During the trips to Graznos and Angelus, Lyemad continued to flaunt his leadership role in subtle ways. He wanted Tessslan to acknowledge his equality, but when he did not, Lyemad found more annoying ways to exert his authority. At one point during the ceremonial signing on Angelus, while standing in one of the large gathering caves with thousands of Angelians celebrating the event, Lyemad boasted, “Greetings, honorable guests, delegates, friends, and fellow beings from the Styner system. As we move forward into this brave new era, with our eyes fixed on the stars ahead of us, let us not forget those who have gone before us. Those who were brave enough to take the first steps into the colorful expanse and to make the first contact with other worlds. Courageous souls like my father, Sir Bellmus of the House of Tomolack and other delegates from the world of Electerus, among whom I am numbered.”
Lyemad’s elegant and boastful speech caused most of the Electerian delegates to be horrified and yet proud at the same time. His sheer passion and self-confidence rallied cheers of approval from the Angelians, but Tessslan could only shake his head and think, “Ssself pride ssstealsss peaccce,” a sentiment his father taught him many years ago. He muttered to himself, “Poor Lyemad, he just doesss not know peaccce.”
Chapter V
Swing Your Partner
The multicolored swirls of star-lit gasses from the Great Nebula played like a heavenly symphony on the windows of the Joint Space Platform as it revolved silently and effortlessly above Graznos. Lyemad stood mesmerized by the dazzling display while in his mind he could hear the instruments of the Steelopolis Grand Orchestra playing an Electerian masterpiece. He saw the pale reds as the Steel Dopplergangler Flutes, mixing with the bright blues of the Dob-Dob Drums, and the mysterious sounds of the Flowgan Horns in deep purples, while the Tick-a-nick Wheel was like a gentle shower of light green sprinkles.
The Tick-a-nick Wheel is a large wheel, sitting on top of a hollow chamber, with hundreds of various size wooden reeds attached to the outer circumference. When spun, the reeds tick and click off a hard wooden tube anchored to the hollow chamber, which amplifies the sound. A foot pedal raises and lowers the wheel above the wooden tube—just enough to allow the musician to position different sequences of reeds for various effects. With the different sequencings and the ability to spin forward or backwards, it creates an almost endless amount of ticking and clicking rhythms.
The Flowgan Horn is a huge six-foot tall, four-foot diameter at the top, cone shaped instrument made from Teritium—an alloy known for its resonating qualities. The thin end of the cone-shaped bell sits on the floor and rises straight up into the air. A long tube with four valves and a series of small winding tubes connected to each rises up from the bottom of the bell at an angle. A mouthpiece at the top of the tube allows a musician to play it while sitting on a stool behind it. The tones are deep and rich as they fill an auditorium. This was Lyemad’s favorite instrument.
The Dob-Dob Drums are twelve sets of three tuned drums, positioned in a circle around a swiveling seat. There is one set for each note in the scale. Each set has one drum with the head facing up and slightly slanted in towards the center seat, forming the base for the set. A second drum is upside-down and to the left above the base, and the third is upside-down to the right. All three heads face each other in a triangle formation. The left drum is tuned precisely one-third octave above its base, and the right drum is tuned one-fifth octave above the base. The musician can use one stick in a circular motion to bounce off all three heads giving a chord sound to the beat. With two sticks in each hand, he can move rapidly from one base note to another, keeping beat and tone with the music. A nice color-coding around the circle helps to locate notes quickly, and a ring of tuned symbols sits above the drums. Bellmus himself was a very accomplished Dob-Dobber, as they like to call themselves.
The Steel Dopplergangler Flute has a mouthpiece and a short tube that makes a “Y” into two identical longer pipes with finger-valves. When an Electerian musician holds it, the right set of hands is positioned in-between the two pipes just after the “Y”, so that the palms cradle each body and the fingers rest on the valves. The left set of hands does the same thing, except further down the pipes from the mouthpiece. One of the right thumbs controls a valve that channels the air through either or both of the pipes, providing a solid duel-tone or a trill between two single notes. The Dopplergangler Flute is available in a wooden model, but the steel model has a crisper sound that the orchestra prefers.
