Jump Starting the Universe Book Bundle

by John David Buchanan

  “Now you’ve seen my best move,” he said, and Denton began to laugh harder.

  “It wasn’t you running from the room,” said Denton as he tried to catch his breath, “it was the way you pumped your elbows on the way to the door that was hilarious.”

  “It’s my best evasive move,” replied Mark between chuckles. They had another good laugh, and Denton invited them to join him and Elia for lunch, if they didn’t already have plans.

  They got cleanup up after the workout, and Mark and Nita accepted Denton’s invitation to lunch at Krimperdeem’s.

  “Splendid,” said Denton. “I’ll walk up to Elia’s place and we’ll meet you at the restaurant.

  Shortly after Denton left, Mark finished packing his workout clothes and he and Nita walked up the road talking about their two-on-one workout.

  “Mark, you misled me.”

  “How so?” asked Mark.

  “When we were on Gafcon you asked me if I would help you train.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Mark, I don’t think you need my help at all.”

  “Well, you’re wrong about that, Nita. You have a unique style, although I detect some of the same elements in Denton’s moves. I think some facets of your approach could be incorporated into my style and make it better. Besides, Blackie and I have an understanding. We don’t let on about our training or abilities, and we don’t use them unless absolutely necessary. We’ve found the less people know, the better.”

  “How good is Blackie?”

  “When we see him again, we’ll do some three-on-one drills and you can find out for yourself. Maybe you, Arton and Donnally can spar with him. Personally, I’m tired of getting beat up.”

  “Come on, you’re kidding, right?”

  “Spar with him, then decide if you think I’m kidding.”

  “Three on one is pretty tough, Mark.”

  “I went to the base one time to watch Blackie spar. I had some time to kill, so I thought I’d see what he was up to. He didn’t know I was coming and I made sure he didn’t see me while he was sparring. Later, after he was finished, I told him I had watched the entire session. I asked him, how do you know where everyone is. I get the whole line-them-up thing, but you can only line up so many attackers.

  He told me he had a sense of where everyone was, and sometimes he would attack a vacant spot, knowing by the time he landed the punch or strike, the guy would move into position to take the blow. There’s no explanation for how he can do that. He tried, but how do you explain something like that? A skill like that is almost unnatural; you either have it or you don’t.”

  “How many people was he sparring?” asked Nita.

  Mark smiled broadly, “Way more than three, and he was winning. Hey, look, there’s Arton.”

  Nita shouted to Arton who was about to turn onto a side street. “Arton, where are you headed?”

  “Going to lunch. You?”

  “The same. How about you join us at Krimperdeem’s. Denton and Elia are meeting us there.”

  “Sure, that would be great,” replied Arton.

  Before long they were all sitting in Krimperdeem’s restaurant next to the Govent Rivulet. Everyone except Mark ordered a light lunch. Mark ordered the all-you-can-eat buffet and was soon retrieving his second serving.

  “So, what are you working on today Arton,” asked Denton.

  “Let’s find out if this sounds as strange to you as it does to me,” and he described what his sister Marie had told him. “She said Stuart described it all to her in a calm voice but she could tell he was upset. Marie isn’t the kind of woman to dramatize things, and she’s not easily shaken, but I could hear it in her voice. Hopefully, she’s heard from Stuart and has some more details for us when she arrives tonight.”

  “Arton, I think Donnally wants a word with you,” said Denton who nodded toward the door.

  “I’ll be right back.” Arton walked to the front door where Donnally waited for him.

  They moved to the front corner of the room where no one was sitting, and Donnally leaned toward Arton, speaking softly so no one could overhear them.

  “We’ve had reports from some of our away ships in the Sote-kiliet. Nothing from the gunship headed to Mortia, but several other ships are reporting similar occurrences starting to happen on two neighboring planets. Whatever your brother-in-law described to Marie appears to be real, and possibly spreading. I’m hoping we’ll hear more about Mortia before the evening is gone.”

