The final entry in the SF smackdown. A SF Western based on the four pictures in the slideshow on the right. 

Salt Dust

His polarised lenses were nearly opaque with the glare from the harsh landscape around him as he rode towards the town. The bitter afternoon light was magnified almost beyond tolerance by the high albedo of the salt flats, and it was with some relief that he approached the town and the shelter it promised.

The lengthening shadow of his reptilian mount stretched towards the main street of the town, such as it was. Poorly maintained wooden buildings gave a shanty-like appearance to the mining settlement and didn't fill him with much confidence. But, he had little choice. A whisper of chance had sent him this way and he had to explore the possibility that there was a tiny truth buried in the tale, no matter how small.

As he approached the faded 'Saltflats City' sign, he checked his guns, the blaster on his hip and rifle nestled under his saddle both showing a full charge. He rolled up the solar panels lying across the flanks of the raptor and stowed them in his saddle roll, looking back up from his task as a child dashed in front of the lizard.

"Woah! Steady boy. Down Arthur, down. Chill out you dopey skink, it's just a child!"

As the raptor flashed his warning crests and hissed, he hauled on the reins to control it, desperately seeking to turn the powerful lizard away from the much smaller human. Once the beast was calmed he dismounted and walked over to the prone form, removing his travel cloak from his face. "Stay," he commanded and the lizard sank to its haunches, huffing its way to the dusty ground.

"Sorry kid, you just scared him is all, he wouldn't hurt you." He reached out to offer a hand and stopped, embarrassed, and withdrew the proffered arm. "Sorry kid," he muttered gruffly. "You'd better get yourself home."

"What the hell are you doing?"

Intent on the child, he hadn't heard the woman approach and he whirled at the sound of her voice, his blaster leaping into his hand as she ran toward him.

She ignored the gun and reached for the child, continuing on with her diatribe as she pulled the girl toward her. "Why the hell didn't you help her up? Are you too good to help a child? You disgust me. You gunslingers are all the same, you..."

Her voice trailed off as she got a full view of his face. Red welts split the pale skin and trailed away under his clothes, and she stuttered an apology.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't know you were one of the Chosen..."

"No need to apologise ma'am." The man replaced his blaster in its holster and doffed his hat. He removed the sunglasses, crinkling his eyes against the sun, his colourless orbs assessing her as she helped the child to its feet.

"I apologise for scaring your daughter and indeed yourself. I'm not contagious ma'am, but as I went to help her I realised I might scare her even more with my appearance than Arthur here had by his warning display."

"You wouldn't have scared her sir. Ellie has seen the results of your condition before. Her father was..." Her voice trailed off again.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I will leave you to your memories and your daughter. Sorry to disturb you."

As she watched, he mounted the raptor and clicked his tongue. The lizard lurched to its feet, its bipedal gait sure and swift. He replaced his sunglasses, and tipped his hat to her. "Ma'am..."

"Wait!" The little girl called out to him as he turned away. "What's your name?"

The man turned in his saddle and smiled, a bitter twist to his lips. "They call me Black, but you can call me Tain. Nice to meet you Ellie and I'm glad you're okay."

"The Crow Man..." whispered Ellie as the raptor moved under the faded sign and on into town.

The man called Tain looked out from the window of the inn on the main street of what laughingly called itself a city. He had watched from a shadowed corner, drinking and listening to the talk of the patrons, and the conversations outside the open window. The Salt, as the town seemed to be called by the locals, was a pit. A snarling bestial hole inhabited by scum, drifters and victims, none of the occupants seeming to know who was which. The town spent its waking hours ripping salt from the flats lining the shallow valley below, occasionally working itself into a frenzy when an artifact from before the Fall was discovered buried in the saline crust. A mining town located on the edge of a dead sea, lapping against the cliffs behind the town. An image of Astalon flashed into his mind and he smiled at the memory of seas of long ago, seas that reflected the towers of steel and glass which had reached for the stars. But that was in his past.

He shifted in his seat as a flare of stabbing fire from one of the plague scars caught him unawares. Calming himself, he concentrated on the mental exercises another survivor had taught him centuries ago at the height of his madness, and the pain lessened to a more bearable ache.

