Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1) Read Free Page B

felt a powerful blow to the back of his head that sent him reeling to the floor.
    “ Larikhan ka hanno ! ” his attacker screamed out in a bizarre tongue.
    Vincent rolled over and recoiled. His aggressor was every bit human—a brown-skinned, bald man of average height—but yet not human at all somehow. Some of his facial features were different: his nose was ridged throughout the top part of its shaft; his eyes were blue—dark blue, almost black; and the most unusual thing about this alien was the dazzling green crystal embedded in the middle of his forehead. He was dressed like a human as well, donning a camouflaged shirt, cargo pants, a pair of combat boots, and a gun-belt around his waist with one of the revolvers that he carried; the other he held in his gloved hand, frantically pointing it at Vincent.
    “ Larikhan ka hanno !” the creature repeated as he aggressively shoved the barrel into Vincent’s cheekbone.
    “I don’t understand,” Vincent replied, fighting to keep his cool. He gently pushed away the gun.
    “ Larikhan ka hanno !” The alien pointed his weapon at Vincent’s bloody glove.
    “ I said I don’t understand! ”
    The alien became quiet for a second, baffled. He took a step back, his weapon still pointed at Vincent’s face, and reached into one of his multiple pockets. He pulled out a small device and stretched it out.
    Vincent dubiously looked at the alien and at the gadget.
    “ Serama niche,” the alien said, trying to hand him the device.
    Vincent didn’t move, hoping that Alex or the soldiers would burst in and rescue him from the hostile creature.
    “ Serama niche ka pett !” The alien raised his voice. He then pulled out a similar mechanism out of his own ear and plugged it back in. He stretched out his hand again. “ Kha ! ”
    Vincent realized he’d no choice but to consent, so he took off his gloves and reached for the device, which was an electronic gadget in the shape of a pill.
    “ Serama niche!” the alien repeated.
    “Fine, then!” Vincent said and plugged the device in his ear. It fit perfectly, as if it were specifically designed for him. “Well?” he then said, louder. “Nothing’s happening.” He slowly got up, ignoring the weapon.
    “Do you understand me now?” the alien said in perfect English.
    “Whoa!” Vincent jerked back and slammed his back against the wall. “What the… what was that?”
    “What I gave you is called a ‘Neural Translator’—a device that deciphers every intelligent language into one you can understand.”
    “A neuro … neural translator?”
    “I’m no professor,” the alien said impatiently, “I don’t know how it works. But now that we got the communication problem out of the way…” He clenched his weapon. “Who and what are you? And just what are you doin’ on Oryon’s ship? Where are they? ”
    “Slow down.” Vincent raised his hands. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but—”
    “ Who are you?”
    “My name’s Vincent Saturn. I’m a federal agent. This ship crashed on our soil, and I was just investigating. I didn’t mean to intrude—”
    “ Liar! ” The alien once again pointed the gun in Vincent’s face. “Where’s Oryon Krynne?”
    “Who?”
    “Did I stutter? Oryon! ”
    “I swear to you, I have no idea who he is!” Vincent cried out. “There are billions of people on this planet! I don’t know who this Ryan is!”
    The creature paused, his face contorted in confusion.
    “There are many soldiers outside, and they’ll shoot you unless you lower that weapon and come with me,” Vincent continued. “Then I’ll help you find this… this… Ryan.”
    “What…?” The alien stepped back and glanced over his shoulder at the exit. He then asked, “Just what system are you from?”
    “System? I don’t understand your question. I’m human, if that’s what you mean.”
    The alien frowned. “A human? Never heard of ’em! Where are the men that were supposed to be on this