Kingdoms Away 1: Jorian Cluster Archives (7 page)

The captain nodded; efficiency was always a
pleasure.

They were to head through the Quattor Octant,
first taking a detour to avoid any early search-and-rescue ships.
They plotted a course into the AIS system, then out toward the
Cerulean Nebula and then back along the Tres Octant. They weren’t
foolish enough to enter into the black region but wanted to use it
before taking the girl to their secret destination. They were also
privileged to try out a new modification in the ship, one they were
all hoping would shorten space travel.

“Captain.” The medical officer entered the
bridge behind his second in command. Mardez flicked his hand for
the man to continue.

“The girl is in shock; she has some minor
injuries but other than that appears all right. Should I put her
asleep?”

The captain considered it and then nodded.
“Ice her.”

The medical officer was escorted out.

Forty-five days into the journey they were
attacked.

They were close to an obscure planet in an
uncharted galaxy. It had little to offer those in the cluster at
present and had been left alone. They had run a scan on the planet
to find what was normally an uninhabited planet was now registering
life forms. Mardez stared at the incoming data. The three small
space ships were Pygmy Class and very quick. Their coordinated
attacks left Mardez breathless. He was impressed; he wanted their
expertise, and he had failed in his first mission. And now all
other orders were rescinded; he had to try and save the girl. Their
crate was being systematically destroyed; there was no purpose to
the attack, unlike their own kidnapping, which had purpose. The
girl had to be saved.

The alerts were blaring and at red. He
ordered a data package to be sent to the Nest. He then ordered his
second in command to take a crew, the samples and the girl down to
the planet. They would try and draw the fire away.

Within minutes the girl was out of the
freezer, and a team had been assembled and entered into a ferian.
It might have been funny seeing the Weddell seal shoot out from the
Wasp’s clasp in an attempt to avoid the attacker but the terror on
the faces within belied that once-humorous thought. The girl
received emergency medical attention to stabilize her vital signs
and to ensure her body came out of freeze as slowly as time
permitted.

Hours into the flight, the second-in-command
and the other crew members watched in horror as their EuroWasp was
destroyed. Once the shielding went down it was just a matter of
time before the crate was annihilated. They decided to verge and
travel dimensionally, hoping to lose their attackers. As soon as
they crossed the dimensional bridge they began the maximum
acceleration. A vehicle had followed them. They were pursued for
three terrifying hours, and damage to their ferian required them to
decelerate and verge back to home dimension. As soon as they were
locked into home dimension they were attacked again. Before long
they realized the futility of trying to avoid the enemy vessel.
They headed for the ice planet but the trajectory was off slightly.
They were given a slight reprieve as the attacking vessel corrected
its course. As the transport rattled and burned upon entry through
the planet’s atmosphere they were met with subzero temperatures and
smashed into the icy ground; its shields fizzled out to display
only the damaged crate. The girl was protected by the bodies of
those who had kidnapped her. The small ferry crate had broken up on
impact and those that survived the crash staggered out of the blaze
into the freezing temperatures.

The Bigger Piranha

The kidnapping had been a success.

The countermove had gone horribly wrong as
the interceptors had been intercepted by another party. Not only
had the kidnappers’ role been reversed, as they were now the prey,
but the predators were prey as well. Those who had kidnapped the
girl were now trying to protect her. She was now trying to protect
them. They entered a solar system containing a LWA Category Two
planet. The captain stared down at her display on the bridge. The
planet had land, water and air, but a Category Two meant it was an
ice planet with temperatures ranging from minus fifty to zero. Amid
the smoke and flames on the bridge, she realized the futility of
trying to continue against the predatory vessels that had appeared
out of nowhere and flicked the “Evacuation” switch. So, in a small
ferian they watched as another ferian escaped the burning EuroWasp.
One predatory vessel, in a display of seemingly senseless violence,
continued its bombardment on the EuroWasp, succeeding in destroying
it, and then headed for her ship.