As Lyemad stood daydreaming about the times he would go and listen to his father play in the orchestra, a knock at the door suddenly startled him, “Lyemad! Are you in there?” called Bellmus with a quiet but excited voice.
“Father, is that you?” Lyemad replied, as he ran to open the door. “I was afraid that you would not show up.”
“Nonsense, I would not miss this for anything.”
“When you were not at the launch pad with the other delegates…” started Lyemad.
Bellmus interrupted, “I told you that I was almost finished with the modifications to the Tasley plant. Well, I did it! I made it work for us. I plan on making the announcement tonight before our departure for the Simnius star system,” speaking softly, not to give away his secret.
Ambassadors from all three worlds were on the Joint Space Platform, ready for the trip. Most of them were relaxing in the many rooms of the housing section because they were tired from all the parades, parties, and ceremonies. A few ambassadors were still wandering the halls contemplating what wonders the next few months would bring. The facility’s doctor treated many of them with a sedative for anxiety. They were only hours from departure time and most of them, including Tessslan and Lyemad, were fighting fear and self. Fear of the unknown dangers they might face, and confidence in self, that they would be able to handle those dangers in a dignified way—one worthy of an ambassador.
In the room next to Lyemad’s, Tessslan was confiding in Timsssack saying, “Father, I know that I should be at peaccce, but I am nervousss about thisss voyage.”
“We are all a little nervousss about it, my ssson,” Timsssack replied. “What isss it that you are afraid of?”
“It isss Lyemad, father, he isss ssso full of ssself-pride. What would we do if the other beingsss were to get offended and he ssstartsss a conflict? We will be a long way from home to have made enemiesss,” said Tessslan with a slight sense of shame for having looked at the situation so bleakly.
“You are right, he isss very prideful,” stated Timsssack, “but he doesss not know the way of peaccce. Put yourssself in hisss placcce and think about how fearful he mussst be. He triesss hard to prove himssself becaussse he isss not sssecure within himssself. Because he isss not at peaccce with himssself, he cannot be at peaccce with anyone. That alone would caussse a lot of fear. Besssidesss, we have known hisss waysss for yearsss and he hasss not ssstarted any conflictsss yet.”
“You are right, I can only hope for the bessst,” said Tessslan.
“No, you can do more than that, you can sssupport him asss a friend and colleague,” answered Timsssack as he laid the tip of his tail on Tessslan’s shoulder. “Come now, it isss time for usss to go, Bellmusss wantsss to make sssome kind of announcccement before we embark.”
On the docking side of the Space Platform, the ambassadors assembled in a large hanger bay next to the moored Warp-ship. They all wondered what this big announcement was going to be.
“Do you know what this is all about?” asked one of the Electerians.
“No,” replied an Angelian.
“It hasss been a big sssecret,” answered a Graznosian.
Just then, Bellmus and Lyemad walked in. Bellmus walked straight through the crowd to the front of the room by a large window, where there was a good view of the Warp-ship. Lyemad stayed back by the door, not wanting to distract any attention away from his father.
Bellmus, lifting up his hands—all four of them—said, “My fellow Ambassadors, I know you all desire to know why I ha
ve called you together.” He paused for effect. “For the past few years I have been absent from many meetings and events, for that I am sorry. However, I assure you that I spent the time well. I am thrilled to announce that,” as his voice got louder and more excited, “I have finally modified the Graznosian Tasley plant so that it purveys its healing and longevity properties to the Electerians.”
The entire room stood perfectly silent for quite a few seconds before Timsssack finally said, “Fabulousss, what a blesssing for your people.”
Slowly, almost one by one, everyone started clapping and then cheering as Bellmus continued, “Electerians have had the shortest life-spans of our three races. Now, thanks to our Graznosian friends and some good science, we will be living a little longer,” now shouting above the applauses. “Please, I invite all of you to examine my work during our voyage to Simnius. I took the liberty of setting up my lab on the ship, and I have brought along enough plants for us to enjoy both the regular Tasley tea and the new ‘Tasley Elite’ for us Electerians.”
