“Yes, I suppose I do walk funny.” Sownus suddenly halted in his tracks. “But that is the way my people walk. So, why are you in the temple so late at night, little one?”
“I always come here when mummy is away,” Thrigla said, “I’m going to be the priestess some day!”
That was another common thread in a lot of cultures Sownus considered; the worship of the Ganthoran water goddess, like most nature or fertility cults, was female dominated. The role of priestess, and its secrets, was generally passed from mother to daughter down the generations. The priestess role had probably been held by the women in Thrigla’s family for the thousands of years since the Garmaurians had abandoned Ganthus.
“Well, I’m sure that the goddess is pleased to know that the daughter of her brave warrior will be serving her in the future.” Sownus stepped up to the altar.
“No she isn’t,” the little girl said, “my mummy says that I’m stupid and that the goddess doesn’t like stupid people.”
“Well, sometimes mums aren’t always right. Shall we ask the goddess what she thinks?”
“How do you mean?”
“Where I come from, we ask the goddess herself for her help and her advice when we feel sad or we’re in trouble. Sometimes she doesn’t answer us right away, but she lets us know what’s on her mind, in her own way.”
“So, will you ask the goddess what she thinks of me?” Thrigla nervously looked to Sownus for approval.
“Of course,” Sownus said.
Unknown to young Thrigla, what the traveller, named Sownus, was about to do was initiate the huge underground Pumping Station that would release the billions of cubic metres of water that had been locked beneath the planet’s surface for thousands of years. To do that, Sownus had to power up the huge proto-star reactor that was buried several hundreds of feet beneath this temple.
Sownus, in a moment of uncharacteristic dramatic flair, raised both his hands into the air, and closed his eyes.
“Oh, great goddess T’glamara, hear our humble prayers. We beseech you.” Sownus set his hands on the sculpture on the altar.
Far from being a piece of religious sculpture, it was, in fact, a stylised Garmaurian control panel. From hours of painstaking research, Sownus had discovered that the last Garmaurian visitors to Ganthus had installed the mechanism to replace the original electronically operated control unit. The early Ganthorans, being an intelligent species, would quickly recognise that the buttons and flashing lights were not magic or mystical. A piece of abstract sculpture, however, would never cause the Ganthorans to suspect a hidden mechanism.
Anxiously, but with growing excitement and curiosity, Thrigla watched wide-eyed as Sownus called upon the goddess in her name.
“Great goddess T’glamara, give us a sign that you favour your humble and obedient servant Thrigla.” Sownus began to press on the shapes set into the spherical cage around the central humanoid figure representation.
To unlock the covering mechanism, the operator had to press the shapes and symbols in the correct order. As he continued with his incantation to the water goddess, he pressed the various shapes and symbols on the sculpture.
“Give us a sign that you appreciate your loyal and faithful young servant Thrigla, who is a good girl and says her prayers every day.” Sownus opened one eye and looked quizzically, and sternly, at Thrigla as he pressed the small rectangular symbol. “To you, great goddess, who knows when naughty young girls are not telling the truth.” He gave another mock-stern one-eyed look at Thrigla.
Wide-eyed with anxiety, Thrigla, clutching her doll tightly and biting her lower lip, nodded her head vigorously to indicate that she did indeed pray every day to the goddess. The rectangle symbol began to glow red as Sownus pressed the yellow circle again, which turned blue, and the “V” symbol which began to glow yellow. With only one more symbol left to press, Sownus went for the big finish.
“Show us, great goddess, that your beloved daughter Thrigla pleases you, and that you do not think she is as stupid as her mother says she is.” Sownus opened his eyes and pressed the leaf symbol again, which changed from green to orange.
The blue circle symbol turned red, as did the rectangle and finally the “V” symbol. The mechanism had been correctly accessed and activated.
Standing back from the altar, Sownus, the Trooper, and Thrigla watched the spherical cage around the sculpture begin to radiate with a red glow. With a faint hum, it began to rotate. Slowly, the cage-sphere span around the immobile humanoid central figure. As it spun, rays of beautiful, gentle light began to spark from the humanoid figure like tiny fireworks to fade and disappear as quickly as they had arisen.
