Xalata Orbit and Melody Fret: The Hammer of Asttar

by Nick Evans

  Castrana put hers into a small pocket in her jumpsuit and Fark did likewise, sealing the pockets and ensuring that their keys were safe from harm.

  "I think our work is complete," said Fark and Castrana beamed with pleasure.

  "It certainly is, Adolf. I shall return to Nearside and prepare to watch the show. According to my calculations, we should be able to see the Earth impact from our observatory."

  "Very good, Castrana. I shall join you directly, but meanwhile, I have a little problem to take care of." As Castrana left, he stepped out of the Control Room into the atrium beyond and reached up to remove the protective strip from the area above the airlock door.

  Then he pulled out his pad and navigated to an interface that monitored some remote activity. He touched a few controls and a scene came to life - movement down a corridor, swaying from side to side, the sounds of a beast in motion and a searchlight beam of infrared, picking out hotspots of features ahead. And there, in the centre of the screen, was the clearly defined image of a truck in motion and, on it, a figure. Quite clearly, it was Brett. Fark touched some more controls and the image lurched as the creature gathered pace; a further touch and a blast of power erupted from the bottom of the screen as the huge Cryomorph discharged its lightning bolts into the wall ahead, blasting through into the corridor where Brett's vehicle had just passed.

  * * * * *

  "What is it, Glitch? What's your idea?" The girls clamoured around him while Wiglet stood to one side, looking sceptical.

  "I'm not sure, but I think those guys were a bit crazy leaving us in here with the screen."

  "How do you mean?" asked Melody.

  "Well, I'm a bit nifty in the systems and coding department and I think - only think mind you - that we could hack into the door system through the screen there."

  "What are you waiting for, Glitch. Do it. What do you need from us?" said Xalata, getting suddenly interested.

  "Nothing really at the moment, but I think I could do with a drink."

  "Oh yeah? They're over there, mate - help yourself. I'm still hurting from you giving me up to Fark and his crew."

  Glitch looked a bit crestfallen. "Sorry, Xalata. Didn't mean to be pushy. You'll forgive me in time - probably about the same time I forgive myself." He walked over to the kitchen area, grabbed a drink and then sat back down, facing the screen. "I just need to get some interface access and I think we might have it." He pulled out his pad and then took his scanner and swept it across the screen on the wall. "Let's see what this tells us."

  "Yeah, well," said Xalata, "you may have a problem there. The Q isn't showing up in here at all and you'll need that for your comms."

  "Leave it to Mr Freeze, my lady," he responded with a grin. "I think I can certainly summon up a bit of connectivity - part of my ineffable skill."

  "Hmm, you just can't 'f' it, can you," said Xalata with a little smile. She evidently liked Glitch, despite that fact that she was furious with him.

  He worked for a few moments, creased his brow into a frown and then smiled. "Thought so. Here we go - I have connectivity and the public access and secure portals are mapped onto each other. If I can bridge that gap and jump into the secure area, we stand a chance of working out how to get that door open."

  "Just a question," said Melody, "assuming we do get the door open and we can escape, what are we going to do? The Earth is in danger and those two creeps now have total control."

  "I think," began Glitch, "that if I can control this portal, I may be able to hack across to the asteroid's control network too."

  "Nonsense," said Wiglet, "that network is highly encrypted and coded. You'll not be able to get into it."

  "You're quite right, Mr Wiggins, I won't be able to." The girls looked shocked. "But you may be able to. You have an access, don't you?"

  "Yes, of course, but it's been blocked and I cannot now get into my workspace on there."

  "You get me as far as the blockage, Mr Wiggins and I think I can do the rest."