Watching the people around him, he kept his hat pulled low over his face to deepen the shadows, tiring of the curious or hostile stares from the patrons as they took in his pale eyes and plague altered visage. 'Chosen' she had called him. It was a name he'd not heard in many years and had brought back too many memories. He sat, brooding for a short time until he became aware someone was standing nearby.

"Would you like to say something, or are you just having a look?" he said quietly, lifting his head to look the man in the eyes.

"My apologies sir, I did not mean to intrude or interrupt your thoughts, but are you Mr Black?"

Tain studied the young man for a moment, taking in the clean but worn garments and open expression on the boy's face.

"Yes, I'm afraid I have that rather dubious pleasure. Would you care to join me?" He waved a hand at the empty chair on the other side of the table and the lad sat, twisting his cap nervously in his hands.

"Thank you sir, I appreciate that."

"Call me Tain son, it's my name, and I am human despite the little stories that seem to float around assuring to the contrary. Now, before you speak again, I assume you're here to ask me a favour. Given the state of this armpit of a town, I guess you're going to ask me to rid the town of a gang or overlord of some sort, or challenge the mining bosses to improve conditions, or some similar boon?"

The younger man flushed red and opened his mouth to speak but clamped it shut as Tain carried on, speaking softly in the fug of the Inn.

"I'm sorry son. Any stories you may've heard, disregard them. I'm called the Crow Man for one simple reason. Anyone who challenges me ends up as food for the crows. I do not challenge people. I do not correct wrongs and I do not avenge lost ones. I have my own missions in life and they will always come ahead of anything else or anyone. Sorry son. If you want something sorted out you'll have to do it yourself."

"So you're a coward," spat the younger man.

"What's your name lad?"

"Klay," replied the youngster, anger still colouring his features.

"Well Klay, I've been around a long time and I've been called many things. And yes, I probably am a coward. I've spent my whole life running, moving on, searching. I've also been called worse by far nastier men than you. You seem like a good lad. Find a girl, settle down and have kids. If you don't like it here, move on. All the choices you make in life are yours and yours alone."

"I... I'm sorry sir... I shouldn't have said what I did."

"No harm done lad, nice talking to you."

Tain watched as the lad moved away, embarrassment and confusion plain on his features. His head down and deep in thought, he bumped into another man who reacted instantly.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!"

A violent shove sent Klay sprawling to the floor, where he glared up at the man who'd shoved him. He glanced over at the watching Tain who shook his head in warning.

"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"You spilled my drink you little squit, buy me another."

"Um... you haven't got a drink sir, so I don't see how I could've spilt it."

Klay got to his feet and moved away from the larger man who stood with his fists balled and face red with fury.  

"Don't you backchat me you toerag. Buy me a drink or I'll kill you and..."

All conversation in the establishment abruptly halted as a smoking hole appeared in the roof support by the larger man's head.

"My apologies sir, I was cleaning my blaster and the damn thing went off..."

In the ensuing silence, Tain's voice drifted over from the corner of the Inn where he sat leaning back in his chair, gun pointed unwaveringly at the man's chest.

"I think I must be getting old, my hands shake a little these days you see. That's what happens when you're approaching eight hundred years old..."

The words hung in the air for a few seconds and Klay made the best of the break in conversation and headed toward the door.

"Barman!" called Tain clearly into the tense silence. "I'd liked to stand a round please. Run me a tab and I'll be over in a few minutes to give you my credit ID. Please make sure my new friend here gets as much as he wants."

"Yessir," called the barman, releasing his hands from the rifle under the bar and reaching for fresh glasses.

As the hubbub in the place lifted back to its previous level and men crowded toward the bar, Tain slid his blaster back into its holster. He met the angry eyes of the man who stood in front of him, the bitter smell of burning plasticrete blanketing the smells of sweat and beer.

"Would you care to join me?" Tain gestured to the seat opposite him. A gob of spittle landed on the floor by his foot and the man wiped his hand across his mouth, turned his back on him and stalked from the bar, his face black with anger.

The barman placed a beer on the table in front of him. "On the house sir, compliments of the management."

"The management?"

The barman waved a hand at a large feline form who sat on a chair at the far end of the bar.

Tain nodded his head in thanks, and raised his drink. The cat did likewise and turned his attention back to the crowd.