Beside him, Thrigla screamed in terror and darted over to the benches by the side of the room. There, she crouched into a corner, trying desperately to press her small, frail body through the wall and away from what she saw as the anger of the goddess.
“It’s all right, Thrigla.” Sownus smiled down at her. “Look at the beautiful lights. The goddess is pleased with you.”
Nervously, Thrigla watched in wonderment at the little light flashes that zipped and darted within one metre of what she had been told had been the representation of the great water goddess. It had been a still and silent article of her faith for all the days of her, so far, short young life. And yet, here it was, spinning and flashing its lights, the likes of which she had never seen before. The flashes of lightning on the Lightning Fields were deep, brooding and dangerous, and these lights were so small, clear and beautiful in comparison.
In that moment, Thrigla convinced herself that the goddess did indeed favour her and that she would no longer be afraid. Which was just as well, because at that moment, the light show ceased, and the mechanism blew an accumulated several thousand years worth of dust and sand from the four vents beneath the cylinder supporting the sculpture. Stepping forward, once again, to the altar, Sownus waited for the dust to clear before proceeding with the next stage of the activation. With the dust clearing, Sownus reached beneath the homespun robe and into the breast pocket of his uniform. From the uniform pocket, he produced a narrow, pale-blue triangular key attached to a “T” bar at the top, along with a narrow rectangular object.
Setting the objects down next to the spinning cage of the sculpture, Sownus waited for the next stage of the activation to begin. Slowly, the cage-sculpture was elevated on the telescopically-deploying cylindrical supports until it was thirty centimetres above the level of the altar. When it had reached the appointed height, three of the cylindrical supports disconnected. The fourth support, the one located at the back right hand corner, allowed the whole structure to pivot clear of the control panel that was emerging from beneath the cage of the sculpture.
Looking down at the Garmaurian control panel, Sownus saw the expected three silver metallic rings; one inside the other, embedded into the body of the panel. In the middle of the rings, a smaller embedded cylinder formed the centre of the mechanism.
The cylinder in the centre housed a narrow rectangular slot that would accept the key that Sownus had brought with him. Around the outside edge of the control panel, a circle of lights; red, blue, and yellow, formed a pattern. To the right of the embedded rings was a narrow rectangular piece of metal that protruded from the face of the control panel. The protruding piece of rectangular metal was a small proto-star power pack that drove the initiation sequence of the Pumping Station.
Being a cautious creature and considering most eventualities for this mission, Karap Sownus had brought a replacement proto-star power pack for the Garmaurian control panel. It had been several thousand years since the panel had been activated, and Sownus didn’t want to take any chances. He had evaded the Ganthoran Defence Scanners once, he didn’t want to have to do it again because of a worn out proto-star power pack.
“A little offering for the goddess.” Sownus winked conspiratorially to Thrigla, who stood wide-eyed in astonishment, staring at this new aspect to the goddess that she and her mother
had never seen before.
Deftly, Sownus removed the old power pack and replaced it with the new one he had brought for the occasion. The control panel, despite being re-charged with a new power pack, remained silent. For a brief moment, Sownus considered that, perhaps, the control panel was non-functional. After all, it had been over three thousand years since the Garmaurians had last visited Ganthus, and the self-repair systems could have malfunctioned in the intervening time. Well, there’s only one way to find out, he considered.
Taking a deep breath, Sownus lifted the narrow triangular key and slotted it onto the aperture in the centre of the rings. Then, with a prayer to any deity that happened to be listening, he gave the “T” bar a half turn to the right. His faith in whichever power had been listening was boosted when the blue lights around the edge of circular the panel immediately began to glow brightly, and with a loud CLUNK, the three rings and the central cylinder sprang up from the control panel by a few centimetres.
Well, so far so good, Sownus thought, and with another deep breath he turned the “T” bar through a three quarter turn to the left. The blue lights immediately extinguished, and the yellow lights illuminated around the edge of the panel. Whilst, at that same moment, the largest and outer of the metallic rings fell back flush with the face of the control panel with a resounding CLUNK.
