Zach III

Zach's died so many times he's grown pretty used to it.

Chalan Equital

I wandered around space awhile until I came to this planet called Chalan Equital. It was a rowdy world... I liked it immediately. The people were varied, some very strange looking, some only a little strange. I suppose I was strange looking to them, but from the looks of the place, I suppose they didn't even notice.

Right off, I found a bar and I had a hankerin for some space whiskey. I pointed to something and asked the barkeep if he took Earth credits. He did and I drank the stuff. Didn't taste too bad and it packed a real kick. "What is this stuff, Pard?" I asked the barkeep. "Quagak." he sorta hissed, well, he was a lizard-looking fella. "Quagak." I repeated and he filled up my glass. "Any work around here, Pard?" I asked him. "Are you a fighting man?" he asked. "Yep." I replied and he pointed out another lizard-looking dude to me. "Let him know."

I went over to the dude's table and told him I was a fighting man. "We pay thirty thousand credits for three months." he stated. "Earth credits?" I asked. "It's all the same. Universal credits." he explained. I nodded, "I'll take it." He handed me a docking slip, "Hand it to the dock master." I lifted my stetson and scratched my head, "But I have my own ship." I told him. He showed his teeth, maybe it was a smile, "You're pretty new to this. It's standard that the people you hire on with pay your dock fees while you're gone." Made sense, "Thanks a lot, Pard." I had me my first space war.

Well, damned if I didn't get hit. Things were going well until late into the second month. We were fighting off a bunch of the lizards when all of a sudden a huge wave came at us. Huge. I'd never seen so many people coming at me with blazers burnin before. We were all getting hit and when I got hit I went down and out.

I awoke in a warm place. It was nice, I felt lazy and peaceful. A lizard person came up to me. "Welcome, Earth person." I nodded, "Howdy, Pard. I guess I kicked off." He stared at me with a lidless stare. "You don't seem surprised or upset. That's a little unusual." I shrugged, "I'm kind of used to it." He asked, "What do you mean?" "Well," I explained, "I've died a few times before. Then I quit dying altogether, I think my planet's gods gave up on me. I was kinda wondering if I left Earth and got killed, I'd die. Didn't bother me much, I was kinda curious as to what the beyond on another planet would be like."

He watched me for a little while. "What is your justification for killing my people?" I shrugged, "I figger there's no justification in war." He looked at me a little longer. "What if you are fighting against the downtrodden?" I tipped my stetson back a bit then reset it on the back of my head. "Been around a long time, Pard, and from what I've seen when the downtrodden get power the become the downtrodders." Once more he watched me. "You can go." I woke up back on the field feeling fit. The battle was not that far away and I went back in.

Excerpt from The Godz of Earth by S.E.Estes