“Run interference. Let the girl’s kidnappers
get to the planet with the girl. Send our ship on a collision
course for the surprise party and set the self-destruct.”

“Yes, captain.”

With sadness in her heart she watched as her
ship blew up, taking the enemy with it. The ferian, running low on
power, headed for the supposedly uninhabited ice planet. It was the
prey’s ultimate failure when they unwittingly chose the very planet
where the predators were based. The kidnappers had wanted to avoid
the normal space routes and had chosen the Ais galaxy to wait for
their next set of instructions. It was ironic, as another dissident
group, who would protect their secrets at all costs, used the same
region.

The prey headed for the surface of the planet
but their trajectory into the atmosphere was off slightly. The
predatory vessel corrected its course, giving the prey a slight
reprieve. As the prey’s transport smashed into the icy ground, its
shields fizzled out to display only the damaged square crate. She
studied the region.

“Life signs approaching. Terasian.”

“Let them do their job.”

“Ice people and wolves exiting the
caves.”

She shrugged, seeing they would take some
time to get to the crash site. The captain chuckled; if the beasts
didn’t finish them off then the temperatures would. She commanded
that they break off pursuit.

“Survivors are getting out of the crate.”

She cursed, watching on the monitor. “Idiots!
They’ll freeze … ah, smoke is billowing out.”

The survivors of the crash staggered out of
the blazing ferian into the freezing temperatures. The medical
officer cradling the girl had wrapped her tightly. He finally put
the girl down to check the others. There were twelve left. They
were just trying to regain their senses when they heard the
blood-curdling sounds of wild beasts. They had no chance. The
survivors were trying to regain their senses enough to prepare to
fight. Even the falling snow did not muffle those blood-curdling
growls. They had no chance. The beasts attacked. Before long,
almost every crash survivor was dead. Before each death, the beasts
were identified as the Terasians made long ago by scientists. A
snarling, long-fanged beast slinked up to the unconscious girl.
Blood dripped from the white daggers and the up-curled lips were
baring the sharp points for a full display of malevolence.

The captain gripped her leg. Moment of
truth.

The Terasian beast smelled the small
body.

“What’s it doing?” a junior bridge officer
whispered.

One of her senior officers answered. “Packed
deep within his brain the smell is acting a catalyst, setting
neurons firing until he will know that to attack means a violation
against ancient instinct. It will be like attacking his own kind.
See, he’s backing away, making the only conclusion he can
make.”

They watched as other beasts came, smelled
and then backed away. Even though covered with material the girl
would die in the freezing temperatures. The beasts did the only
thing they could do. Three Terasian beasts approached the inert
body.

The captain smiled. “Let’s go get the
girl.”

Just as the officer touched the control panel
a large chunk of debris crashed into them.

A snarling, long-fanged beast slinked up to
the unconscious girl. Blood dripped from the white daggers and the
up-curled lips were baring the sharp points for a full display of
malevolency. The Terasian beast backed away making the only
conclusion it could, others came and smelt, and then also backed
away.

She was covered but would die in the freezing
temperatures. They did the only thing they could do. Three
approached the unmoving body. The girl began to moan and move
slightly. The Terasians looked up, hearing an explosion in the sky,
and they watched as a large object dropped flaming into the
distance and turned their attention back to the girl.

Soon they detected another smell. Wolves.
Hundreds of them. They achieved what they had to; this was no
longer their concern. They left, turning away contemptuously and
snarling. This day was not a day for a challenge. The girl had to
live. Snow floated around them as a snow storm settled upon the
region. The eldest Terasian stopped upon an outcrop of boulders and
turned to watch. Large creatures moved in out of the snow drift and
picked up the girl. The white wolves turned, following the large
white walking creatures. The snowdrift fell heavier and it was
difficult to distinguish the two moving masses from one
another.