Leaning against a bulkhead in the back of the hanger, Lyemad could not decide if he was more proud or disappointed with his father. He never thought that he would see this day come, but he was truly impressed with the accomplishment. On one of the other hands—as the Electerians would say—this presented a huge obstacle to his plans for taking more control and proving his superiority to Tessslan. Still, he smiled and clapped with pride for his father.
After a couple of minutes of praise and compliments, Bellmus lifted his hands again and said, “It seems like we have been saying this a lot lately, but the time has come. Let’s go make some history that all our ancestors would be proud of!”
With that, all the Ambassadors loaded two abreast into the Warp-ship through a fifty-foot long, round, and retractable tube that sealed tight against the ships door. The Warp-ship had a large bullet shaped central section with four decks and a big scoop on the lower front side, allowing for the collection of hydrogen gas used for fuel. Extending off the main body at angles, in four opposite directions, were arms forming an “X”. Attached to the arms were four pod-shaped “Warp-cells” with glowing red nose-cones. The “Warp-engine”, located in the aft of the main section, supplied an enormous amount of power to the cells, which in turn created an energy “bubble” around the ship that was strong enough to “warp” the space in front of the ship while protecting the integrity of the ship and its complements. An impulse engine supplied the propulsion for docking and orbital maneuvers.
Inside the ship were all the accommodations of the finest hotels on Electerus. Each Ambassador had a very plush and comfortable private room. There were numerous dining facilities, recreational halls, a library, and even an exercise facility—complete with a pool and spa. A large meeting room sat forward in the ship just behind the bridge. On the bridge, curved windows accentuated the rounded nose of the ship. Heavy steel frames separated individual windowpanes forming progressively smaller circles. At the very tip, one round window bubbled outward. The arrangement of windows gave the bridge crew a 360-degree front view, which is handy for landing maneuvers. A high-energy, electro-magnetic field protected the windows and hull from micrometeorites and space debris.
On the softly lit bridge, three command chairs sat in a recessed cove, centered in the curved wall forming the back of the room, affording a clear view of the entire bridge. Bellmus sat in the center seat with Timsssack on his right and Slabriel, the Angelian leader on his left. A dozen feet in front of them was a long curved control panel with six seats for the pilot, navigator, communications officer, tactical officer, and science officer. On either side of the front windows were large viewing screens that displayed camera views or incoming communications. The whole bridge, as well as the engine room and other critical areas of the ship, were equipped with built-in universal translators.
The bridge crew sat staring out the windows at the alternating view of the Nebula and Graznos as the ship spun around, suspended off the end of the Space Platform. Bellmus held tight to the armrests of his seat and said, “Release docking clamps. Fire port thrusters; two second burst. Lay in a course for Simnius I. Ready Impulse engines, one-quarter power. Engage.”
As their lonely ship drifted gently away from their island in the sky, and with Graznos off slightly to the lower left side, Timsssack, in a soft voice said, “Oh my, the Creator cccertainly hasss blesssed usss with a beautiful world. Every time I sssee it like thisss I marvel at itsss beauty.” He had made many trips to and from Electerus and Angelus.
Everyone on the bridge agreed as Graznos slipped out of the windows view, and the colors of the Nebula filled the view. Directly in front of them were the two bright stars and one sparkling blue planet of the Simnius system. All their thoughts quickly turned from marvel to apprehension as they gazed at the three lights.
The Simnius star system was only a three-day travel for them, using the Warp-engine. The stars in this section of the Galaxy are very close together, although the distance would take many years to cross under Impulse power. The Simnius system has two stars—Simnius I and Simnius II. They are identical blue-white stars caught in each other’s gravitational pull long ago. Each world in the Styner system has an ancient story telling how they joined. They are all similar to this one from Electerus.
