Gravity's Child

Chapter 1 - Denial of Self

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. But that’s not quite true. Null had heard everything. The memory of it repeat itself over and over in a maddening cadence in his mind as he listened to the thin whine of the Foldspace Drive of the ship. The low, subtle hum of the gravity generators were the only thing that kept him from falling into that nightmare again, reliving the moment that changed his life forever. He crouched low behind a crate of supplies in the cargo hold of a Mercenary ship called the Hammer. He sat listening; waiting. In the back of his mind, he could still hear that damning scream, over and over again. He inhaled slowly, trying to keep himself calm. His exhale was shaky as the ever present sound of the Fold powering up threatened to overwhelm him. Just as the sounds started to become unbearable, Null’s patience was finally rewarded. The sound of boots on the metal deck of the cargo hold approached, clacking and filling the space with something other than that cursed whine.

Finally.

“Hurry up and grab those med kits. Boss wants to get out of this quadrant in 20 units, and they gotta be in the medbay before that.” the gruff voice of one the crewmates echoed into the hold as the door hissed open, then quickly shut behind them. A grunt was the only reply as he heard them start shuffling through the crates to find what they needed. He had maybe seconds before they discovered his position.

Wait

The sound of metal scraping metal as they moved another stack aside. He moved a few stray locks of his stark white hair from his face.

Wait…, He repeated to himself, forcing himself to stillness like Rokan had taught him.

A clunk sounded as the crate above him was moved over. He felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead. He slid his knife from the sheath on his hip, the tip heavier than the rest of the blade. A hand grasped the final crate directly above his head.

NOW

Null sprung into a flurry of motion, faster and lighter than he should be. He soared high above the men, spinning quickly to orient himself to face them as his boots crashed into the ceiling, holding fast as he Denied his own Gravity. As he hit the ceiling, he quickly hurled the knife at the first of the grunts that had wandered into his trap. He reached into the back of his mind and pushed on the knife, letting the weighted tip lead the way. The knife soared true, burying itself with incredible speed and force into the first bewildered crewmans throat, sending the man spinning from the impact. He pushed again, throwing himself this time as he jumped, flying straight back downward on the same path as the knife.

Old man was right. Practice does make perfect. I hate it when he’s right, He thought to himself sardonically.

As Null landed in a crouch next to the corpse he rolled to the side. The other man had finally pulled out of his stupor with a yell and kicked out. The blow forced Null to keep moving, away from his weapon and close to the wall of the hold. He pushed to his feet, still impossibly light even by the standards of artificial gravity, and far faster than the man expected. Null used that to keep him unbalanced and lashed out with his right fist, once again reaching into his mind for the Denial of Gravity. He gave himself back his normal weight and then some, rooting himself to the ground. At the moment of impact he increased the mass behind the strike, adding just enough force to make sure he could punch through his opponents defenses. Too much mass and he could cripple himself or even blow his own arm off.

The man caught the blow with his forearm in an attempt to block, but he hadn’t expected the amount of power behind the punch, especially for someone of Null’s size. With a grunt he was thrown back against the wall, the breath pushing out from his lungs at the impact.

Null lunged, once again Denying himself of Gravity’s Laws, to give himself speed and distance. He closed the gap, and before the man could bring his arms up to defend himself, Null threw a kick towards his throat, increasing the mass of his foot the same as he had his fist. His boot crushed the mans throat instantly, his labored breaths suddenly coming out wet and gurgling as he struggled to fill his lungs with air past his ruined trachea.

Null stayed there for a moment, his boot pressed against the dead mans neck. He breathed out, quick and shallow; coming down from the adrenaline rush that the short but violent clash had brought about. He could feel himself shivering slightly. It hadn’t been the first time he had killed, but it certainly hadn’t gotten any easier for him. He slowly lowered his leg, letting the weight of the body go slowly, so that the sound of it hitting the deck wasn’t quite as noticeable. Still shaken, he crouched down and searched the body of the crewman. Given that he was the one giving orders, he seemed more likely to have what Null needed.

