Pinafore and the Halfway House

By Richard Fairbairn

In a place beyond the comprehension of mortal man, a group of connected souls prepare to revisit the domain of the living. A disillusioned member of the group refuses to return, his life experiences driving him to a reclusive wilderness. The devoted leader of the group braves an icy wasteland to find his friend, hoping to convince him to live again. Terrible things will happen in the living world if he is successful.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Fairbairn
• Release date: Jun 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463698976

Richard Fairbairn

His debut novel Beyond the Starport Adventure is listed as one of "The 30 Best Self-Published Books of All Time", but author Richard Fairbairn hasn't rested on his laurels. He's written some hard-hitting dark science fiction, along with several action and adventure stories now in beta stage. The fan-favorite Bullet series is ongoing, with the second novel expected early into 2020!Richard drives a flame-red 1978 Triumph TR7, holds a brown belt in karate, and is an amateur astronomer.

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Pinafore and the Halfway House

Copyright 2019 Richard Fairbairn

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review.

www.beyondthestarportadventure.com

Copyright © 2019 Richard Fairbairn

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Acknowledgements

For Bernadette

Chapter One: The Battle for Atlantis

I am Bree Shassnar. I was born three hundred years ago on the tiny island of Pintozia. My home is the westernmost part of the Angel Shield Island cluster, a group of barren rocks seventeen miles off the coast of the continent of Atlantis. The year is nine thousand four hundred and eighty-nine. I have been, for over two centuries, a warrior serving his highness King Blaizel. I am trained in hand-to-hand combat, bladed weapons, and the forbidden, exotic, weapons of these modern times. I am part of the Seventh Shield of Atlantis, a legion of warriors loyal to the King and charged with protecting Atlantis from the pretender, King Huxell, and his relentless hordes of foreign allies. Few of us are left alive. Pinzer City is burning, devastated by the onslaught of King Huxell’s elite. The survivors have fled to their doom. Pinzer harbor is devoid of the enormous sailboats that once gave the sea color and life. We are the last hope of Atlantis. We defend the Atlantean Sea Jewel, the source of our great kingdom’s power.

My life mate, Princess Jayla Shassnarr was with me. We had been coupled for a century, and a wild and wonderful century it had been. Jayla was a powerhouse; full of fire, energy, and a lustful rage I found inexplicably, uncontrollably, arousing. I might have pitied those who chose to stand before Jayla in battle. But I did not. Instead, I was enamored beyond all sensibility by the skill and ferocity of her fighting prowess. After three centuries, Jayla’s long hair was still the same shade of fiery orange the sun made when it shone through the pyramid’s translucent walls.

Olma Gerrgenn, the raven-haired scholar, had fought alongside me for decades, protected by the luck of a fool and a wild brushstroke of subtle madness. Olma, my closest friend, was three hundred years old and stood eye to eye with me at seven feet and eight inches. He was a powerful warrior wielding a short sword enchanted by science and magic, making it one of the most formidable weapons ever known.

Hazer Thulle, the emerald-eyed orphan of slain City Prefect Joor Hazer, was brave and selfless. He was by far the youngest among us at barely thirty-five years of age. Hazer had purposefully missed the last ship out of the harbor, stranding himself in the pyramid alongside Ambassador Baxxton, the pyramid’s designer, as Baxxton had begun the almost impossible task of extracting the pyramid’s power source from its core.

It was magnificent. Princess Jayla touched the pyramid crystal, staring out at the ruined city. Zimba’s antitheater, where Lewshu and Ulmner tamed the first Soul Dragon and we cheered at the spectacle together, watching man and myth combine for the first time. It’s reduced to a bowl of cinders now. The Sky Towers lie over the city, broken and crushed like the enormous spine of some mighty otherworldly creature. Atlantis is gone my friends and its like will never be seen again. Our stand here, futile as it might be, is a final celebration of the glory that will be forever lost to the foreign invaders.

The great experiment fails, I said. Today, our paradise ends.

The great experiment? Jayla frowned. Atlantis?

The sea jewel.

That. Jayla scratched the tip of her sword against the toe of her sandal. They should have left that in the trench where it belongs. Some things aren’t meant for the appeasement of mortal curiosity.

I took Jayla’s hand in mine. She glared at me – a normal reaction to my showing affection in public – but allowed me to cup her long fingers in my larger hand. It was hard to believe this was the same place we’d lived in for so long. Our home was gone and our friends and families were either dead or had fled to the wild lands of the east.

It’s the end of everything, Jayla said.

At least we’re together, I said.

Always.

The city is a mess of ashes, Olma grunted behind us. I’m betting my favorite eatery is burned out, too.

I glanced over my shoulder. Really?

Olma shrugged. Can’t complain, really. We’ll be having dinner in the great beyond tonight.

Jayla didn’t even turn around. You never did fully grasp reality, Olma.

I grasp it just fine. I just don’t particularly agree with it. He clapped his hands. This is the last time we’ll all be together. I say we enjoy ourselves.

Jayla lifted her crystal sword. The barbarians will break through the city defenses soon, then they’ll come for us. The battle will be... unwinnable.

I know that, Olma said. But is there any reason we can’t enjoy ourselves?

You think death is something to enjoy? Hazer Thulle’s voice was high-pitched, frightened. He stayed out of sight behind Olma, his Stutter Gun looking far too heavy for his hands. I am terrified beyond all sense and reason!

