MILDRATAWA

by Nigel Clayton

  A further 100 metres on and they decided to disembark the space bus to cover the remainder of the ground by foot. A plan to capture by way of ambush was formulated and would benefit the reaction force with a clean victory.

  400 metres remained to be covered when all of a sudden five laser bolts of light struck out in accurate rapid fire, bringing death to several members instantaneously.

  All knew the drill and little was said in the first seconds of their flight to take cover amongst nearby rocks. The third in order of march viewed his scanner for direction. “Four hundred metres. It came from the single target blip,” Atalom yelled.

  “That can’t be. That’s outside of range,” Dimonoz replied. He was the leader of the group for the Alza Nigh representatives.

  Atalom offered more information for the team leaders to dwell upon. Washing his hands across the face of the scanner he looked close. “It’s at a slight height advantage and descending. 50 metres and falling, turning this way now, off its original path.”

  “How long before we can expect an encounter?”

  “Eight minutes maximum.”

  Dimonoz and the Zirclon’s troop leader Binsatu quickly gave their men firing positions. The latter wasn’t as experienced a fighter as those around but his natural intelligence led the path of silence and for those given orders, each reacted, only to speak when necessary. “It’s a material target, that’s for sure. No being could see that far.”

  “Stay low, all of you.” Dimonoz searched for confirmation that his advice was being adhered to. “Make for as small a target as possible, it’s obviously tracking us.”

  Binsatu turned his mind’s eye to this suggestion. The distance of 400 metres was overwhelming. He thought hard on the scenarios from the past month. “It’s an Aura Robot from Irshstup, it has to be. Some way, somehow, it’s defeated the odds set against it. Everyone stay low.” A plan of attack was immediately formulated. “It’s picked us up because we were in line of sight. Bimolat and Salozim; you’re to remain as low as you can and push out 50 metres to our front. We’ll protect from the rear and flanks. Your auras will be given limited exposure if hidden, and the thickness of your hoods should limit your skin’s exposure to the robot. Keep your bodies behind cover for as long as possible.”

  They set off to apply the principle of obscuring their line of sight from the target. They were soon in position, lying still, and monitored the scanner.

  The team was now being approached from both sides. They still had no idea as to the origin of the group of ten, but as it had not fired, and due to its size, was considered as living flesh. The robot was obviously low to the ground now and the line of sight to themselves and the other approaching target obscured due to its height above the ground plane.

  The group of ten intruders moved to within 50 metres of the reaction force when the robot’s sensors picked their movement up from 150 metres out. It was a group of Legion Millennium, carrying a snow beast that they’d hunted. One of them fell to the robot’s laser and the others took cover. At the same instant the ready reaction force sprang from their hides and commenced to fire and move towards the targets of Verton origin. The robot picked this up too, targets galore. It fired again and again. The two Alza Ningh’s hidden in wait decided to make a move and commenced an alternate crawling towards the single blip on the scanner, providing each other with covering fire as they closed in on the machine.

  A mind scan hit its target and it convulsed out of control.

  The Legion Millennium had no idea at this stage as to what they were up against; the Aura Robot had targets everywhere; and the ready reaction troops had contacts on two flanks.

  The three-way battle continued with many falling to the lasers of the robot, including the two so bent upon bringing the robot to its knees.

  Unknown to other members of the reaction force, five of the soldiers from Zirclon were loyal to El Pasadora, and each of these knew well of the pursuit for unification of which the Verton forces were forever searching. They also knew that the mind scan would be useless against the robot target. They kept themselves from pushing too far forward and fired the odd shot into the back of an Alza Ningh or Zirclon; the robot could be targeted later.

  A lucky glance by Binsatu put the shock of reality to his eyes as he turned to see one of his own men, shoot in the back, another. “We have infiltrators; Damata, Zirtami, Basaclon, quickly, pass the word, watch your—” Basaclon lowered the laser rifle from the pit of his shoulder having killed Binsatu, but not before some of the others had been warned of the rebel insurgents.

  Alza Ningh and Zirclon Tribesman crawled around alike, forming three groups of unity. The legion hunters now numbered seven and put immediate trust in the sudden rush of information that collaborators existed within the structure of Zirclon’s populace. The leader of this group, Cinvatti, saw the possibility in this; many Verton would be spread across the galaxy, this was for sure.

  Many collaborators now surfaced, each unveiled as he lost his anonymity.

  The group of legion were still a lot smaller than the combined Mildratawa force of Zirclon and Alza Ningh, though now, being from two different planets, all players in this game of death, from both Zirclon and Alza Ningh, found it difficult to trust in one another, for any single one man could be a Verton in disguise. These groups were also in a much better position to avoid the accurate fire of the robot than those of the legion whom carried the snow best.

  When the robot was finally brought to a crumpling halt, only five legion and three collaborators remained. Cinvatti had made the correct decision in siding with this small force, siding with a weapon, which after many shots, had succeeded in bringing the robot to a final standstill. As for the remainder of the Mildratawa force all Alza Ningh had been annihilated.

  Basaclon approached Cinvatti: “We can’t stay long.”

