More murmurings.
'I fear you may be stretching the possibility a little too far to suggest the hardest known material could be destroyed, but you have some compelling evidence for us to consider. We will discuss the merits of your case and notify you of our decision in due course. You are dismissed.'
The Presenter entered the room and guided Torst out of the building. Now all he could do was wait.
Chapter 11
Thorn was awake and conscious of his surroundings again. In fact he had been awake for some time now. He had feigned unconsciousness to give him time to come up with a plan of escape. Frustratingly, so far he had come up with nothing.
Torst was at the head of his bed going over data on a Holo-Screen.
"Your brain is almost back to full health. How are you feeling?" he asked.
Knowing his thinking time was up he replied.
"A lot better." Thorn sat up and looked around. "You don't go in for much decoration, do you?"
Torst gave what looked like a smile, but it lacked any feeling.
"You'd be surprised at what we see." Torst fell silent again contemplating his next words. "Have you been thinking much about what we discussed last time? I know you have been awake for a while now."
Thorn looked at Torst and felt the anger welling up.
"What, have I been thinking how your race is experimenting on humans and turning them into soldiers to fight wars that are just part of some total domination trip. You're damn right I have. I don't know what's worse, that or the fact that it's a human that's Trafficking his own kind."
"But we can help each other to end what is happening."
"This means I'd have to trust you, which I don't see how I can. On the other hand if I refused would you just dispose of me? Either way I'm not in control of the situation. You're holding all the cards."
"We are not the Warrior caste. We do not dispose of someone if we have no use for them. You would be taken to anywhere you wanted to go."
"Like I said, I have no good reason to trust what you say. For now though I'll go along with your little plan. But I'm warning you, there's no way you're going to cut into my brain."
Torst again tried a smile.
"You have my word, though you do not trust me, that you will not be our guinea pig. If you are selected to begin your Mastering I will show you everything that we do and how we guide you on your path. You can see others who are part way through their Mastering and be assured of your well-being."
Thorn felt the static in his mind once again.
"A decision has been made," Torst said. "We are summoned before the council."
Thorn looked around. "How do we get out? I haven't seen a door yet."
"We use a method similar to your Rejuvenating machines, but far more advanced." With that they both disintegrated into small particles and disappeared.
Thorn found himself in a larger version of the module he had just come from filled with what looked like clones of Torst. It looked as though he was in a world of mime artists. Torst handed him a headband.
"You will need this."
Thorn put it on his head gingerly. Suddenly a whole new world appeared before him. He took a step back in surprise.
"Whoa!"
"Yes, that's the standard reaction when the World Projector is first experienced by non Vulzeon's."
He took the headband off again and was immediately presented with the plain white interior of the module. Again, when he placed the headband back on his head the full beauty of Torst’s home world came into view.
"Welcome to my home world. This is a projection of our community as it was about two hundred years ago. I have no idea what it looks like now. We...don't get to go back unless we are captured."
Thorn was too busy taking in his surroundings to notice the almost sadness in Torst's voice. He was captivated with the sights. Mesmerised by the vivid colours. The Torst look-a-likes could now be seen doing things. Nothing that he could recognise as an activity, but it just seemed to fit in the surroundings, looking less like random movements. The bright red building stood out with the darkening sky behind it.
"We must wait over there for the Presenter." Torst pointed to a circled area just outside the entrance to the building. It was ringed with a trough of silver liquid. Two figures were in the circle already. One looked like Torst and the other was reptilian in form and stood at about six foot five inches tall. As they entered the circle the two figures greeted them with what looked like contempt. The static began in Thorn's mind again and the Leoneon looked in discomfort too.
When the Presenter appeared the static increased for a moment before fading away. Thorn caught Torst's shoulder.
"I keep getting a kind of static in my mind."
"Yes, I apologise for that. It's just our way of communicating. It requires some training to be able to understand the subtle nuances. Let me activate the limited function translator." He adjusted something on Thorns headband. 'How's that. This will allow you to understand what's going on. You should be able to speak to me now through your mind. However, if you are ever in front of the council you must never speak.'
Crystal clear words came into Thorn's mind and he answered,
'OK.'
The four of them followed the Presenter in to the building and on to the central platform.
'We will be brief as we have word that the Warrior caste have discovered our location and will be here in four cycles. Evacuation has begun from the upper modules. In light of our somewhat forced departure from this planet and the evidence you have both brought before us, we have decided to allow both of your candidates to begin the Mastering. You will leave immediately and travel to separate worlds where, in time, your belief in your candidates will hopefully be our eventual saviour.'
Asherst turned to Torst and stared in to his eyes. To Thorn it looked like two paintings looking at each other, but felt there must be something going on in their minds. The Presenter ushered them out of the building and into the circled area.