A few moments of searching later and Null had found it. He pulled a small white keycard from the man’s pocket. He turned from the body and moved over to the man he felled with the knife, quickly pulling the blade free and wiping it clean on the front of the dead man’s clothes. Null knew he that while he was safe for the moment, as the thick walls of the cargo hold had more than likely kept their fight quiet enough, he still didn’t have long before more of the crew came looking for the reason their crewmates hadn’t brought up the supplies they needed.

Null worked quickly, bringing the keycard up to the scanner on his wrist and flipping the switch to bring up the small holo screen mounted to the inside of his forearm. The soft blue light filled his vision, showing various icons programmed for specific tasks. He quickly tapped the key that would scan the card, allowing him to rip the info he needed off the small cards memory. That would allow him to gain access to all the sealed doors throughout the ship, as well as tap into the crews communications. He quickly patched in, running audio into the receiver in his left ear.

He listened for a moment, waiting for any indication that someone might be coming his way.

Good. Nothing. Now keep moving, He thought to himself.

Null glanced at the holo screen one last time to check map he had been able to obtain before sneaking into cargo hold before takeoff. He was toward the aft of the ship, opposite the Engine Room where the Foldspace Drive was. He needed to get to the Bridge. To the Captain. He moved forward and waved his wrist at the black sensor panel recessed into the door frame, using the new encoded info to open the door. Cargo doors on all vessels except Passenger Transports sealed most of their important doors with encoded cards or chips, that way fewer people could access the rooms beyond. It also discouraged stowaways, as no one wanted to get stuck in a cargo hold for possibly several days during a trip through deep space. No one expected a Denier though, let alone one like Null. His plan had worked flawlessly.

He left the Hold, moving into the hallway beyond. Turning right, he silently made his way down the hall, careful not to let his footfalls make noise on the bare gray metal of the decks. Sterile white light from the overhead lamps filled the halls, casting a shadow behind him. Mercenary vessels like the Hammer tended to keep ornamentation to a minimum. Wires, metal pipes, and thick power cables covered the walls, snaking their way throughout the ship. There were some coverings, but only the best merc crews had enough credits to flesh their ships out and cover their innards.

Being on a ship again made Null nervous and kept his body wound tight, like a spring. He was coiled, ready to lash out at a moments notice. He hadn’t been on a ship for almost five years. Not since he had Awakened his Denial. He had stayed planetside, training with Rokan. But he had to be here, even if the Old Man had been against it. It was his only chance to find a lead on his search. He didn’t know when or even if another opportunity like this would present itself. So he had left, stowing away on the Hammer.

After a few minutes Null was finally approaching the Bridge when he heard a noise around a bend in the hall in front of him. Listening closely he was able to discern at least three voices. He almost panicked, but was able to focus long enough to call upon his Denial again. He leaped, divesting himself of almost all his Gravity. He hit the ceiling back first, hooking his feet under some of the loose wires that cluttered every surface of the barren halls, then did the same with his hands. He hung, suspended above like that as the crew members approached. He inhaled slowly, and exhaled the same; focusing every fiber of his being on maintaining his near weightlessness, lest he fall. He could practically hear Rokan in his head chastising him for putting himself in this position. The Old Man would’ve had his head for a mistake like this. Taking this much weight off was still too much of a strain for Null at his current level.

“Boss said he sent Ryker and Triv to get the kits 10 units ago, but he hasn’t heard anything since. Medical hasn’t seen them either. Keep your eyes open boys, we might have a situation on our hands.”, the leader of the three said. A gangly Sauroran, long arms, a tail, and scales covering his mottled skin. The other two were both humans, one tall and well muscled, a knife on one hip and an energy pistol on the other. The other human was smaller, with lank and greasy black hair. They would pass under Null in roughly 30 ticks, but he could already feel the strain in his mind as Gravity fought against his Denial.

Just a little longer…, he thought, willing himself to stillness and focusing everything he had on keeping himself aloft. They weren’t far now, almost underneath him.