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  The sudden terrible blast from behind him almost knocked Brett from the truck. The floor shook and the truck bounced, nearly hitting one wall, before righting itself and continuing straight down the corridor. As he looked behind, Brett saw the smoking hole in the wall, just where he had passed moments before and, as he watched, another blast hit the opposite side of the corridor as the Cryomorph demolished the wall in front of it. There was no time to lose; he hit the controls and the truck leapt forward again, just as the snout of the Cryomorph pushed through into the space behind him. It would be moments before it was in the tunnel with him and he had to get ahead if he was to stand a chance of survival.

  How did it know that he was there? Could it see through the walls of the habitat? Evidently so ... and then Brett remembered the panel on the beast's back and the small antenna. It was being sent after him. It's the hunter and I'm the prey. The truck rounded a bend and came out into a small atrium area with three other tunnels leading away from the centre. Which to choose? There were no signs or labels indicating where the tunnels went - each one could be a dead end, leading simply to a cluster of homes. Others might lead on to the next section of the habitat, while others again might take him into industrial and research areas. A quick decision was needed. The ground vibrated beneath his feet as the Cryomorph thundered along the corridor behind him. It would only be a moment before it turned the corner and saw him.

  On an impulse, he chose the left-hand turning and drove swiftly down it. He could hear the beast enter the space he had just left and then it stopped, reviewing its options and trying to make a decision about which way to go. Brett kept the truck going at full speed, desperately trying to build up a few minutes of distance between him and the certain destruction that lay in wait for him should he fail to escape the clutches of the Cryomorph.

  * * * * *

  Fark had left the Control Room and had grabbed his parked truck to head off back to the portal. With one eye on the route his truck was taking and the other on his pad, he was still watching the progress of the Cryomorph as it pursued Brett. You'll not get away from me, you weasel! he thought as he adjusted the beast's programme to blast through into the corridor where Brett was travelling. Although Brett could travel quickly through the habitat using the truck, the Cryomorph could cut off corners and short-circuit the process to ambush its prey when they least expected it.

  He saw in a moment, that the beast had reached the atrium area and it was now clear he needed to choose the right path. Through the Cryomorph's eyes, he studied the ground, looking for the tell-tale tyre tracks that showed the route his intended victim had taken. The floor in that area was relatively clean and it took him a few moments before he spotted a mark leading into the left tunnel and he pointed the Cryomorph in that direction. Hunt and destroy option initiated, he thought as he touched a couple of pre-programmed controls.

  * * * * *

  The truck rolled on down the long corridor, passing other side openings. Brett had considered these but they were almost certainly homes that would be a dead-end trap for him, if he could not get inside to escape the beast. In any case, was there an escape? It could go where it wanted, blasting down walls and destroying the fabric of the habitat wherever it went.

  A few moments later, he saw another atrium area ahead - larger this time, with more openings and a large doorway with an airlock that was standing partly open. This is where I change trains, he thought and he pulled alongside the entrance and leapt off the truck. As he did so, the Cryomorph hove into sight behind him, running at speed, shaking the ground and obviously preparing to blast him. Brett ducked into the doorway, closed the airlock and waited for the inevitable flash and noise that signalled a destructive bolt from the Cryomorph's charged weapons.

  Nothing happened.

  There was silence and Brett moved to the viewport to check out what was happening. The Cryomorph was standing still, facing the entrance, unmoving and apparently with no intent
to attack. "What in Jupe's Loops is going on here?" he said out loud.

  "Simple. It can't come past the secure zone."

  Brett turned and saw Castrana. "You!"

  "Hi, Brett."

  * * * * *

  "Let's work on the door first," said Melody, "then we can be doing other stuff while you hack into the controls for the asteroid."

  "Sure thing," said Glitch, poring over his pad. On the screen in front of him a number of elements appeared that contained code and schematics of the habitat layout. "Just need to isolate where we are, first of all. So this is Segment 6 of Habitat 14 - is that right?"

  "How would we know?" said Xalata, "we've been kidnapped, chased, imprisoned and escaped only to get locked up again. I wasn't really paying attention to the geography, Glitch!"

  "OK, let's geolocate ..."