"What happens now?" asked Thorn.
In answer to his question the four of them de-materialised leaving the remaining Vulzeon's to the task of evacuating the planet.
When Thorn was conscious of his surroundings again Asherst and the Leoneon were gone. He and Torst were standing in a second circle, also surrounded by a trough of silver liquid.
"We are now on one of our space vessels. We will be transported to a safe destination where we can begin your Mastering."
Torst walked towards one end of the spherical room. A Holo-Screen appeared and he studied the symbols on it.
"Our travelling time will be three days."
"What happened to the other two?"
"They are on another ship going to a different destination. We have many safe worlds around the galaxies."
Thorn looked around. Every surface he could see was smooth. Not a console or computer in sight.
"Unfortunately we have nothing for you to sit or lie on. You see with these bodies we need no rest. We do have a levitation field that can relieve the stresses on your body when you need to which you can also use when you need to sleep."
A light shudder could be felt all around and then it stopped suddenly.
"I would show you around, but this is it. We have no elaborate inner workings as your space craft do. We have no need of comfort. Just a space to check navigation." Torst turned away from the Holo-Screen. "I would begin your Mastering now as we have time before we reach our destination, but it is too dangerous in such a small space. Instead I would suggest I connect you to the database that contains the history of my world. You will get a better understanding of us. The time we have is far too short to take it all in, but will be a good beginning for now. At the same time you will gradually learn our language and by the time we arrive will have no need for the translator."
He moved towards one wall and suddenly a section seemed to project outwards in what looked like a spherical bubble that was big enough to envelo
pe Thorn.
"You can assume any position in the field and it will support you for as long as you want."
Thorn positioned himself in the bubble and felt his whole body float in mid-air, but at the same time his body was well supported. As he settled, his mind became immersed in an alien world and culture.
Chapter 12
The planet had changed very little in the time he had spent there. Its seasons had come and gone and come again, but the same indigenous plants surrounded the mountain. The same water ran through the rivers.
However, in the context of the world, subtle changes had been made from when they first arrived. Clearings had been created around the mountain. Rocks the size of small houses no longer stood to attention, but lay on the ground as if catching a little shut eye.
There was no volcanic activity. No wondrous creatures that lay waste to these areas. Just two lonely figures, outcasts from their home worlds.
A large module was once again hidden in the depths of a mountain. Torst was at a Holo-Screen trawling through information that had been sent through from the council. He scanned the symbols carefully ensuring he read the message correctly. Quickly the screen disappeared as Thorn materialised in the module.
"I have to leave for a short while. The council has some important information for us that needs my personal appearance. I will be gone for no more than four days. Though your Mastering is coming to an end it is no excuse for holding back on the training while I am gone. I will prepare a schedule for you which I expect to be completed by the time I get back. Is that understood?" The unexpected interruption caught Torst by surprise.
"Of course. Do you not need me to attend if the information is for us?"
"No, you will remain here. I will brief you when I return."
***
Torst arrived at Porovian, a world just inside the Kindrian galaxy, just in time to see the meteor shower spectacle. He hadn't had much time to take in any natural wonders for a long time now and it felt good to witness this show as he approached the planet. When he materialised in the central module located deep in an underground cave, the place seemed deserted. This was the hub of all of the council’s activities. The centre where plans for the future of his race were made. So many of his kind had been dispersed throughout the galaxies now, it seemed the Warrior caste were winning the battle.
The courtyard stood, as it had on so many other worlds, in the light of the suns. The Image Projector could show infinite scenes, but this was the Home world they all wished to return to and so it would remain until they did.
Inside the building the council were waiting, expecting Torst's arrival. He was shown to the central platform where Chark stood waiting in the spotlight.
'It's good to see you Torst. I understand your Mastering is going well.'
'It's good to see you, Chark. Yes, the human is almost ready. It's been a challenging time.'
A response came from the darkness.
'I hope the challenging times have been worth it. He showed a lot of promise.'
'I must admit that he hasn't progressed as I had hoped, but he will be a valuable addition to our cause.'
'We don't need valuable additions. We need fulfilled potential. The Warrior caste have severely weakened our numbers in the time you have been Mastering. We fear we don't have much time left.' A short pause. 'However, something has come to our attention recently that gives us renewed hope. The four colleagues of your human are still alive. We don't know exactly where, but we have leads to be followed up. We need them found and the five of them brought together. Your original plan was to Master the five. If the neural bomb has had the same effect on their minds as your subject, they may be the force we need. The lack of time now leaves us little options.'
Torst glared into the void.
'How has this happened? We were so sure there were no more survivors.'