“You think we got a stowaway?”, the smaller of the humans asked, almost sounding nervous.

“Nah. Those idiots probably screwed off and went to the mess hall. Besides, who’d be crazy enough to try something like that on a Merc Ship?”, the Sauroran grunted, a chuckle coming from deep in his reptilian throat.

Right. Who indeed? Hurry it up, you morons. I’m dying up here….

Right as they were passing underneath him, Null felt his control slipping. His feet and legs suddenly felt much heavier. His arms soon followed suit, and he had to tighten his grip on the wires. His movement caused a noise, however; the scraping of metal on metal as he shifted to keep from falling.

“Wait….what was that?”, the Sauroran said, stopping suddenly and raising a hand to signal the others to do the same.

“I didn’t hear nothin’.”, the bigger human chimed in. His hand went to the gun on his hip, however.

“I know I heard somethin’…”, the Sauroran growled low, letting his tongue slither out to taste the air around him.

“Wait….THERE!!!”, he shouted, whipping his gaze directly to where Null still barely clung to the ceiling.

Null cursed and dropped, no longer able to hold on anyways. He rolled backwards as he hit the deck, springing to his feet as the men all turned to bear on him now. The larger human had already drawn his pistol and was leveling it at Null off to his right, and the smaller one was pulling a knife from his belt and standing to the left. The Sauroran stayed in the center and was unarmed, though his people possessed greater strength than humans, as well as sharp talons and powerful tails. They usually fought unarmed, unless firearms were involved.

As the man with the gun started to squeeze the trigger, Null reached out with his Denial almost instinctively. He jerked his arm upward in a sweeping motion, his hand in a clawlike grip on empty air. He could feel the weight of the gun in his hand, and he felt the Gravity that tied it to the humans hand where he held it. As he brought his hand up, Null could feel that Gravity twist and like when he had reoriented his own center of gravity to different points to move in unnatural ways, so too did he move the gun’s gravity at the same time as he increased it. The gun flew out of the man’s hand, clattering against the ceiling.

The crewman all sat there stunned, staring up at the gun suddenly clinging to the ceiling. Not wanting to give them any more time to react, Null leaped forward as fast as he could make himself, ripping his knife from its sheath. Before the other two could move he had already buried the blade in the neck of the man on the right who had tried to shoot him. He ripped the knife free and kicked the body away, to clear some space in the cramped hall.

The Sauroran snapped out of his stupor first. He roared and swiped at Null’s head, deadly talons aimed straight for his neck. Null blocked the blow with his left forearm, increasing his mass briefly to absorb the blow. The Sauroran was already spinning however, aiming a blow with this thick tail at Null’s legs.

Null wasn’t able to react to the blow in time. His successive uses of his Denial had started to wear on him, and he was tiring. The tail tripped him and he fell to the deck, the drop knocking the breath out of him. He coughed and looked up just in time to see another talon strike coming straight down at his neck.

He rolled to the side and sprang backward, flipping and throwing himself to the ceiling again. He needed to end this fight soon, otherwise the rest of the crew would be on them and he’d be gunned down.

Almost as if he had read Null’s thoughts, the Sauroran turned to the still awestruck human and barked an order at him.

“Quick! Get to the bridge and alert the ship! We’ve got some kind of Denier on our hands!”, he yelled, pointing with a talon in the direction of the bridge.

By the Void…, Null cursed in his mind as the smaller man shook himself and started running toward the bridge.

Knowing he had only seconds before the entire ship would be alerted, Null threw caution to the wind. It was harder to affect other living things with his Denial, but he could do it. It just took more force than usual. He threw a hand forward and focused on just the chest of the Sauroran and pushed downward, throwing his will against the man. The Sauroran was knocked down, sent sprawling to the deck. Null dropped and increased his own weight again, landing on top of the man. He pushed his knife down toward his opponents neck at the same time, but the Sauroran was fast, and caught Null’s arm just as the tip of his knife was biting into flesh. Null quickly grabbed the knife with his other hand and kept pushing, attempting to throw the knife into the mans neck before he could push back.