"I haven't seen a Plaxian for a long time. I thought them all dead."

"You may be correct sir, but you'll have to ask Antar that question. I need to get back to my bar before the regulars empty your credit tab."

The barman nodded at him and moved away leaving Tain to his own thoughts.

~~

Breakfast found him tucking into a large raptor steak, a steaming mug of tea waiting by his elbow. There was a creak from behind him, and his hand slid towards his hip.

"There won't be any need for that this morning Mr Black, I think your blaster made enough of a point last night." The cat moved past his shoulder, turned his chair and sat opposite him, his approach near silent on padded and furred feet.

"Good morning to you, thank you for the beer and your hospitality."

"It's my pleasure Mr Black, your fame precedes you."

"Tain, please. May I call you Antar?" The furry form inclined his head and Tain continued. "I was saying to your barman last night that I hadn't seen one of your kind for many years. May I ask how you come to be here?"

"You may." Antar turned his head and caught the barman's attention and, once the cat was sipping at a hot drink, he continued. "I was a member of the Plaxian defence force which got all but wiped out during the plague wars. I used to be a fighter pilot but I got split from the squadron after the Reavers attacked. A group of them chased me here and although I managed to destroy them, my ship was badly damaged. A local man found me and patched me up. Once I was fit enough, and had managed to salvage enough spare parts, I went back. There was nothing left but a few survivors clinging to the dreams of the past, so I came back here, sold what was left of my ship and bought this place. There was nothing left for me back home.

"The plague wars were over eight hundred years ago."

"Yes. I've poured a lot of drinks since then. I too am one of the victims of the war who survived Tain. In your parlance, I am one of the Chosen. Fur can be a blessing sometimes, the scars do not show..."

Tain leaned forward, his eyes shining with interest. "So you know what I seek here."

"You are famous Mr Black. Everyone has heard the legends of the Crow Man and knows you seek knowledge of the past and a surcease to the pain and madness. There is much here which is unknown. Every day, new artefacts are brought in from the lands surrounding us. I have seen machines that can power small towns, robots capable of translating a million languages, and weapons that would make you blanch with horror. But nothing yet has come from the time before the Fall that can provide you with an answer or a cure. Nothing yet."

"Can you help me find what I seek?"

"Maybe, but you have asked questions and now you must provide answers, that is somewhat of a local custom here, where knowledge is traded as readily as salt. People are always curious about legends."

Tain frowned and sat back in his seat. "Very well, but I warn you, reality may not live up to the legend."

"Did you kill her?" Antar said bluntly.

"Her who?"

"Your wife."

"Straight to the point I see." Tain sighed and slumped into his seat. "No," he whispered. "Of all the stories that surround me, that particular one is the most untrue. We survived the Fall, but the planet we lived on descended in to nuclear winter as various government factions used it as an excuse to settle old scores. As if that wasn't enough the plague spread, and we both contracted the Reaver virus. But we didn't die. As you know, I'm still trying to find the reason why. Susan..."

Tain paused and breathed deeply, lifting his head and looking Antar straight in the eye. "Susan decided to end it. She couldn't cope with the continuous agony. She went for a long walk in the icy night and succumbed to the cold. Wounds heal, but you can't recover from freezing. I found her lying in the snow, perfectly frozen in eternal sleep. Forever young. She drifted away, soothed by the wind and pillowed in the snow. I was too late. I was also too much of a coward to join her.

"I have been wandering ever since trying to find a cure to this thing so I can live untroubled by the pain. I have become too good at staying alive to want to give it up. Does that satisfy your curiosity cat?"

"It does, thank you." Antar cocked his head and changed the subject. "You do know Callahan won't let the insult lie from last night don't you?"

"I assume Callahan is the man who I humiliated last night?"

"Yes, he's mining foreman."

"And I assume one of the men Klay was trying to get me to take out?"

"Correct. Klay is a good man, but young, angry and naïve."

Tain thought for a few seconds, his fingers steepled under his chin and tilted his head in question. "Do you know a little girl named Ellie?"

"Yes, I knew her father well."

"What happened to him, his wife said he was a Chosen too?"