That’s one; Sownus took another deep breath, and turned the “T” bar a quarter turn to the right. Almost immediately, the yellow lights on the edge of the panel extinguished whilst the red lights illuminated. With another CLUNK, the middle ring of the three fell back flush with the panel surface.
Two down, two to go. Sownus took another breath and cautiously turned the “T” bar a half-turn back to the left. The red lights extinguished and the blue lights illuminated, whilst the third and innermost ring fell back flush with the panel with another satisfying CLUNK. This left the cylinder at the centre of the mechanism with the “T” bar key lodged inside it.
And, one more for luck, Sownus thought, and turned the “T” bar through another three quarter turn to the left.
With a final CLUNK, the final cylinder fell flush with the control panel, however, the lights did not alter as they had before. This time all of the lights illuminated in a rapid sequence; giving the impression of the light running around the edge of the panel. As the light pattern circled the panel, the metallic rings began to descend below the level of the panel, taking the “T” bar key with them. This was what Sownus had expected. With the correct sequence coded into the rings, the circular central mechanism would drop down and lock. The entire sculpture then pivoted back to its original position; balanced on top of the four cylinders, which held it above the level of the altar. The other three cylinders re-engaged and locked the sculpture again, whilst the telescopic cylinders retracted, bringing the sculpture back down to its original level.
Whilst the sculpture was returning to its original shape and position, below the altar the Pumping Station was being activated. The entire control panel was rapidly descending into a deep shaft underneath the temple to fit neatly into a slot built into the top of a large proto-star reactor. The large rectangular reactor was filled with proto-star matter, which had lain dormant and enclosed beneath the planet surface for almost three millennia. The small power pack in the original control panel would now kick start the larger reactor. When the control panel had slotted into the prepared slot in the larger reactor, the power from the small power pack had caused the control panel to go through a pre-programmed quarter turn, which released the containment valves of the reactor.
In the temple above the reactor, Sownus, Thrigla and the Trooper heard the low, dull, throbbing sound of the enormous Garmaurian reactor sending power to the massive underground pumps that would release the stored water back into the ground of Ganthus, from where it had originally been extracted. Sownus knew that it would take at least three days for the huge Garmaurian water pumps to refresh the natural water table of the planet. However, within two days, the first of the rivers would start to flow again, which would, in turn, begin to re-fill the massive oceans between the continental landmasses. By the third day, the computer models had predicted that enough water vapour would have been burned off by the twin-suns to create the clouds that would disperse major quantities of rain over the planet’s surface.
Just in time for the First Admiral’s Time Warrior ritual, Sownus considered.
“There! See, I told you that the goddess liked you!” Sownus grinned at the small Ganthoran girl standing by his side.
The little girl smiled her appreciation to the stranger who had spoken to the goddess on her behalf and had gotten a reply.
“I’ll have to go now.” Sownus crouched down in front of the young Ganthoran. “You must promise me that you will tell no one of what you saw here, not even your mother, do you promise?”
The little Ganthoran girl nodded her head vigorously. However, Sownus knew that there was very little chance of her keeping the secret for long.
That didn’t really matter to Sownus, he just needed enough time to get back to the Personal Transport, and back to the stealthed Cruiser that was hanging in orbit just above the western continent.
“Will you come back here again, traveller named Sownus?” Thrigla asked.
“I don’t know, little one...maybe.” Sownus patted her cheek, stood up, and began to walk to the door.
Half way down the central aisle of earthen benches, he turned again to the young Ganthoran girl.
“Always remember that the goddess told you that she favoured you tonight. When you grow up, you will be a fine priestess, like your mother,” Sownus said, “and never forget the night that T’glamara spoke to you.”
Thrigla nodded, clutching her doll closer to her chest as the travellers known as “Sownus” and “Trooper” went out through the door and disappeared back into the stormy night from which they had emerged. When they were gone, Thrigla felt the oppressive calm of the temple pressing down on her, accentuated by the dull throbbing of what she would later describe as the goddess’ heartbeat. With the two strangers gone, she darted to the door to catch one last glimpse of them. She reached the door just as the strangers climbed onto some other strange machine.