  “I realize your sister Marie is coming in tonight, but if you can, after you have a visit and she settles in, come by the council room. We start at 7 IPT. Sly was alerted to the disruptions early this morning by a Jantoid from Epsicron, hours before we received transmissions from our ships. Another complication has just materialized, and he wants a full discussion of all the issues tonight.”

  “Did he say what that complication is?” inquired Arton.

  “No. Details tonight.”

  “Alright, I’ll be in.”

  “Anything you can share?” asked Nita as Arton returned to the table.

  “Turns out the crazy story is true. We’ve had communiques from away ships in Sote-kiliet, and apparently, Sly was alerted to what was going on sometime early this morning by a Jantoid on Epsicron.”

  “That would be Paxim.”

  Denton looked shocked by Mark’s casual comment, “You know him?”

  “Yeah, replied Mark. “He saved my life by taking out an assassin on Gavalkia.”

  “You were on Gavalkia? asked Arton, in a surprised voice.

  “I heard a rumor about that,” injected Denton. “The guy was allegedly involved in a hit on a Perlucidian at the Phoenix Hotel.”

  “That wasn’t a rumor mate. The assassination was supposed to happen at the hotel when we were staying there. Five of us witnessed it happen. After Blackie gave a statement to the police, we left town.”

  “Did he get involved in the fight,” asked Elia.

  “No, he overheard the Perlucidian’s conversation. Blackie said he thought it was music playing in the background, but he remembered every word they said.”

  “That’s rare, you know; to be able to understand the Perlucidian language,” said Denton.

  “That’s what the detective told Blackie, before he told all of us it would be smart to leave town and to be careful about being followed. Unfortunately, Zypho, the guy who arranged the hit, caught up with us. After Nita planted a foot on the side of his head he brandished a sword and threatened to kill us all.”

  “Blackie started talking to Zypho. I suspect he was stalling for time and looking for an opening. That’s when Paxim showed up. I can tell you this, if Paxim said the Sote-kiliet is having trouble, you can count on it being right. He doesn’t shave the truth.”

  The front door to the restaurant opened and a young man approached their table. “I have a message for Mark. Any of you named Mark?”

  “That’s me,” replied Mark in a surprised voice.

  “I was told to tell you to open it immediately,” and the young man handed Mark the envelope and stood waiting.

  Mark grabbed a butter knife and slit the envelope. When he pulled out the note, the young man excused himself and left the restaurant.

  “Well?” said Nita. “I mean, if it’s not personal.”

  “Not at all. Sly asked me to attend tonight’s council meeting. He wants you too,” he said, as he passed Denton the note.

  Denton opened the note and read it out loud, “Please attend the meeting tonight at 7 IPT in the council chambers. Bring Denton. This doesn’t sound good,” said Denton.

  “Sly doesn’t involve himself in pleasantries,” replied Arton.

  “He’s working on that…. what?

  They were staring at Mark like he was purposely downplaying his relationship with Sly.

  “It’s no big deal. At lunch the other day he mentioned it to me. He talks to you guys about serious stuff all the time. Our conversations are mostly about fungus
impregnated guitars. All he said was he might want to work on his reputation, to mix it up or lighten up a little, that’s all.”

  “The agenda will have more on it tonight than guitars,” said Arton. “Thanks for the invite to lunch. I’d better be going. I’ve got a few things to do before this evening. I’ll see you two later,” nodding to Mark and Denton as he stood up and walked away.

  Nita insisted on paying the bill and indicated she would love to go for a walk. Elia was up for a walk too, and Denton said he would tag along if Mark would tell him about what happened to them at the Phoenix Hotel and on Gavalkia. Stories about the confrontation between Paxim and Zypho were being spread wildly, and he was particularly interested in hearing the truth of what happened from an eye witness.