  "You don't need to, young man," said Wiglet. "It says where we are on the wall in the entry. Just go and check that, then we're not sending out unneeded transmissions from here. Keeping our profile low seems to me a good bet."

  "Of course - knew I'd seen it somewhere," said Melody and she dashed out to the lobby and came back with, "Segment 6, Home 141, Habitat 14."

  "Great - let's find this home's circuitry ... aha, here it is. Now, what are the pathways for the data systems ... here and here, I think. No, here. That's it. Now, let's see what levels of security the planners of this place put to protect their investment - not much, I'll bet."

  He fiddled and grunted, peered and poked at his pad, muttering numbers and references, before finally declaring, "I think we're there," and triumphantly pressed an execute command on his pad. Nothing. "Right, that must be because ..." he continued muttering to himself.

  Melody looked at Xalata, "Another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into."

  "Don't be glum," Xalata replied, "Wonder Boy over there will come up with something, maybe. Or maybe not, in which case it'll be down to you and me kid."

  "I thought we were really kicking the bad guys, when actually, what we were doing was playing straight into their hands. I wish we'd listened to Glitch when he was saying about the time lag ..."

  "But we didn't, so there's nothing you can do. C'mon, look forward and not back. You can't change history, so you plan for the future. That's why I came to the Moon, after my aunt said much about those very words to me. We've got to hang in there and make sure the bad guys don't win. That creep, Fark!"

  "I never liked him," said Melody, brightening a little, "He always makes my skin crawl and I can't stand his voice - although his new one is not much better. And what about Castrana Machin? I though she was some hot-shot intellectual. Turns out she's as bad as the rest!"

  "I didn't like her either," replied Xalata, watching Glitch as he programmed, "she's in Fark's thrall as far as I can see and ... hang on a minute Glitch, you're missing something." She dashed over to where Glitch was programming. "Look at the screen here and not just at your pad. What did you just do?"

  "Erm, I don't know ..."

  "Go back a couple of steps to before I shouted at you."

  "Normal state of affairs with you ..."

  Xalata clipped him around the head, gently. "Just do as I say and stop arguing - you know there's no point."

  "OK - here we are - I had just entered the schematic of the main system when ..."

  "Yes, there - what's that?" Xalata pointed to the large screen. "If I'm not much mistaken, it's a standard secure access point. They're used everywhere in systems like this."

  "What? How do you know that?"

  "Why? What, with me just being a little girlie 'n' all?" she moved to clip his head again, but Glitch ducked and the swipe missed. "I'll get you next time, dullard! Meanwhile, get this freakin' door open ..."

  Moments later, there was a click and the airlock hissed gently.

  "See, just needs a girl's direction, I think you'll find."

  * * * * *

  "What the ..." Brett spluttered, "I can't believe you are here. What are you doing here?"

  "I could ask the same of you, my dear Brett," Castrana replied smoothly. "I'm supposed to be here. What's your excuse?"

  "Don't you 'dear Brett' me, you evil harpie. The best thing I ever did was getting away from you!"

  "Ah memories ... so romantic. But then you always were a guy with simple pleasures, weren't you Brett? Little loved-up Brett. What a sweetie."

  "I'm not rising to your bait, Castrana. You were a disaster from the moment we got together and I should have realised and run at that point ..."

  "Ah, but you didn't, you poor, love-sick child. So you hung in there, even though I gave you such a hard time. And then there was the child - ugh!" Castrana visibly shuddered as she spoke, "that little brat and, wonder of wonders, here she is on the Moon, with us. Happy family time!"

  "You keep away from her, Castrana ... but ... oh glory, you're mixed up in this mess aren't you? Are you in with Fark and his ridiculous Asttarians?"

  "Adolf is a lovely, lovely man, once you get to know him. He has the guts to do things that creeps like you wouldn't even think of. He has ambition - he's looking to ..."

  "...rule the world?", interjected Brett. "Don't make me laugh. That odious little rat couldn't rule a straight line."