'What matters now is not what has happened in the past, but what will happen in the future. We need this group together again. And soon. The Warrior caste have somehow gained the same information and have bounty hunters out searching for them. We must act now. All the information we have has been sent to your ship. You must leave at once. Our resources have been depleted too much for us to be able to search for them. We must rely on the human and his ability after the Mastering.'
'I'm sure we will have no trouble getting him to search out his friends, but they will be unprepared. The results of their joining are unpredictable without the Mastering. And to convince them of our cause under such circumstances could undo everything we have done with Thorn.'
'That's something we will have to deal with when the time comes. Our main priority now is to find them. Keep us informed of what is happening and we will send further information when we get it.'
The room was bathed in light as the ceiling glowed its brilliance once again. Torst could see the depleted council as they were lowered to the ground. He counted just ten. Chark led him out of the building into the fading light of the suns.
'Asherst finished Mastering the Leoneon some time ago now. He has been successful in fulfilling the Leoneon's full potential. He has begun Mastering another.'
'Can he be the saviour of our race?'
Chark looked at Torst.
'Not alone. Maybe a small army, but we don't have time to get that many to their potential. I think deep down the council feel that bringing the five humans together is our only hope, though they still authorise Masterings in the vain attempt to find an alternative.'
'How have things become this bad since I've been away?'
'We think we are being betrayed, though we have no way of finding out as our resources are stretched to breaking point. It's only a matter of time before the Warrior caste catch up with us all.'
Torst was now standing in the silver ringed circle outside of the building. The courtyard was deserted. Such a lonely place. He made his farewells not knowing if he would see Chark again. Looking round, the finality of it all took hold as he ascended to his ship. The fate of his race now lay in the organic hands of five humans.
The news was taken as expected. Thorn demanded the information on the whereabouts of his friends and was ready to leave within the hour.
"I can take you as far as your Beta system. The space port there can provide you with transport to take you to the Gamma system where you can find the Helix Cluster. The third planet, Jornaer, is the last known place where Ifor was seen. I then must return to the council. My services are needed there."
Torst produced, what looked like a flat crystal. He placed it on the skin of Thorn’s chest.
"This will allow us to communicate across large distances. It also contains all information that we have on your friends. As soon as I get more information I will contact you."
Chapter 13
On the journey to the Beta system, Thorn chose an appropriate outfit to wear. The attire he wore during his Mastering was not suitable for general day use. He chose an all in one body suit made from a skin tight material formed from a combination of technologies from four different galaxies. It provided protection from all hand to hand combat weapons. It was one of many outfits he had designed over the years.
A knee length, leather style coat that was impervious to steel blades and absorbed laser fire and lightweight boots that contained a surprise in the sole completed the outfit. He secured a belt around his waist from which he hung his laser sword. He had grown his hair over the years and it now hung down to his shoulder blades. A style that reminded him of his favourite comic character from childhood; the Star Rider.
Torst left him in the docking bay of the space port. No long goodbyes. Just a quick shake of the hands and a wishing of good luck, a custom Torst had learned years earlier from Thorn.
His ship glided out of the docking bay and disappeared into the distance until a bright light signalled his jump into hyperspace leaving Thorn looking after it. A strange sense of loss crept over him until he shook his head and turned away.
&
nbsp; The space dock was, at the time, a first collaboration between humans and a mixture of alien races. The elaborate station was co-owned and built with three other races found in this system. The Druans, very similar to humans, but their physiology was completely different. The Erronians, a bipedal species with colour changing skin and the Pertruans who had ape like features, less hairy and with the strength of ten men. The place was loosely run by a combination of the three, but it seemed the laws were only enforced when no resistance was offered.
Thorn walked through the waiting area which was big enough to get two cargo ships in and eyed the bars and eateries that ran around the periphery. It had been a long time since he had had a drink. 'Maybe I'll pop in when I've sorted transportation out,' he thought to himself.
He walked over to the nearest information kiosk to be confronted by a Druan looking droid.
"How may I help you," came the deep voice, a characteristic of the Druans.
"I'm looking for transport to Jornaer in the Gamma System."
"I'm afraid you can no longer arrange transport from here. Can I help you with anything else?"
"Where can I arrange transport?"
"It is now illegal to arrange transport from this station?"
A gruff looking Pertruan was passing.
"Where are you looking to go human?"
Thorn turned to face him.
"Jornaer in the Gamma System."
The alien looked around as if checking that no one was listening.
"It'll cost you," he whispered.
"I have credits."
He looked Thorn up and down then took in a deep breath as though he was sniffing him.
"Follow me."
They both headed off to a bar on the next level of the waiting area. Inside it was sparsely lit. A contrast to the bright waiting area. On the tables were glow lamps that gave a seductive ambiance. He noticed two humans, looking a little scared, at a table with two Druans.
Reformation - Part 1:Psychic Knights Page 5