by M J Dees
Ron plunged the bridge into complete darkness, only reflections of the nearest flames provided illumination through the observation windows. They created dancing shadows on the control panels.
Sevan listened as the roar of the Republic fleet drew closer until it seemed on top of them. Sevan, Ay-ttho and Tori looked at each other in silence, all hoping that the fleet would soon pass. They passed so slowly that Sevan was convinced they must have spotted the Mastery of the Stars but after what felt like an unbearable pause; they moved on.
Sevan and the others listened as the roar of the fleet died away until Ron turned the emergency power back on.
“Who’s the best navigational computer in the galaxy?” he asked.
“What have you done, Ron?” asked Ay-ttho.
“Tell me,” Ron persisted. “Tell me who is the best navigational computer in the galaxy?”
“You are Ron, why?”
“As the Republic ships passed, I picked up their scanning signals and merged something of my own in with the return signals.”
“What? Ron, you could have given us away!”
“I matched their signal so closely it would be indistinguishable to them from their own signals. I gave me the cover I needed to access their systems, and I found a route from here to Sirius. I have navigational charts from Sirius to The Doomed Planet.”
“Ron! You are a genius,” said Tori.
“I know,” said Ron.
“Let’s give them time to give up the chase, or at least search elsewhere,” said Ay-ttho. “Then we can get on our way.”
“There is another thing,” said Ron. “The readings I was picking up before. I don’t think the computer systems of the wreck made them.”
“What do you mean?” asked Tori.
“I picked up weak electrical signals,” said Ron. “At first it seemed like the processing of a device, but I have been analysing the patterns and I think it might be conversations.”
“Conversations?” asked Ay-ttho. “Of whom?”
“Of the Arint.”
“You think some of them might still be alive?” asked Sevan.
“I think quite a few of them might still be alive,” said Ron. “And very close by.”
“Okay, let’s suit up, Tori,” said Ay-ttho.
“What about me?” asked Sevan.
“You stay here and guard Ron.”
“Ron doesn’t need guarding.”
“It’s true, I don’t.”
“Okay, put a suit on.”
Once in their suits, Ay-ttho, Tori and Sevan took a handheld weapon each and descended the gangway to the interior of the burnt-out hulk of the wreckage of the giant ship. Ay-ttho followed the signal that Ron had pinpointed, and they discovered that, next to the broken bulkhead, was a compartment which appeared as if it was still intact.
“If you can detect the signal, Ron, why didn’t the Republic ships detect it too?” asked Ay-ttho.
“The Republic were looking for the signature signals of the Mastery of the Stars,” Ron explained. “They were not interested in weak signals which are practically indistinguishable from a malfunctioning computer. Besides, I was messing with the Republic scanners, remember?”
“You’re the best, Ron,” said Tori.
“In here,” Ay-ttho signalled for the others to follow her through a slight gap in the debris behind which was an almost intact corridor and an intact door to a section of ship which appeared remarkably undamaged. “Ron? Can you scan behind this door?”
“I am detecting many weak signals. I am convinced they are life forms.”
“Can the Arint breathe the atmosphere on Inic B'Campa?”
“According to my records, they can.”
“Okay, let’s try to open this door then. Stand back.”
Sevan and Tori gave Ay-ttho some space while she shot out the door controls.
The door swung open to reveal about a hundred creatures of varying sizes, but even the largest was half the size of Sevan. They had small eyes and long snouts and stood upright on legs which seemed to end in claws. Fur covered them apart from spikes which protruded from their backs.
“Let’s get them to the Mastery of the Stars,” said Ay-ttho.
CHAPTER 13: DEATH ON SIRIUS
Ron sealed off a cargo bay and modified the air so it resembled the atmosphere of Inic B'Campa, then set about trying to simulate food suited to the biology of the Arint.
“We’ll take them as far as Sirius,” said Ay-ttho. “It’s not controlled by the Republic and the atmosphere is like Inic B'Campa.”
“Why is the Republic so keen on eradicating the Arint?” asked Sevan. “They seem harmless.”