  “I’ll tell you all about it, but that last bit won’t take the time it takes to walk thirty steps. It was lightning fast and almost unbelievable. If I hadn’t witnessed it, I would have said, no way that happened.”

  They spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town. Mark told Denton about Earth, and how he, Blackie, Wayne and Nita ended up on Alphus Nebulum.

  “I’ve got a question for you, Denton. Why was Nita living on Alphus Nebulum? You’re Centorians, why wasn’t she living here?

  “For security and preservation. Not every being in the universe looks favorably on Centorians interfering in issues that don’t involve them. As you might expect the victim in those situations is never the one who complains – always the aggressor,” smirked Denton.

  “Because of that, we’re targets aren’t we. It would be crazy to attack Centoria, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility someone could one day invent technologies superior to ours, and attack us. Because of that possibility, the possibility Centoria could be attacked or destroyed, volunteers live anonymously on other planets. Except for occasional discreet visits, they live far and wide throughout the universe, so that if Centoria is overcome, we are not victims of genocide.”

  “Nita didn’t know. She didn’t have a clue she is Centorian. Why would she be kept in the dark about her heritage?”

  “Several levels of secrecy are in play, Mark. Some children know and some, like Nita didn’t have a clue. We believe it protects them from enemies we don’t want them to worry about. But whether they are privy to their heritage or not, we make sure they have the tools to defend themselves in the event its necessary. Uncle Jimm made sure Nita had the necessary skills to take care of herself.”

  Mark was somewhat dismissive of the explanation. “Seems like in her case a lot was left to chance.”

  “Do you think the bully picking on Nita when she was in elementary school was accidental?” said Denton. “She was old enough to start training, but she needed a reason to learn to defend herself. Enter the bully. Later, it was the sparring matches with Uncle Jimm that drove her to perfect her technique. I’d say she was successful,” he said, rubbing a knot on his hip where she tagged him between his pads in their two-on-one sparring that morning.

  “So, if something happens to Centoria, the anonymous ones live the rest of their lives not knowing who they are?”

  “No, not at all. If something catastrophic were to happen, a notification protocol is initiated. Those who are away they are Centorians receive an emergency message explaining the circumstances. In that message is a list of others living on the same planet they are to notify. The message will give them exact instructions on how and when to make those contacts and how far down the list they should go.”

  Mark and Denton were so involved in their conversation they almost walked past Nita and Elia who had decided to sit on a park bench adjacent to the sidewalk until the guys caught up with them.

  “What are you guys talking about that’s so captivating?” said Elia, as Mark and Denton walked by the bench, oblivious to her and Joules.

  “Some guy stuff,” said Mark as he whirled around.

  “Did it involve a hike to the western ridges to watch the sundown. We could eat a snack, watch the sun light up the Angel’s rocks, and still be back in plenty of time for your meeting,” offered Elia.

  “Amazing,” said Denton. “That’s precisely what we were talking about.”

  “Splendid answer,” replied Elia with a smile. “It’s almost like you read our minds.”

  After visiting several shops in town, they hiked to the western ridges and laid out a light snack, hoping they would be the beneficiaries of a spectacular sunset. After they finished, Mark walked toward the edge of the ridge overlooking the valley and scanned the sky above the horizon, looking for planet Questian. As the night sky darkened he spotted it; a small planet with a light red color. Nita put her hand on his shoulder and followed his gaze to the horizon.

  “You think they are still there? On Questian?”

  “It doesn’t feel the same. Seeing it tonight doesn’t stir me like it did before. They’ve gone Nita, they’ve moved on to another planet, and there is no telling where they are now.”

  While Denton and Elia talked, Nita stood by Mark as he searched the sky, hoping to get that feeling he had before; the feeling he was looking across the solar system right at his brother and friends - but it didn’t happen. No matter what he fixed his gaze on, it seemed like just another pinhead of light in the sky, just another regular star or planet. Maybe some were populated, or maybe they were magnificent to behold. But none of them gave him the feeling he needed - the feeling his brother and friends were staring back.