Standing silhouetted in the doorway, the shape of Thrigla, still clutching the doll, waved vigorously to the two strangers who had climbed aboard the peculiar machine. Looking back, Sownus raised his hand in acknowledgement and activated the Hover Bike, which took off at high speed. The Trooper, facing rearwards, watched the shape of the small girl rapidly recede into the distance until she vanished completely.
Well, thought Sownus as he increased speed, I need to be away from Ganthus as quickly as I possibly can.
Initiating the Pumping Station would have drawn the attention of the Ganthorans who monitored for earthquakes.
Someone’s mummy was going to be in for quite a surprise when she came home that night.
Chapter 16: The Universal Alliance Legation Ganthus City
Ambassador Sarkor Nicx was glad that the evening was finally over. The first day on Ganthus had, in her unbiased opinion, been a resounding success; even though she did say so herself.
The Welcoming Ball, also having occurred that evening, had also been a triumph. First Admiral Caudwell had been an absolute star. He really was, without a shadow of doubt, a big hit with the young ladies of Ganthoran high society. Even more top his credit, he had not managed to create a diplomatic incident with any strange or outrageous Earth behaviour. In fact, Caudwell had shown a degree of maturity well beyond his years; which added to Nicx’s feeling of satisfaction.
All in all, it had been a successful evening, and despite being “on duty” in her diplomatic capacity, she had still managed to enjoy herself. The Ganthoran dancing was quite easy for Nicx to follow. As a Thurvian, all she needed to do was to keep close watch on her partner and negotiate and anticipate the various movements that his body indicated. The Ganthoran brandy was rather pleasant;
it appeared to be quite a powerful concoction. However, being the official Universal Alliance representative, it would not have appeared to be diplomatically correct for her to have become inebriated in public. Nicx, however, had determined that several containers of the sweet tasting blue Ganthoran brandy would be leaving with her in the Diplomatic pouch when she returned home on leave. In the meantime, she needed a drink to help her calm down after all the excitement, and to help her get some well-deserved sleep.
Sitting at the small table top embedded into the wall of her Private Office, Nicx’s fingers flew at lightning speed over the dark green folio sheet which indicated that it was a protected Diplomatic Document. The Ganthorans, expecting this to be a Temporary Legation, had not extended much in the way of luxuries or furnishings to the Alliance Diplomats. The walls of the Legation were bare of any decoration or fixtures, whilst the furniture was little beyond primitive. In her Private Office, Ambassador Nicx had little more than a filing cabinet, a desk, and three rickety chairs. Her small work desk was little more than some kind of board embedded in the wall with a small bench beneath it.
Finishing the document, she rose and walked towards the open doorway that led to her office and summoned one of the three Landing Troopers who stood security detail in the corridor. The Trooper was instructed to take the report down to her diplomatic secretary in the coding room, which was only slightly larger than a clothes cupboard she kept at home. With the report dispatched, she set off to find some Ganthoran brandy. She knew that there was some in the Legation, because despite their paucity with furnishings and premises, the Ganthorans had been generous with welcoming gifts. There had been an oval container of brandy amongst the gifts that First Admiral Caudwell had received, and with any luck, he might not have consumed all of the highly intoxicating liquid.
Slipping on a long dark blue dressing gown, to ward off the chill that seemed to haunt the Legation like an unquiet spirit, Sarkor Nicx walked past the two remaining Troopers in the corridor; who acknowledged her presence with a nod and a friendly grin. There would be three Landing Troopers on the flat roof of the building, with eight more stationed on the first floor. Plus, there would be three more in her corridor, with another four stationed at the two entrances to the building on the ground floor. The remaining Landing Troopers would be asleep on the ground floor. The traditional Ganthoran design of the Legation building meant that there were no windows on the ground floor, and only two entrances. This made the building very defensible from a military point of view, not that Sarkor Nicx expected an angry howling mob or contingent of rebellious Imperial Guards to attempt to seize the Legation.
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