  “I understand,” said Cinvatti. “You know; I thought you were Verton at first, but nevertheless; I assure you, we’re sided with El Pasadora so long as he and Vetty have a treaty with each other – even in the sight that both men may be dead. I’ve heard of our efforts to unite before the blow of the Mildratawa took its toll,” and they all knew time was short, “but you are right, we must be going too; so long.”

  “Thank you. We’ll be in contact later.”

  “You’ve done us a great service.” Cinvatti hadn’t finished when Basaclon suddenly remembered something and turned to one of his men.

  “Target the Parene, quickly, before the House becomes wise to our conspiracy.” His two men reacted by referring to the scanner and detecting the blip that positioned the Parene security sphere at a distance of 500 metres. They set about searching for the man portable ion laser and destroyed the Parene. “I have to go immediately. I’ll see you soon. Take the robot, it has a specific sensor connected to its power pack, in twelve days turn it on and place it in an area where we can land. I’ll ensure that a Parene is near this area and that we can get to you with more of my people. Take these weapons here and ready your men for evacuation. How many are you?”

  “Over two hundred. There are other camps with more, but their location is unknown. A lost member, split from one of these groups, was found many months ago, left to die in the thickets of pounding snow. I’ll search for them.”

  “Good. I’ll bring the necessary transport, and never move in groups of less than three. Good luck.”

  “Yes.” They departed forthwith, leaving the legion to collect the weapons that lay around. The move back to the cave was going to be hard. A decision was made to come back for the snow beast at a later date. Cinvatti’s force back at the cave was going to be astounded and relieved. A return to Verton was finally in sight.

  QUADRANT SIX.

  SPACE.

  The probe that Vetty had sent towards Siest was about to finally reveal the planet’s surface to him. He sat more erect as the last of the cloud flashed past the lens of the probe and the beautiful land below came to view. Flowers, all in blossom
, came into focus. The view would have been breathtaking, to anyone else other than a Verton. All Vetty could do was watch for computer identification of edible plant life and fresh meat sources. He felt that the probe would be discovered before long and stood a good chance of being shot from its flight. So long as it remained on course and divulged the planet’s resources to him he minded little.

  The scanners on board the small probe finally showed masses of edible fruits and grasses, even meat sources were picked up. There was no evidence of civilisation however. He watched on and on, becoming more puzzled as the minutes ticked by. He was affixed to the transmission as though in a trance. No intelligent life was being picked up. Hours upon hour slowly built and still no sign of any being. He toyed with the ellats computer to change the flight path of his probe. He increased its altitude, higher and higher, a larger area in which to scan, a sizeable mass of information now concentrated upon.

  The computer gathered the information, automatically plotting the location to different sources of food and water, but still no intelligent life. Bugs and butterflies, rabbits and frogs, birds and bats, fish and crabs; all of life except that capable of constructing buildings, ships, and weapons of destruction. Siest held no life, no sign of intelligent life whatsoever.

  Vetty turned the visual off and sat thinking. He would have to use this knowledge to the best of his ability. For some unknown reason the planet was uninhabited. Was it that it was just visited from time to time, like a factory in Verton where all food was mass-produced, for all things edible on Verton was of an artificial substitute. Did the planet get visitors whom dropped in for food and water, only to leave again and allow the area to take to a growth of its own, a never-ending natural supply of food?

  He would pass the information on to others. He would bring his legions here to harbour before retaliation was taken too. His hunger and restoration of energy could wait now, for he had more important things on his mind. But for a security message to be delivered along the maximum number of QEM-gates, to a larger number of planet systems, he’d have to travel immediately to the vicinity of Earth in Quadrat One; from here he would cast out his message. He also realised that for the time being, that he should stay clear of Earth, for it was under constant surveillance; he’d have to think his plan out. ‘If I stayed adrift near the port of a QEM-gate in Quadrant One—’ and that was the answer for the present.

  PLANET SIEST.

  PLANET SURFACE.

  Amagrat Kune of Siest sat amongst his friends on the planet’s surface. He was the only human form present but remained in a state of astral travel in the causal dimension. He was at one with the spirits and souls of all man around him that had reached a point in life where they understood the higher self, the need for peace, and a complete understanding of the spirit. They no longer needed to be reincarnated to any of the planets of the galaxy; no bad karma existed within their souls – although they were considered to have been a reincarnation of the soul into a different dimension.

  Amagrat had not picked up Vetty’s ellat; no signal of communication from his ellat had been detected. But the probe was discovered shortly after its violation of the planet’s atmosphere. The ongoing talks were of this, a threat to which they had no concept. They knew that a man operated it, this was for sure. The decision to destroy the probe was withheld for the time being, but when necessary would be done so through thought control – after-all, it was only an inanimate object.

  The Scroll Master’s and Anthony’s higher self were both here. As newer members to the society of spirit they were encouraged to attend the meeting of those one hundred gathered. They need not arrive at any conclusions as to the purpose of the gathering, as it was obvious to all of them as to what the precise requirement was. A combined meditation to the source of the probe, the vibrations of a physical phenomenon which had associated itself with the probe prior to flight, that was the key and target for their thought waves. They sat there, concentrating; breathing two deep breaths before searching for the source. Slowly but surely the image came to them, the image of Vetty.