“It’s not so much the Republic as the Cheng-Huang,” said Tori. “But the Arint have been hounded wherever they have travelled in the galaxy and once trapped on Inic B'Campa, there was no way for them to run anymore.”
“They put up a fight,” said Ay-ttho. “And now, the Cheng-Huang is the Republic with Akpom Chuba as President.”
“Will they be any safer on Sirius?” asked Sevan.
“At least they’ll be far from the Republic, or at least far from the capital,” said Ay-ttho.
“How long will it take us to get to Sirius?” asked Tori.
“Difficult to tell,” said Ron. “There are many systems we will need to pass through, and I can’t be sure from the information I gained from the Republic ships, the distance between portals.”
“We’re not in a rush, are we?” asked Ay-ttho.
Sevan didn’t want to say anything, but he wanted to get back to The Doomed Planet and see his aunt as soon as he could.
With the Arint secure in the cargo hold and no sign of the Republic fleet, Ron reversed the Mastery of the Stars out of the wreckage of the Arint ship and took off, out of the atmosphere of Inic B'Campa and towards where the Republic charts had shown the next portal would be.
“Why is this region called strange worlds?” asked Sevan.
“Would you like us to stop at some to show you?” asked Ay-ttho.
Curious as he was, Sevan would rather get home than experience the oddities of the galaxy.
“The first portal is close, it won’t take as long to get to Sirius as I had imagined,” said Ron.
“I might go for a rest,” said Sevan.
“I wouldn’t advise it,” said Ron. “If these Republic charts are to be believed, there are going to be some sights you might not want to miss.”
Sevan took Ron’s advice and stayed on the bridge, slumped in the chair that he was now considering his own since Tori took over the weapons chair. As he stared out the observation window, he saw they were approaching the first portal and before he realised they were passing through it.
At the other side of the portal, Sevan couldn`t see anything of interest out of the window.
“I thought there would be something to see, Ron,” Sevan complained. “Call me when we get there.”
“Wait,” said Ron. “Can you see that silver dot straight ahead?”
Sevan approached the observation window and stared outside. Ron was right, they were approaching something, but it didn’t seem very impressive to him, just a silver disk.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Wait, it’s Bondauzuno.”
“It’s what?”
“The planet Bondauzuno, watch.”
Sevan watched.
“It’s a bit flat for a planet, it’s just a disc,” he said.
“That’s not the planet,” Ron corrected him. “Those are it’s rings.”
“Then where’s the planet?”
“Wait.”
As Sevan waited, the Mastery of the Stars drew closer to Bondauzuno and the disc-like shape filled the observation window.
“They’re huge,” Sevan marvelled. “The rings.”
“Yes, they are, aren’t they,” said Ron. “If you look closely you can see Bondauzuno in the centre. That gap in the rings, in the middle, is where Bondauzuno’s moon orbits.�
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Sevan thought the rings were spectacular, and he was glad that Ron had made him stay to see them. He watched as they passed and then disappeared into the distance.
“Approaching the next portal,” said Ron.
“What is the next system we will pass through?” asked Sevan.
“We will pass close to a planet called Chelrolia,” said Ron. “The planet does not rotate and so the hemisphere which faces their star is scorching hot and the hemisphere which faces away is freezing cold. The Chelrolians live on a narrow strip of land running around the circumference between the hemispheres.”
After they had left Chelrolia, they passed Aziatera which was covered in water, then came Tigromia, a planet covered in ice despite the proximity to its star.
“Why does the ice not melt?” asked Sevan.
“Because the gravity is so strong,” explained Ron. “It compresses the water vapour in the atmosphere, into a solid so it never melts no matter how much it burns.”
There were several more wonders before they arrived at the Sirius system. Cholvarth, which was covered in diamonds. Eonus where it rained sapphires and rubies. Paocarro which orbited its neutron star every two hours and Dichuliv where it rained glass.
“If some of these planets are covered in precious stones,” said Sevan. “Why have the Republic or the Corporation not tried to colonise them?”