The Sauroran struggled back against Nulls grip, trying to throw the smaller human off of him. Null growled low in his throat and pushed his power into the knife, increasing its weight. The knife dropped just slightly downward, drawing blood. The Sauroran had real fear in his eyes now, redoubling his efforts to throw Null off.

“How…is this…possible?! There hasn’t…been a..Denier of Gravity…in over a thousand years!!!”, the Sauroran struggled out, his muscles straining to preserve his life.

Instead of answering him, Null let the growl in his throat rise to a roar, focusing all of his being into the knife in his hands. He could feel heat spiraling off of the blade as the excess energy he threw into the weapon bled off. He pushed and finally the knife fell, slipping into and then crushing the Sauroran’s throat as the blade passed entirely through his neck, stabbing down into the floor from the sheer mass it had accumulated.

Null stumbled and fell forward, rolling off of the reptilians corpse. He dismissed the extra weight from the knife and laid there panting. The effort of throwing his opponent and then giving the knife so much force had nearly taken everything he had.

Knowing he needed to keep moving, Null only allowed himself a few more breaths before he pulled himself to his feet, grabbing his knife from the tattered remains of the Sauroran. The other human was gone, more than likely almost to the bridge by now. Even at his fastest, Null wouldn’t be able to catch him in time. Even so, he lightened himself as much as he could and sprang forward, sprinting as fast as his tired body would allow him. If he was quick enough, he could still salvage his mission and make it to the bridge before they closed it off and killed him with a firing squad.

As he came upon the last corner leading to the bridge, he heard the alarm sound. He cursed to himself and threw his body around the corner, a small squad of four crew members with energy rifles leveled in his direction. Null skidded to a halt and saw that past the squad, the blast doors leading into the bridge were closing, four angular doors slowly forming a closing diamond shape. Beyond the doors, he saw him. The man he had come for.

Kravus.

Rage engulfed Null and his vision narrowed, his entire being now focused on getting through to that man at all costs. He roared and charged forward, sprinting onto the right hand wall to disorient his assailants. He kept moving, climbing the wall and ending up on the ceiling. He could feel energy bolts flying past him, singeing the walls behind him as he moved at inhuman speeds. They didn’t matter to him. He just needed to get through those doors.

With a final burst of speed, Null kicked off the ceiling and threw himself downward, then in the same breath yanked his own center of gravity toward Kravus who was backed against the navigation console before the viewport of the bridge. His feet led the way, his new center of gravity causing him to fall through the diamond shaped hole in the doors just before they closed, cutting off the shouts of the men behind him. He kept falling, hitting Kravus in the chest. Null righted his Gravity and settled there, his boot pressed into the man, holding him against the console and bracing himself with his other leg. With the blast doors closed, no one could get in or out of this room now, unless either Null or Kravus disabled them. Null could hear Kravus’ men pounding on the doors behind them.

“Wh-what do you want?! H-how are you even doing any of this?!”, Kravus stammered, shaken by Null’s display of power. He raised his hands up above his head,

Null paused, a grim smile coming to his lips, “You don’t remember me, do you?”.

“What? No! No of course I don’t! I think I’d remember if I had crossed a Denier, let alone one like you!”, Kravus said, trembling.

“Think. Harder.”, Null growled, pushing his boot into the terrified Merc’s chest, adding some extra mass for effect.

“Wait…wait didn’t I see you down on Varrus? In the market, down in Tarakel?”, he said, naming the port city that Null had been living near with Rokan for the last five years.

“Yes. Yes you did. That’s where I recognized you, and I knew I had to get aboard your ship to catch you. Very good, Kravus. But not. Quite. It.”, Null said, punctuating his last few words with a stronger push on the man’s chest.

“Please, please I don’t remember! I’ll give you anything you want! I got plenty of creds! Just don’t kill me!”, pleaded the Mercenary. The older human was terrified, on the verge of panic.

“Look at me, Kravus. LOOK AT ME!”, Null roared, taking his boot off of Kravus’ chest and grabbing his collar with his left hand. He pushed his knife against Kravus’ throat with his right and dragged the man closer to his face.