{[SPITHRA] [Erus] [Darcerus]

[149185/371/43/spring]}

Edrik loved to work with wood. The smell, the touch
and the ability to take raw material and create something always
made him feel good about himself and life. His mother encouraged
him but his father disapproved. It was not fitting for the future
Sovereign of Darcerus to use his time in this way. Better to learn
the twenty-five Elements of Sovereignty, which contained in each
element four to sixteen volumes of how to rule. Better to keep
physically in shape and play strategy games than to be educated in
carpentry.

However, his father was often away on
campaign or off Erus altogether, which meant he could spend some
time on his woodworking skills, besides which, his father hadn’t
actually forbidden Edrik to learn some basic fundamentals of the
trade. Even though Ed hated it when his father got angry he could
not give it up. He had once made the mistake of asking why
woodworking was called a Lesser Trade. His father had gone into a
rage, smashing items across the room. Ed was always doing something
wrong like eating too slowly, tripping over something, crying,
laughing too loudly, asking stupid questions or not holding his
fork right. There were too many things to remember.

Ed looked around his enormous room warmed by
a large fire fed with specially grown Inkelda trees. On the wooden
floors lay large, soft rugs and one of these lay in front of the
fireplace. He would often lie on his back upon this rug, his small
face aglow and hot, gazing up at the ceiling dreaming of a
different life. His furnishings were all made from the dark red
mahogany tree felled from the great forest of Kriendo. His mother
was taking him and Ethas on a trip to that very forest the next
day.

The two boys nattered all the way, barely
giving the countryside a glance. Erianna only partly listened as
the boys prattled on about the latest show, Power Dudes. They
hadn’t stopped talking since she had put in the Flight Plan.

“Everything checks out, Mistress Varak.” He
entered the details for their flight to the forest. “If you decide
to travel above two hundred meters you’ll need to submit another
Flight Plan via the Onboard Pilot Program.”

A shout of laughter could be heard from
outside as the boys were getting overexcited.

“Excited about the trip?”

“I think the latest episode of Power Dudes
has their fancy today.”

The clerk nodded. “Another craze. Don’t
worry, in a couple of years it’ll be Star Rangers or
something.”

Erianna smiled and left the building. They
got into the airvehicle Celer and headed off south of Darcerus.
Along the way they passed small and intimate villages, contained
farms framed like pictures surrounded by trees, the Gulf of
Darceria and natural, sweeping wilderness all glorious on this
autumn day. Only one in the vehicle enjoyed the scenery in brief
glances. The other two were engrossed in their discussions.

When they had arrived at the forest Erianna
landed the Celer skillfully. The boys’ attentions were suddenly
diverted to the massive forest of Kriendo in front of them. For the
first time Ethas could understand Edrik’s fondness for wood. They
raced around the ancient trees, playing hide and seek, climbing
what they could. With his mother’s permission they had climbed a
tree with their lunch and sat in the broad boughs eating and
enjoying the scenery.

“Do you like Miss Petula’s class?” Ethas
asked as he watched crumbs fall from their laps.

“Na. Unuslingua is sooooo boring. I like Dr.
Gilda’s class on time and space. When I’m old enough I’m gonna have
my own ship.”

“Don’t you like the crates?”

“They’re okay. But the ships look
better.”

“Yeh, but did you see the new Metamorphic
Shields? They’re gloro, Ed. The latest have just come out. Dad
showed ’em to me last night. I’ll show ya when we get back.”

Ed felt a pang of jealousy. “Yeh. You still
going out with Ayala?”

“Na, we broke up last day of school.”

Ed tossed a crust at him. “How long did you
go out with her?”

“Five days.”

“That long?”

“Yeh, but I got sick of playing girls’ games.
She didn’t like Power Dudes either.”

“Even Juner likes Power Dudes. We’re gonna
watch the last episode together next week.” Ed regretted mentioning
it, but it was too late.

“Can I come?” Ethas asked excitedly and then
shrunk back at a possible rejection.