“They have,” said Ron. “There have been many wars in the outer regions over the stranger worlds. Perhaps this is why Akpom Chuba invaded the Arint. He is maybe thinking of expanding into the outer regions. There are many other wondrous planets we haven’t passed.”
“There are more?”
“There is Pherimia which eats light, Strorth 08J which is bright pink, the mega planet of Zyke Z4 and many more.”
“How long to Sirius?” asked Ay-ttho as she and Tori entered the bridge, having left out of boredom after Chelrolia.
“We have just entered the system,” said Ron. “You can already see all three stars.”
Out of the window, Sevan could see a large white star and a smaller white star.
“Where’s the third star?” asked Sevan.
“Okay, I lied,” admitted Ron. “It’s hidden by the brightest star.”
“How far to the planet?” asked Ay-ttho.
“We are almost there.”
“Better get our suits on then.”
As Sevan was getting dressed, he could see they were getting closer to a blue planet with an atmosphere full of clouds. As they passed through the clouds, he saw that water covered almost the entire planet with only a few small continents.
“Ron, are any of the continents uninhabited?” asked Ay-ttho.
“One of the landmasses contains a colony of Ocrex,” said Ron. “There is an alternative landmass that appears to be uncolonised.”
“Take us there.”
Ron flew the Mastery of the Stars low over the ocean and Sevan could see large volcanoes spewing smoke into the atmosphere. As they approached the land mass, he noticed that millions of tiny stepping stones packed close together covered the coast.
“Do you know which Ocrex have a colony here, Ron?” asked Ay-ttho.
“No, Ay-ttho, it just has the signature of an Ocrex colony.”
“What’s wrong with the Ocrex?” asked Sevan.
“Nothing,” said Ay-ttho. “I just have some unfinished business with one of them.”
Ron brought the Mastery of the Stars down on a rocky outcrop, immense waves were crashing on the rocks below. All the land Sevan could see appeared barren, and in the sky was an enormous moon.
“How are the Arint going to live here?” asked Sevan. “There’s nothing here.”
“Don’t worry, Sevan,” said Ron. “It might appear like there’s no food here, but there is an incredible amount of microscopic life that the Arint can sense with their electro-sensitive snouts. They are remarkably well adapted to this carbon rich atmosphere, and their hides will protect them from the high levels of UV.”
“Oh, good,” said Sevan, understanding little of what Ron had just explained.
In their suits, they went down to the cargo bays and led the Arint out onto the volcanic rock surface. They unloaded the food that Ron had simulated and some materials for the Arint to build shelters.
It was difficult to tell, but Sevan thought the Arint seemed grateful that they had transported them to their new home.
“We had better get a move on,” said Ay-ttho. “It will be dark soon; the days are very short here.”
“Ay-ttho, there is a craft approaching,” said Ron, via her communicator.
“Can you identify it?”
“Ocrex.”
“Here we go,” Ay-ttho muttered to herself. “Get those last crates off, we need to be ready to go.”
The Arint hopped to shelter under an overhanging rock as the noisy craft flew low over the Mastery of the Stars before landing on a vacant stretch of rock.
Ay-ttho, Tori, Sevan and almost a hundred Arint watched as the door opened on the strange craft and a brownish, orange creature with a vast head, large black eyes and eight long tentacles emerged. Sevan felt he had seen the creature somewhere before.
Ay-ttho wasted no time in approaching the creature, and Sevan saw that the parts of skin its suit did not cover were changing colour. The creature began waving its tentacles about and Ay-ttho responded by waving her arms around in a way that reminded Sevan where he had seen the creature before; it was on Pandoria when they were looking for the last assassins. The creature had disappeared when the Republic had attacked the planet.
After a lengthy conversation, Ay-ttho returned to the others, and the creature retreated into its ship.
“He’s invited us to their colony,” she said. “Let’s get on board, we need to follow his ship.”
“Who’s he?” asked Sevan.
“Abaxax,” said Ay-ttho. “You met him on Pandoria.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly meet him,” said Sevan. “I thought he looked familiar.”