  "Oh, you'll see soon enough, what Adolf can do. He and I have just finalised our little plan and we're going to sit and watch the last act - the final curtain of our dramatic presentation. A demonstration to the perverted people of planet Earth that they cannot defy the will of our Lord Asttar ..."

  "Have you heard yourself? You sound just like that idiot, Frank Wordsmith."

  "That is because he is leading us in the way of truth ..."

  "The way of truth? And what is your 'little plan'?"

  "You'll see soon enough, Brett. Why don't you run along and find our unpleasant daughter?"

  "Now why would I do that, when you can take me to her?"

  "Not a prayer, loser. Find her yourself."

  Brett studied Castrana as she sneered at him. She had been a beautiful woman once, but now lines of anger and disdain had distorted her previously attractive features so that she had aged before her time. He felt sorry for her at first and then corrected himself - this woman who had once been his wife had no right to any sympathy. She had treated him like dirt and walked out on him and their young baby daughter. He'd been relieved at the time although conflicted because he was so strongly drawn to Castrana. In time though, his memory of her had faded and, when her name appeared on the lecture circuit or in newspapers, he could separate his former love from the person she had now become.

  He wasn't going to try and grab hold of her to make her take him to Xalata - she would resist and probably refuse point blank - so he had to approach it in a different way. Then he had an idea.

  * * * * *

  The door had opened, but no one made a move. "OK, what next?" said Xalata. "We hacked it, now what do we do? Do we head back to LunarBase and inform the authorities or go back to the Control Room? Or will Cruella DeVille and the Poison Dwarf still be there?"

  Melody laughed, "They weren't in the same film, stupid!"

  "Yeah but the description fits, doesn't it?"

  Wiglet stood up and reviewed the little group. "I think we could be considerably more useful by staying here, actually ..."

  "In what way?" said Glitch, looking up from his pad.

  "This young man has managed to hack into a highly secure system that protects our environment ..."

  "Not just him, Mr Wiggins ..." said Xalata.

  "No, Xalata, quite correct. You as well. So with this combined brain power and my understanding of the asteroid mission, perhaps we can save the day after all."

  "You mean hack into the controls?" said Glitch.

  "Yes, of course. Why not?"

  "Cool. Very cool. Woah! Let Mr Freeze get his hands on it." Glitch was by now getting very excited. "Where do we start, what's the primary access?"

  "Ah, there's the problem," said Wigle
t, "I'm not sure. The entry point has always been restricted to a number of specific, identifiable devices."

  "You mean, it will only work on those terminals and no others? We're doomed."

  "Well yes, we would be, if it were not for the fact that I have one of them with me."

  Glitch let out a yell of triumph and Wiglet pulled a pad from his pocket. Smaller than the others carried by the rest of the group, this one was evidently high quality and high technology. "Then it's easy," said Glitch, "we just ..."

  "Dim brain," said Xalata. "Whoever's controlling this will know about the other access points and will be monitoring them. If we just bowl in and access the system, they'll be on to us in a flash."

  "Exactly, Xalata," said Wiglet. "So we need to mask our presence - something I suspect you are quite used to doing, Justin."

  "I don't know what to say, Mr Wiggins," replied Glitch, looking sheepish, "I would never ..."

  "Never mind the excuses - just remember that we at the Academy know an awful lot about what goes on. We may have taught you everything you know, but we've not taught you everything we know! Now, first, set up one of your cloaks to get us onto the system unseen ..."

  * * * * *

  Fark had headed off at high speed to get back to the portal so that he could enjoy the spectacle of the asteroid's impact at leisure in the surroundings of his own home. It was going to be wonderful, watching one of the most momentous events in Earth's history since the dinosaur extinction. This time, it would be the extinction of mankind on Earth and then he and his fellow Asttarians could return to a clean planet, wiped clear of the virus that had infected it and that threatened to infect the rest of the solar system - people!