Chapter 18
DRUCKER walked into the CHERKOT FLASHCIN plant but it was not for work this time. DRUCKER was summoned to meet with ALVERON officials. It had been five days since he’d completed his first VECILDOME. DRUCKER’S initial thought was that perhaps this meeting had something to do with the VECILDOME---an additional step that he wasn’t aware of since it had been his first time. However, DRUCKER’S intuition couldn’t allow him to believe that.
DRUCKER; a NOBI from the MEDOAN village, was the central figure in the rebellion revolution group on the planet. He was unaware of the reach his influence had on other villages but for MEDOAN; he was as respected as any NOBI among his people. DRUCKER became a symbol of hope and possibly better days ahead for the village. His message was delivered at the discretion of all involved; thus, the danger would mean that few actually heard DRUCKER speak---although whispers travelled through the village; family to family, and this would be how the rebellion began.
DRUCKER also thought about the discovery of the ALVERON’S newest technology he’d made before he took his VECILDOME. Could this be the reason he was summoned by the ALVERON council members? He initially thought about escaping with his family but knew the risk would be great. The reach that the OCKTORON poison had on him as well as his children was extensive. There could be no escape for him or any NOBI. The only choice he had; the only choice he ever had was to obey the ALVERON council. DRUCKER reasoned that the OCKTORON poison would’ve already been released had the ALVERON council known of his scheming and that this summons was something unknown to him.
As DRUCKER had done a thousand times before; he walked through the GLYSTIN metal tunnel and past the immense expanse of FLASHCIN machines till finally he reached the check-in room. Normally; he’d be scanned and sent to his assignment. DRUCKER took a seat; waiting for the guide to lead him into the council room. As he waited; his eyes, for a short time, met with a worker that was checking in. A look of unease from them---as if the worker felt their symbol of hope was in danger.
A young but earnest looking ALVERON guard walked into the check-in room and stood in front of DRUCKER.
“You are DRUCKER; from the MEDOAN village?”
“Yes; I am DRUCKER.”
“Follow me then.”
Much to the surprise of DRUCKER; they didn’t travel to an office up the stairs but rather---they went outside. In fact; DRUCKER was lead to a black transporter just beyond the enclosure of the CHERKOT FLASHCIN plant. The transporter was different than any he’d seen as it was larger than most and plated with tinted windows. This made DRUCKER nervous and he paused before entering the transporter.
“I don’t understand. What’s all of this about,” DRUCKER asked?
“You have been summoned by the council. Proceed as you are lead,” the ALVERON guard said.
Another ALVERON guard; this one was older, appeared from the inside of the transporter. His voice was stern when he asked the younger guard; “Is there a problem with the NOBI?”
The young ALVERON guard looked at DRUCKER who finally took the cue to step inside the transporter. The inside had two GLYSTIN metal benches and DRUCKER took a seat that placed him in front of the older guard. The young guard moved past the front of the transporter to the driver’s seat. The transporter then lifted off the ground and moved away from the FLASHCIN plant.
The small NOBIAN camp known as MEDOAN is positioned between the MOMENTRUS mountain range and the low-level copper-colored TESKOH waterway that strews its way into grottos near the site. The land is mostly brown and cracked in some areas. Wind gusts swirl the fine brownish powder that shrouds the camp and its mostly tattered dwellings. A shiny black transporter moves through the village; past the dense spread of dwellings and to the outer edge where only a few smaller tents are dispersed.
DRUCKER recognizes the area as the place his family lived before the SCHWEXION storm. The majority of the camp that survived moved closer to the FLASHCIN plant. It was on the outskirts where individuals not working at CHERKOT stayed. These were mostly comprised of the rarest of individuals from other planets that had business on NOBI.
The transporter stopped at a hostel that used to be an active GLYSTIN mine; one of the few places on the planet that had the resource in fact---as it is mostly abundant in EPHIA. DRUCKER’S dad was a loader in the mine at one time. The young ALVERON guard went into the hostel first while the other guard waited with DRUCKER in the transporter.
The ride had been entirely too silent for relief as DRUCKER now realized his death was near. DRUCKER thought of his children and his thoughts surrounded the question of, ‘why he had chosen to lead a movement for rebellion against the ALVERON council.’ Was the sacrifice of his life and his children’s lives worth it?
The young guard came out of the hostel with an individual walking beside him. Except for the small build, this new individual had the look and manner of a STONIAN. DRUCKER had not been to the planet STONIA and had contact with only few STONIANS over a lifetime but he was drawn to them more than any other LOMMETRUS being. They had a drive; or perhaps it was a passion to them that DRUCKER could only hope for in his people. The STONIANS he encountered were mostly a kindhearted class of beings---untypical for a major planet. DRUCKER never understood why they lined themselves with the ALVERONS.
The young guard opened the door to the back area where DRUCKER was seated and the STONIAN took his seat next to the older guard.
“My name is KEETCHA but I now prefer to be called Miles. I am STONIAN as you have probably already guessed but you are confused about my size. Am I correct?”
DRUCKER looked at the ALVERON guard and then at the STONIAN. Miles was speaking in the NOBI language but it took on a strange dialect that DRUCKER was unfamiliar with. This was in part due to Miles speaking mostly human over the course of three years. Still, Miles mastered the NOBI language as well as anyone could.
“What is all this about. I don’t understand why I’ve been brought here,” DRUCKER said.
Miles nodded. “I’ve heard that you’re a NOBI of great importance---you are seeking the restoration of peace in the LOMMETRUS. However; I am interested in leaving the LOMMETRUS for good and I was also told that you could help me.”
DRUCKER was still uneasy. His eyes moved back to the ALVERON guard sitting with them.
Miles noticed this and continued, “This might be hard for you to believe NOBI but there are many ALVERONS and STONIANS that don’t side with the council. You are safe here.”
DRUCKER took pause for consideration at what Miles had just told him.
Miles---still sensing the uncertainty---continued; “Look DRUCKER, my planet was attacked with the council’s weather machine too. What has happened on this planet; to your village, is awful but certainly not uncommon in the LOMMETRUS. Many lives have been affected by the council’s actions; including friends of mine on other planets so don’t think you’re alone in this struggle with the council. Even these ALVERON guards which you mistrust have known sorrow at the hands of the council.”
DRUCKER studied Miles’ face before he spoke. He then asked; “Why are you interested in leaving the LOMMETRUS? Where will you go?”
Miles reached in his pocket for the metal device that he had lifted from the wounded ALVERON scientist at the facility but then suddenly---he changed his course and went a different direction for an explanation.
“I am going to tell you something that I’ve only told a few in the LOMMETRUS before today. I’ve told you my name but what I haven’t told you is that I was an exploration pilot for the ALVERONS. I was given an assignment that took me beyond the LOMMETRUS. I went to a place that only the council knew about. This place is a BOUDRED KECTOPARCHELS from here. It is an infinitely younger planet than our system and rich in resources…”
DRUCKER interrupted; “BOUDRED KECTOPARCHELS? That’s impossible. If this place did exist; how did you get…”---DRUCKER broke from this thought for a moment as if remembering something. “Wait; who is it that you
said sent you?”
Miles then said; “I want to show you something---something that I see as the crucial element to your understanding and trust but we must leave this place.”
Before DRUCKER could object, Miles motioned for the younger guard to power the transporter and travel to the outer spread of the MEDOAN village. The transporter moved beyond the village and to another abandoned GLYSTIN mine. Miles got out of the transporter and asked DRUCKER to follow. And while the young guard stayed in the transporter---the older guard followed the two into the mine.
The LOMMETRUS Chronicles: Book One: The Abduction of William Baxter Page 19