Splendid! Olma laughed. Nothing defies all sense and reason like the plight of Atlantis! Hypnotized by the false promises of a golden kingdom beyond our oceans, Atlantean has turned against Atlantean. No matter which way I try to regard the beliefs and actions of our enemies, I still find it incomprehensible they would lead us to this place of destruction and death.

And yet you laugh? I said. You find this all amusing, Olma?

"I find everything amusing, Prince Bree. It is my shield against the unbelievable and unthinkable."

Huxell is an enemy of reality itself. Jayla swished her sword in front of her face. That’s why I intend to slice his head off myself, given the ghost of a chance. It seems I may get my wish soon. There is movement to the west beyond the antitheater. The Seventh Shield has been overcome.

My love was correct, of course. Beyond the thin barrier of grey smoke, I could see them; an endless army of painted warriors from the Americas. They swarmed over and around the massive recessed bowl of the once grand outdoor showplace. Soon the ruins of the building could not be seen for their vast number.

We are the Seventh Shield, I said. Do you think there are enough enemies for us to share?

No promises. Jayla raised her sword. Huxell is mine! Bring them on, as many as you like. I’m in the mood for a good fight.

The nearest of the advancing savages were several hundred meters away from the pyramid now. I could see dragons beyond them, flying low like colorful ribbons in the sky. The powerful fire-breathing beasts were staying behind the horde of savages, their riders waiting for the poor fools to dash themselves against the impenetrable crystal before they would attempt to penetrate it themselves.

They’re at the perimiter, I said. What’s happening in the reactor chamber?

The jewel is still too hot, Hazer said. Ambassador Baxxton estimates at least another ten minutes – possibly even more.

We can’t hold them that long, Olma said. If they break through the walls, we won’t be able to hold them back.

That will be over my dead body, Jayla said.

Most likely, yes, Olma said. But we’ll have fun together first.

I turned to young Hazer. Get the Vagaries up here – every one of them. Inform the Ambassador his time has run out!

Yes, Prince Shassnarr!

Hazer rushed to the communications console, the two semi-transparent Vagaries guarding the communications console parted to allow Hazer access to the controls, their translucent forms shimmering in response to the rush of air accompanying the rushing young orphan. Hazer’s hands trembled as he worked the controls. He was clearly terrified.

The savages, wielding tall leather shields and crude spears, were fifty meters from the base of the pyramid, then twenty. The glowing barrier prevented us from hearing their war cries and screams, but the diminutive army was definitely ready for battle.

They’re so cute, Olma said. Are they supposed to be that small? This is like a nightmare I have where the illegitimate children I’ve fathered find out where I—

Focus! Jayla snapped.

Hold fast, I said. Turning to Jayla, I added: They won’t get through.

The wall of olive-skinned fury slammed against the pyramid. I was staring into wild eyes lusty with war, but in the next breath, the forerunners were crushed by the weight of those pushing from behind. An ocean of blood appeared, blotting out everything but the odd spear, arm or leg. Still, there was no sound.

There are thousands of them! Hazer said. They’re insane.

They can’t get through, I said. Even without the jewel, the pyramid walls are too strong. The real threat is the Dragon Riders. The first of them are circling around us.

They don’t know about the pit, Jayla said. They think the Ambassador means to flee with the jewel.

Possibly, I said. Perhaps they just want to cut off our retreat?

Jayla gave me a hot look. Olma laughed loudly, his booming voice jerking Jayla’s head around. Retreat? Olma said. Hey, I’m the one who makes the jokes around here!

Warriors from beyond the West Sea continued to mash themselves against the pyramid. A shadow passed overhead, Dragon Riders circling the pyramid. There was a flash of cobalt energy. It seemed that the Dragon Riders were firing at the top of the pyramid. Then I realized that they were aiming their weapons at the savages beyond the crystal barrier.

Temporal displacement weapons, Olma said. But they’re shooting at the savages – not the pyramid.

Stutter Guns won’t affect the pyramid, I said, thinking out loud. Their actions make no sense.

The carnage beyond the crystal continued. Occasionally, a flare of blue energy would touch one of the advancing painted warriors. When it did, his molecules would be divided into three different temporal states, each one a handful of milliseconds ahead of or behind the original. The Stutter effect varied, ranging from the target simply coming apart in a cloud of disjointed molecules to the molecules colliding in a spectacular and devastating blast of energy.

Explosions erupted beyond the wall as warriors touched by the Stutter Guns exploded. Others stumbled on a few meters before disintegrating. When I saw the surprised faces of the disassembled savages, I knew what the Dragon Riders’ plan was. Princess Jayla knew it, too. I could tell the moment our eyes locked.

What? Olma said. You’re having a romantic moment in—

They’re going to get in! I said. They’re using the savages as bombs!

As I said the words there was a spark and crackle as a warrior, his phasing body coming apart, staggered through the energy-bound crystal. One of the two Vagaries guarding the communications station flew towards the figure, the warrior dissolved into a mess of stray matter before the Vagary reached him. The Vagary stayed where it was – just inside the shimmering wall of the pyramid – as a dozen apparitions rushed to join it from the bowels of the pyramid. Another warrior phased through the pyramid, his sword hand severed at the wrist in a futile lunge towards Olma. A third savage, his body lit up by the Stutter Gun energies, rushed through the barrier. A Vagary wrapped itself around him, glowing brightly as it sucked the energies for the disintegrating intruder. Other Vagaries formed a line alongside the first, a clothesline of flimsy looking glowing silk. Hazer was still at the