One day the children of the gods were playing in the sky, when all of a sudden, a black monster with a glowing eye, jumped out from behind the Great Nebula. As it sprung forward, it swallowed up many of the children in its dark mouth. Many other children went running off in every direction as the monster passed by. Twins were romping together side-by-side when the black menace spotted them. The two tried to run around its biting mouth, circling repeatedly, until finally, the monster grew tired of the chase and left them for easier prey.
In their desperate struggle to avoid being a tasty snack for the monster, the twins separated and ran off in different directions. After many cold and lonely nights apart, filled with adventure and fright, they miraculously spotted each other from afar. Each of them had picked-up a single toy along their journey to help ease the pain of their loss. As they ran towards each other they reached out their arms, still holding the toys, and locked at their elbows swinging around and around in pure bliss of having being reunited and having survived the attack of the black monster.
In all their excitement at coming back together, they had forgotten about their toys. When they finally settled down from a wild gyrate to a soft whirl, they noticed the great damage they had done to their toys. Nevertheless, with a little pushing and nudging, they were able to create one beautiful toy out of the two broken ones. They decided to shine brightly on their new toy forever, so that all the other children could see the sparkling beauty that was the result of their reunion.
The truth behind the story is that there was a small Black Hole that wandered through that sectioned of the galaxy, wreaking havoc on many of the stars. In addition, there were two planets in the Simnius system, Playzorus Prime and Playzorus Minor. No doubt, names derived from the story. In the catastrophic event, the minor planet was completely torn apart and has settled into a series of rings around Playzorus Prime. Before the tragic encounter, Playzorus Prime was a green and brown planet with deep blue oceans. Now, water averaging only twenty feet deep covers the entire planet; its land having been worn down and the oceans filled in. The bright ball of water glitters like a blue jewel in the night skies around Styner.
Once the Warp-ship maneuvered away from Graznosian space, Bellmus asked Timsssack if he would like to give the warp command. Timsssack took a deep breath and said, “Ready the Warp-drive; “Engage!” Just as he said, “Engage!” he caught himself pointing his tail toward the front of the ship. Bellmus and Slabriel both noticed it also and, after a brief chuckle, they all looked in the direction of the windows just as the Warp-drive kicked in. With eyes opened extra wide, they noticed the stars in front of them start to distort, and off they went.
Chapter VI
Bellmus could feel the vibration of the engine in his armrests as he still clinched them tightly. He had been through many simulations before but he had never felt the engine like that. It seemed almost alive to him as it pulsated in a way that resembled a heartbeat. He also noticed a few squeaks and creaks in the hull that sounded a lot like moans and groans. For a minute, he thought that the ship might be trying to say something to him, possibly a word of warning or a protest of the journey. However, after more than a few minutes had passed with no major or minor malfunctions, he decided to release his death grip on the armrests and called out, “status report!”
“Warp-drive is operating at eighty-four percccent,” replied the Pilot.
“Course is two-four-zero point six-three by one-five point two, azimuth is point one,” spouted out the Navigator.
The Science Officer finished off the cadence with, “Life support, sensors, long-range scanners, and the kitchen sink all operating at peak performance, Sir.”
Of course Lyemad, being the Science Officer, was displaying a little of the Electerian humor they are well known for. Bellmus gave him a stern glance for his poor timing, but everyone else on the bridge had a good chuckle because it broke the great tension they were all feeling. Tessslan was the Pilot, and even he had to snicker a little at the well-placed jesting. His snicker quickly turned to a silent wondering of how Lyemad could seem so happy at times. He knew that true happiness comes through knowing peace, and he was sure that Lyemad did not know real peace.
After many hours of smooth sailing with nothing more than a burned-out light on a secondary control panel, Bellmus turned the bridge command over to Lyemad. Turning toward Timsssack and Slabriel he said, “Will you join me down in my lab for a cup of tea? I would like to get your opinion on my work.”
“Yessss, that would be very niccce,” replied Timsssack.
Flidoring The Early Wars Page 4