. I am tired of the rigidity of my home. It’s time for me to move on and see what I can find.” She motioned to the jungle around them. “Where are we going now?”

“Now?” Omega looked at his wrist comp and activated the homing beacon. “Well, first we’re going to sit tight here for a little while, until our ride comes. Then, we’re going to go back to my ship and our payment. After that?” He shrugged. “After that, we see just how much trouble we can get ourselves into.”

Copyright © 2019 by Tom Vaine