"He disappeared into the salt flats and didn't return. He'd been doing some exploratory digging up against the cliffs behind the town. Reavers attacked while he was out there and part of the cliff collapsed. We managed to drive them off, but he was never found, and never returned. Subsequent tremors have rendered the area dangerously unstable."

"Where does his wife live?"

"Gayle lives down the street over the tailors where she works."

A few minutes later, with breakfast in his belly, a head full of thoughts and directions in his pocket, Tain stepped into the street. Immediately he threw himself back under the porch as a blaster ripped a hole through the brim of his hat to leave a black scorch mark on the hard packed salt of the main street.

"You're dead you albino bastard!" called a voice from a building down the street. "Your kind have no business amongst decent hard working folk. We don't need your taint here."

"Decent? You cowardly son of a bitch." Klay strode into the centre of the street, a rifle slung over one shoulder. Come out here and fight like a man instead of hiding in the shadows you piece of shi..."

As Klay hit the dust with a smoking hole in his shirt, Tain broke cover, grabbing his rifle from its holster on his back and sweeping a rain of fire at the position he'd noted Klay's aggressor shooting from. As he sprinted across the hard packed salt, a few others opened fire at him and, as his first target was blown backwards from the window where he'd sheltered, three men stepped into the street with weapons drawn and ready.

"Hold your fire Black, or you will die here and now."

Tain skidded to a halt next to Klay, who now sat glaring balefully at the men, one hand clapped to his shoulder, rifle held clumsily in his left hand.

"And who the hell made you Sheriff?" Antar stepped from the shadows of the porch on his Inn and moved alongside Black, a rifle held ready in his paws. As he did, there was a flicker of movement and Gayle stepped boldly into the street to join them, an energy bow primed and a plasma bolt humming on the string.

Callahan shouldered his way alongside his men and spat on the salt. "I thought you had more sense Antar. This plague carrying piece of shit needs to learn a lesson."

"So you're going to take it out on me too?" Antar slowly lifted one arm and rubbed his furry forearm down the plasma bolt crackling on Gayle's bow next to him. As the smell of burning hair filled the street he lifted his near naked arm to show the plague scars on the skin underneath, now clearly visible in stark red against the plasma shaved white flesh underneath.

"Chosen scum!" shouted one man and reached for his handgun. A plasma bolt took him in the chest, and Gayle drew the string back to her cheek to re-arm, the bolt pointing unwaveringly at Callahan.

"Next," she said softly, prompting a smile from Tain. "My husband was of the Chosen," she carried on, lifting her voice to project to the crowd now lining the street. "Most of you knew him. He was a good man, he..." She stopped as tears brimmed in her eyes and Antar smoothly carried on.

"We may be Chosen, but we are unable to harm any of you other than by conventional means. You have nothing to fear from us.

"If you wish to fight Callahan, it will be here and now, one on one..."

As Callahan opened his mouth to reply, there was a shout of warning from the watchtower standing at one end of the street, a shout which scattered the townfolk.

"Reavers!"

"Man your stations!" shouted Antar. "Take cover, raise the shields, prime the cannons! Go, go go!"

As the townfolk ran, Callahan casting a glare over his shoulder, Tain helped Klay to his feet and they moved back to the bar, Ellie running across the street to join her mother.

"That was a very good shot," he said to Gayle as he closed the Inn door.

"Thank you. Never underestimate a woman sir."

"I never have."

About to reply to the sad tone, she was interrupted by the booming crash of weapons fire on the town shields. Multiple flashes were visible through the Inn windows and Tain turned to Antar who had sent the barman off with a message.

"Is everyone inside the shields?"

"No, there are a group of miners out on work detail near the cliffs. They'll have to fend for themselves."

"What's the plan?"

"We sit tight and hope they go away."

"That's it?"

"That's it. The shields should hold now." The bar shook and Tain grabbed at a support.

"They have bombs?"

"No, that was a tremor." He lifted his voice to a shout. "Tremor! Everybody out."

As they piled back out into the street, another tremor struck, sending them staggering into the bright sunlight. Weapons fire from the Reaver ships lit the sky above them as the ground continued to shake, and there was an explosion near the centre of the town. Seconds later, the shields flickered and died.