  Amagrat Kune’s inner eye shot a glance at Anthony, for he had conveyed a message of security to his old friend Doug. Amagrat insisted on the laws of intervention being maintained and adhered to: - no whole spirit of the body’s flesh should be conversed with, not by a spirit that had attained its higher self – Amagrat being the only exception. Anthony disagreed with this and continued with his message of life, reaching out to Doug in his thoughts, the message that could save the planet Siest from destruction; and the destruction of all higher being, the very extinction of the galaxy, as all knew it. It would go against all moral sanction for a higher spirit to promote the death of a life, but for a being of the real world, such as Doug, no such sanction existed; death and killing were always searched for in the real world of existence. Anthony knew too, as he sent his meditative message across the folds of space, that he was sanctioning the possible end to a life, but he wasn’t suggesting the death of a life, just the prevention of invasion and survival of all life, in all planet systems. If Siest was to fall then the Galaxy had no hope for reprieve or survival.

  The message was sent and couldn’t be taken back, regretted, nor cancelled.

  PLANET EQUATIA.

  THE PALACE.

  Doug awoke with a jolt and glanced down at Naomi as she slept. The dream, how real it was. He slipped out of the covers, moved over to the window of the bedroom, and looked out over the jungle’s roof from the third floor of the palace. This was his temporary seclusion whilst the Queen Druad Asti organised workers to build a dwelling suitable to his family’s way of life.

  He could still see the forms in his head as he watched a flock of Equatian fruit bat flying out over the tops of the trees in the moonlight. It was Anthony. Why would he dream of him; but of course; he had saved his life by placing him in a pod, he owed a piece of his memory to the monk. No, that wasn’t it. ‘The dream, what was it?’

  Doug closed his eyes in concentration and minutes later the vision of Anthony came to view. ‘Save the Scrolls and defend the dolphins from atrocities. Prevent the Verton legions from destroying all of mankind. Don’t allow El Pasadora to join with Vetty. Save the Scrolls.’ Was it Anthony or a forced vision, an idea that he’d planted in himself? Was he meditating? Did he hear correctly: ‘Protectors of the Scrolls?’

  Queen Druad Asti had a lot of time for Doug and his family, but the insanity for which he was babbling at the moment made no sense whatsoever. “No Doug, Protectors of the Scrolls, it makes little sense. I can’t allow myself to be swayed by such nonsense.”

  “Is it your ideas to allow Quadrant Three to live in peace, to live as one, and to become united and powerful?”

  “Of course it’s my dream, it would do wonders—” She thought then: - ‘to be the powering quadrant. A powerful man is in power; my dream days before; in similarity to the one projected whilst I slept in the dungeon. But it is only a dream.’ “I’m not sure that dreams warrant such actions, and what you say of Vetty— that does concern me, but no proof exists to say that he’s still alive.”

  “You said that you trusted in my opinions, methods, and insights. My want to improve the standards of Quadrant Three as a whole, my want to share in this planet’s life, to maintain order and freedom forever and a day. I come here by my own choice. Not very many others have arrived as I, not since the migration of the macebearers from their former lands in Africa. Not many appreciate your culture or surrounding jungles.”

  “I have a meeting soon with the governing powers of the planets to Quadrant Three. I cannot, and will not, allow myself to be ridiculed by bringing up such things as you speak of now. If all matters turn out for the best I will allow a small force to be raised. It will be known as the Federate in the hope of pursuing the same for the quadrant. You may pass on your ideas of unity and growth to these members. They’ll be from all of the planets in Quadrant Three, and only the best will be picked as suggested by the govern
ment to each; and only after I’ve allowed my thoughts on such a move to be known to them may you interject. This will help to prove that we can live as one. But I shall insist that you say nothing of Scrolls and Saviours.”

  “You are understood, my lady and I thank you for at least listening to what I had to say.”

  “Bob Neil spoke most highly of you and your actions over the past months, all of which are most outstanding. You shall always have my ear and friendship – when we are alone of course. It wouldn’t go down well to have us show too much friendship towards each other in public; I do have standards as queen to uphold.”

  “Of course, I understand.”

  “Good. I’ll speak with you later, with hopeful confirmation that forces can be raised immediately. You may be permitted to inform Tiny Ballow and Mintou Ati that their force will be the stepping stone, and that they in turn will be your Generals.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Not at all Doug. You may please leave me now so I can get prepared for my meeting.”

  Doug departed as Queen Asti prepared herself for a meeting with other officials to her quadrant on the domed forest of Earth that at present was circling Equatia. This was the only real neutral spot that all could agree upon.

  PLANET EQUATIA.

  DOMED FOREST.

  Tara Timu, Ku-Otor Sta, and Tam-Bie tar from planets Nougstia, Equotor, and Stia respectively were already awaiting the Queen when she stepped aboard the stem with her ten personal guards. The customary greetings were passed before all were seated. “It has been a long time gentlemen, since our last meeting.”