  “We should go,” said Denton, “or we’ll be late for the meeting.”

  Denton’s comment jolted Mark back to reality. He had been so intent on scanning the sky, he missed the sunset, the gold light bathing Umbreathe, and the plumes of smoke curling into the night. Nita stood next to him the whole time, not saying a word. She understood.

  Plenty of time was left for them to make their way back to town for their council meeting. “We’ll meet up with you afterward,” said Denton. “Where can we find you?”

  Before Elia could respond, a young man approached them from the main road and asked if one of them was Denton.

  “I’m Denton.”

  “This is for you,” and the young man handed him an envelope. “I’ve been looking all over town for you, since early this afternoon.”

  “What is it.”

  “I don’t know,” said the young man. “But you’re supposed to open it before I leave.”

  Denton tore off the end of the envelope and pulled out a small card. When he looked up, the young man was already gone. “We won’t need to find you,” said Denton.

  “’The meeting was cancelled?” asked Nita.

  “No. The card says to bring Elia and you to the meeting.”

  “Is that normal?” asked Mark. “I mean, I have no idea what protocol is.”

  “Nothing is normal if the council is convening. Sarah, the chairman before Sly, would sometimes hold town meetings to discuss emergency issues. It wasn’t uncommon for hundreds of people to attend. Fortunately, most of them only wanted to listen. The Chairman gets to decide how the council meetings are attended; Sly likes small meetings with people of his own choosing.”

  The short walk to the council building was filled with open speculation about what might be going on. Mark asked Denton if the Zin Charr might be involved, assuming they might want to retaliate for the Centorians’ raid on their disambiguation facility.

  “That’s possible, but I doubt they would do something so soon. They aren’t ruled by their emotions and certainly wouldn’t let them dictate their plans. They clearly have no answer for our superior gunships so any major move against us now would end badly. I suspect it’s something else.”

  “Look, there’s Donnally and Arton,” said Nita, as they approached the building. “What’s going on Arton?”

  “Not sure, but we’ll find out shortly,” he replied, as he opened the front door to the lobby and everyone entered.

  “We will be in the small conference room,” said Bert, who was sittin
g in a wing-back chair to their left. “Right down there,” he said, pointing down the hallway. “Grab a seat and I’ll be right with you. Sly is upstairs but he should be down momentarily.”

  The conference room was already buzzing with conversation from a group of people sitting at the far end of the long table. A woman sitting there looked up at them as they entered, and smiled. She had raven black hair and the most penetrating green eyes they had ever seen; except Mark, who recognized her immediately.

  “Venessa, I had no idea you were here,” said Mark as he swept around the table.

  Venessa extended her hand to take Mark’s, then pulled him into a quick hug. “I just arrived,” she replied. “It’s nice to see you again. I take it the Phoenix Hotel didn’t burn down again while you were there.”

  “No, it didn’t,’ replied Mark. “I guess Sly told you about the Perlucidians and Zypho?”

  “Yes, he did. The boys will be disappointed they didn’t see you and hear you tell the story. They’ve heard of Zypho’s reputation from their father, and of course Paxim is one of their favorite beings. Anytime we go to the Treehouse Restaurant they ask for him.”

  “Tell the boys I’m sorry I missed them,” replied Mark. “So Venessa, I’d like you to meet Arton, Donnally, and Denton, and you’ve already met Nita, Denton’s sister. Everyone, this is Venessa, Sly’s wife.”

  They had time for a brief chat about the incident on Gavalkia before Sly entered the room. When he arrived, everyone found a seat and the meeting began.

  “Thanks for coming this evening everyone, and sorry to keep you waiting. I was upstairs trying to update some field reports. I won’t keep you long, but two important issues need to be briefly discussed, so let’s get right to it. We have reason to believe the Korganraim Giants are planning to attack Centoria.”