"Weapons!" shouted Antar and several guns on the various high points around the town opened up as two Reaver ships came in on another strafing run, another moving off towards the cliffs.

"Shades!" muttered Tain. "Who the hell trained your gunners?" He watched as erratic fire spattered around the incoming ships, not one shot landing anywhere near target.

"They're miners, not soldiers," snapped Antar. "What worries me is the ship which has gone after the crew near the cliffs.

"Is there any form of transport here, any ships with weapons?"

"No."

"Damn."

The distant sound of weapons fire came from near the cliffs, and another massive tremor shook the town. As it did, a massive explosion from a pulse bomb shuddered through the air and a cracking noise rent the air. The town as one turned to watch as a massive chunk of the cliffs toppled, a gargantuan slab of rock slamming into the ground like a giant hand. The force of the rock fall threw everyone to the salty earth, the lithified hammer blow cracking buildings and toppling taller structures. As the dust settled, Tain whispered into the silence... "Astalon." The partial outline of a huge metal and glass tower had been exhumed from its stony tomb.

"Tain?" Gayle touched his arm with a gentle hand.

"It looks like my home city, but can't be. I saw it destroyed with my own eyes at the Fall. This must be one of the sister cities I've heard about on my travels and have been searching for for so long. I may be able to find a cure."

He turned to her, the fires of hope dancing in his eyes. "If that's a sister city of Astalon, there may be medical facilities in there."

"I hope so Tain, but we have other things to think about first."

Gayle pointed to the sky. Reaver ships were turning their attention back to the town, the third ship landing in the salt dust near the collapsed cliff. As he watched, a ramp hit the ground and a party of Reavers ran towards the city.

"I have to stop them."

"Tain, we need you here." Antar passed him a mortar. "If you don't clear them here, you'll never get through the town to the others, or the city."

Tain snatched the mortar from the cat's hand and stalked out to stand in the middle of the street. Priming the weapon, he lifted it to his shoulder. As the weapon powered up, one of the Reaver ships turned towards him, sensing the power build up. He aimed and pressed the firing stud. There was a shrill whine and the mortar fizzled and misfired, firing a gout of flame into the salt dust behind him.

"Tain, run!" shouted Gayle.

The man in black dropped the mortar and calmly reached to his back for his plasma rifle. As the glimmer of building energy lit the weapons at the front of the Reaver vessel, Tain fired, the plasma bolt streaking into the open gun port. There was a muffled crack and the ship listed to port, engines screaming and ploughed a deep furrow into the salt flats behind the town. A few seconds later there was muffled explosion and a column of smoke lifted from the salted corpse of the vessel.

Holstering his rifle, he passed the mortar back to Antar who stood with his mouth open and whiskers twitching in shock.

"You might want to check your stock of mortars old son, they seem a little glitchy."

"Tain, look!" Gayle was pointing at the newly exposed city. He turned to see what had caused the commotion and watched as the Reaver party streamed from the city.

"What the hell are they doing now?"

"I don't know, but something is following them."

"I need to make sure the defences are secure and see if we can get the shields back up," said Antar, dropping the useless weapon. "I'll be back shortly."

Tain nodded his agreement, still watching the tableau unfolding in front of his eyes. As the Reavers ran to the ship, the remaining airborne vessel wheeled away from the town and sped towards its grounded fellow, weapons targeting the lone figure striding from the city.

"Daddy!" as Ellie streaked from the door, Tain's hand grabbed her dress and hauled her back.

"What do you think you're doing young lady?"

"Eric?"

Tain whirled to look at Gayle who had gone pale, one hand over her mouth.

"Your husband? I thought you said he was dead."

"Yes, we thought he was, but I'd recognise his walk anywhere. Please, you must help him."

"I don't think he needs any help."

They watched as the plasma bolts bounced harmlessly off the figure walking steadily toward them. A strange blue light was emanating from the humanoid's head, and tendrils of darkness unravelled from him, the tentacles whipping out to engulf first the flying vessel and then the ship resting on the ground nearby.

As the two vessels exploded in cloud of burning wreckage, an answering explosion from the city threw them to their knees, a cloud of heated air rolling over them a few seconds later.

Tain stood first, his face pale as he strained to see anything through the billowing clouds of salt and smoke. "Are you okay Gayle, Ellie?"