“Look at me and remember. Remember what you did. Five years ago.”

“Fiv-…Five years? But I was a soldi-…no. No it can’t be. W-we killed you. We killed all of you!”, Kravus stammered, recognition slowing dawning in his eyes.

“You tried. Do you get it now, Kravus? Do you remember who I am? Do you remember a little girl’s cries for her brother as your men dragged her to the airlock, kicking and screaming?”, Null said, his voice going deathly quiet, his rage barely contained.

“I-I’m sorry! Please, I was only following orders! House Blackstar was too dangerous to be left alive!”, Kravus cried, his terror mounting as the realization of who held him.

“Orders? ORDERS?! You held me down and forced me to watch! You LAUGHED IN MY EAR AS THEY THREW HER KRAVUS.”, Null screamed, his anger finally breaking like a dam. He spun the two of them and slammed Kravus to the floor, punching him in the gut. He slammed his fist into the man’s stomach twice more, knocking the wind from his lungs. He stood as Kravus tried to catch his breath and pressed his boot against his neck.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen, Kravus. You’re going to give me names. Every. Single. Name. Everyone that was involved in the murders of my family. I want your soldiers, your superiors, and even the pilots of the ships you used that day. You will give me everything.”, Null growled, his rage starting to effect the environment around him. Small objects had begun floating near him, and he could see the Kravus’ body was being flattened against the floor. His Denial was rolling off of him in waves, reacting to his anger.

“I-I can’t! I do that and they’ll kill everyone I’ve ever loved. Please, I can’t do this…”, the man cried as his body was pressed to the floor.

“You can, Kravus. And you will. Because if you don’t, I’m going to make you watch as I throw every single person on his ship into the void, before throwing you out last. Talk and I’ll make your death quick. Stay silent, and everyone on this ship will die the most agonizing death you can imagine.”, Null said, eyes boring into the older man’s. Null meant every word, and Kravus knew it.

“….Fine. The data you need is on my tacpad in my quarters. The password is star, eight-five-six, three-one-nine. I kept a log of all missions, including personnel. Just…please. Spare the rest of my crew, and my family?”, Kravus said as he deflated, finally accepting his fate.

“Luckily for you I’m not like you and your men, Kravus. I give you my word, that as long as they stand down, anyone left on this ship will be spared. I’ll drop them off on Varrus.” Null promised, taking his boot off the mercenary’s neck. He was confident he wouldn’t attempt to escape at this point.

“Thank you…and…for what it’s worth. I’m sorry. For what we did to you. To your family…I-I changed, after that. Not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought about what we’d done.”, Kravus said remorsefully. He stood and steeled himself, looking Null in the eye. A tear rolled down his cheek.

“I believe you.”, Null said. He drove the blade of his knife into Kravus’ heart, clipping life giving arteries. Kravus’ last breath sighed out, and his body sagged as Null caught him. He lowered him to the ground, closing his eyes as he did so.

Null drew in a shaky breath and stood, the build up of emotions in him threatening to overwhelm him. He exhaled and closed his eyes.

I did it, Correa. I found the lead we needed. I’m finally one step closer.

Null opened his eyes and turned toward the blast doors. He couldn’t sit in introspection any longer. The Last Scion of House Blackstar had finally taken his first steps in avenging his family.

Null walked forward with purpose, dragging the body of Kravus behind him. He pressed his wrist against the sensor to open the blast doors. He steeled himself and waited, preparing to get the remaining crew to stand down. His mind was racing, however, already forming his next moves.

Null silently walked through the open blast doors, disregarding the guns pointed at him. The crew slowly parted in front of him, seeing their dead captain as he dropped the corpse behind him. He ignored them all and kept walking. They left him, as they understood implicitly that they could not hope to match him.

He was Null Blackstar, Denier of Gravity and last of his line. He had finally set out on his purpose and he would be as immutable as the Gravity he now controlled, and any who stood in his way would feel the wrath of the Stars.