They said brief and little understood goodbyes to the confused Arint before boarding the Mastery of the Stars to follow Abaxax’s ship to the Ocrex colony.
“Why does he want us to go to their colony?” asked Tori.
“I think he feels bad about abandoning us on Pandoria,” said Ay-ttho. “I gave him a hard time for abandoning Gwof and told him what a nightmare we had with Lopez.”
“It was hardly his fault,” said Tori.
“All the same.”
They followed Abaxax to a settlement on the coast on the edge of a small cove where the waves broke offshore on a rocky outcrop which created a natural shelter.
Once they had landed, Ay-ttho, Tori and Sevan left the Mastery of the Stars and followed Abaxax to a structure built around a cave, close to the water. Abaxax and Ay-ttho were waving at each other all the time, and Sevan noticed that Abaxax was changing colour rapidly.
“I thought Ocrex didn’t live together in colonies,” said Tori.
“They don’t usually,” said Ay-tthoo. “But they are also fugitives from the Republic and running out of suitable environments for them.”
They followed Abaxax into his cave, where he invited them all to sit. He sat down in front of them and waved his tentacles when, suddenly, his head exploded.
Tori and Ay-ttho reached for their weapons, Sevan hadn't thought to bring his, but before they could raise them, they found themselves on the dangerous end of several other weapons held by Republic guards at the cave's entrance.
"We are arresting you for the murder of President Man, his partner and her begotton, Ozli, and the President's adviser Kellen Kader and his begottons, Fenris and Zarah," said a guard.
"We didn't kill any of them," said Ay-ttho. "Let alone all of them."
"The Republic court has already found you guilty," said the guard. "We are here to implement your sentence."
"What is the sentence?" asked Tori.
"Transport by Rocket to the pen
al colony on Aitne."
"Not again," said Sevan.
CHAPTER 14: KIRKLAND TAKES CONTROL
The guards took their weapons and then led Ay-ttho, Tori and Sevan out of the cave and across the rocky terrain to a fleet of Republic ships which they had hidden on the far side of a volcanic rock formation.
The guards led their prisoners into a vessel where they took them to a sizable room and secured them to chairs in front of a panel of large screens.
“What’s this for?” asked Ay-ttho.
“It is for the official sentencing,” said one a guard. “We are setting up a link to the Republic court on Future.”
“I thought the court had already made their decision?” asked Ay-ttho.
“The President wants the Republic to see that the assassins of President Man will have justice served upon them.”
“President Chuba?”
“That’s right. The President himself plans to be present for the sentencing.”
The screens in front of them crackled into life. On one, Sevan could see President Akpom Chuba, on another were three gas filled vehicles, presumably the judges of the Republic Court, and on a third screen, Sevan recognised Kirkland.
“We are here to sentence the murderers of President Man, his partner, her begotton, their adviser and his begottons,” said a judge. “We have captured them as they ran away from the scene of the crime and valiant Republic troops have apprehended them in the Sirius system.”
The republic guards straightened with pride on hearing this.
“As is tradition, on these occasions,” the judge continued. “We permit the guilty a brief statement to beg forgiveness from the Republic.”
Everyone then seemed to look at Ay-ttho, Tori and Sevan, waiting for some form of apology.
“I’ll make a statement,” said Sevan.
Ay-ttho and Tori, turned to look at him with surprise.
“We intercepted a message from the first President Man saying that his co-begotton, the last President Man was planning to kill him and had deployed a troop of mechanical bowmen to carry out the assasination,” said Sevan. “Ozli Man saw this message and was understandably upset, he challenged the President and his co-begetter about this. It was a very confusing period for everyone and in one particularly confusing moment, Ozli accidentally killed the President’s adviser, Kellen Kader. The President twice attempted to have Ozli killed. The first was during the Republic’s attack at Trinculo where Ozli was present as a guest of the Corporation, representing the President. They later sent him on a mission to the Tomorrow space station where the President had sent orders to have him executed.”