"Yes, we're fine. What happened? Can you see Eric?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure how anything could've survi..." Tain bit the sentence off short as a shadow detached itself from the turmoil, the humanoid figure becoming clearer as he walked closer through the whirling dust and salt dust.

"Daddy!" This time, no one managed to stop the girl as she streaked down the high street and leapt into outstretched arms. Tain watched as he approached. Although human shaped, the figure was ethereal, a mass of threads and links shifting around a pair of pale eyes and a mass of energy pulsing from cortex to spine.

"Eric?"

"Hello, love." Once more the man stretched out arms of rope and sinew and embraced his wife. "I'm sorry I was gone for a while, I've been undergoing a bit of a change." He turned to face Tain. "Thank you for looking after my family Mr Black. Now, I have some unfinished business to attend to."

He closed his eyes and concentrated, the glow from his skull amplifying and shifting. Tentacles detached from his arms and body, questing, seeking until one paused and rippled swiftly into a nearby store, recoiling a few seconds later and dragging the well bound body of Antar with it.

"Hello Antar." Pale eyes bored into the wide open eyes of the cat. "I believe you sold me out."

"I didn't Eric, the Reavers got lucky. It was chance, pure chance."

A slender filament detached from one finger and plunged into the cat's temple. The manimal went rigid with shock and began to talk in a robotic monotone.

"My name is Ascrilax. I was one of the few survivors of Plax plague wars because I sold out the remaining colonies on one of the moons after I was captured trying to run away from the battle. I was a diplomat. You were a threat Eric, you could remember the time of the Fall, as could Tain. I engineered your demise at the hands of the Reavers and gave Tain a sabotaged mortar to try and do the same to him. Since settling here I have kept the Reavers informed of any artefacts we have discovered and when work parties have ventured beyond the shields."

"And that's the truth?" asked Gayle.

"It is," said Eric. 

"I'm glad to see you survived," noted Tain.

"I'm not sure I did. Only the machines in the city saved me."

"There are med facilities there?" Tain's eyes were alive with interest, and he leaned in, staring at the man intently.

"There were. I'm afraid the Reavers just destroyed them. I'm sorry Tain."

"Dammit to hell." Tain's hand whipped to his belt and a smoking hole appeared in the cat's forehead. The man in black stalked from the street and into the bar leaving corpses and chaos behind him.

~~

"So where will you go?" Gayle passed a package of food to Tain who sat in the saddle of his seated raptor, Ellie holding her hand and watching the lizard with cautious eyes.

"There were rumoured to be two Cities on this world prior the Fall. Eric has given me some good information and I hope to find the other."

"I wish you luck."

"Thank you lady, you have been most kind." He watched as she walked away, Ellie waving a shy hand, and turned to face the former Chosen who stood holding the bridle of his mount.

"You could stay here Tain."

"I don't think the townsfolk would want the Crow staying in their midst for too long old son, especially Callahan and his cronies. Besides, I need to do something to halt this." He waved an arm vaguely at the scars on his face. "Are you able to handle Callahan, or do you want me to sort him out for you?"

Eric smiled and flexed his arms, fibres rippling out in all directions." I think I can handle him." Pale glowing eyes looked at him. "Are you sure you want to change? It could be into something like this. Your speed and skill is entirely down to the plague you know."

"Aye, I know, but so is the pain. The constant agony lost me my wife and nearly lost me my sanity. I long to be merely Tain the man, rather than Tain the legend, Tain the Crow Man, the man in black, destroyer of worlds. I long to be able to grow old without the stain of this thing marking my skin, my mind and my soul."

"I can understand that. I am now free from the pain, but I have yet to explore the capability of this new form. I only know I am no longer fully human, despite having human memories. I wish you well Tain; know you are always welcome here."

Tain shook his hand and lifted the reins, making a soft click with his tongue. His mount lurched to its feet turning to the command of his rider.

"Thank you Eric, I shall search for a while longer. Come on Arthur, time to explore a new horizon."

Eric watched the dark rider for a while, the outline stark against the white of the salt flats and, once the rider has disappeared into the stark white desert, he turned and walked back to his family and the future.  

~~~ The End ~~~