“Command does not compute,” Dasya Voltain said.
“Continue recording.” She closed her eyes and continued to massage the tight muscles in her neck. When she opened her eyes, she noticed a dark speck undulating on Vilecom’s surface, so keyed in a code to split the screen and record both events. The ripples expanded in a slow halo, as a madrox eased itself out of the fiery core and seemed to have a trajectory which would take it to the strange azure ships.
By the time the first madrox had completely broken free, converging corrugated waves covered Vilecom’s entire surface as more and more madrox began moving toward the strange ships.
Without being told, Dasya Voltain added a small, square partition, which displayed the anticipated flight paths of the ships and dragons. It hadn't been her imagination, the madrox and strange ships were on a collision course. Worse, if they didn't stray from their current paths, they would converge practically on top of her hiding place.
Tem-aki chewed her upper lip, torn between fascination and fear. Several madrox had tried to converge on the old meteor crater soon after she had landed, but, like the ship in the asteroid field, some ancient ctenophore class ships had herded them back to the molten moon. In an odd sort of way, the old ships' behavior reminded her of rustic shepherds on some of the primitive worlds, which supplied Guerreterre with protein.
As they got closer, only one of the old ctenophore class ships altered course. “This is Blue-10. I’ve got a problem.”
Tem-aki turned up the radio's volume. “Dasya Voltain, add audio file to video file recording.”
“Complying.”
“This is Gold Leader, state the nature of your problem, Ten.”
“I’ve got an adolescent heading toward the Sea of Storms.”
Adolescent? Sea of Storms? Were these codes for something, a specific location, or what? Tem-aki keyed in the code to expand the small square convergence screen and chewed her lip, as she studied the flight patterns in close detail to see if Dasya Voltain's presence had been detected.
If she fired up the engines, the power surge would probably be noticed, as it seemed to have been the previous day, when she'd fired the retro boosters to soften her landing in the crater. Then, too, the madrox and the old ctenophore class ships had altered course and seemed to converge near her location, but since then, there had been too many ships in the vicinity for her to out maneuver, so she'd shut down all unnecessary systems, filed her daily report and hoped for the best.
She'd been lucky so far, Tem-aki hoped her luck would hold, so, for the second time in as many days, she put on her helmet and activated her suit's environmental system, then turned off everything except the cloaking and monitoring systems. As the lights went out and the monitor went black, she prayed that she was doing the right thing for herself as well as her brother.
Then, Tem-aki watched the control panel and waited to see if the proximity light came on.
When her suit's oxygen supply was half gone, she turned on the monitor. The azure dots were now in positions around Vilecom, and a madrox, as depicted by a red dot, was near all but one. Since there was no eminent danger, she quietly keyed the ship's life support back on and resumed her surveillance.
Why did all Kalamaran ships seem to go out of their way to be close to madrox?
And why did they all seem to adhere to a pattern? Was this some strange form of team sport? The only anomaly to the pattern was one red dot near a white dot, which the computer used to differentiate the old ctenophore class ships from the strange ones like CRU-28. They were at the closest point between the moon and the planet, and as close to the atmosphere as they could get without actually beginning a landing pattern. In fact, the old ctenophore ship seemed to be trying to stay between the planet and madrox as if protecting it.
Bizarre!
ooo
Thunder stared at the endless expanse of undulating water and his stomach constricted. He had never imaged being imprisoned by water.
But he was.
He tried to tell himself this was a nightmare, but the surging surface beneath his feet made denial impossible.
As nausea threatened to overwhelm him, he closed his eyes and placed his hand over the amulet at his neck, then he controlled his breathing. As the stress eased, he focused on his present circumstances, which were impossible to understand.
Again, the threat of nausea worsened.
Eyes tight shut, he concentrated within instead of on the inexplicable water horror he had somehow landed in. As his stomach settled, he focused on Kazza's advice and reached across the darkness in the hope of understanding the great cat's warning.
Gradually, bright points of white light pricked the darkness, then, a golden glimmer tinged one area of the black nothingness. Thunder waited, his anticipation growing as the light started churning. An amber-gold cat eye emerged. Soon, Kazza's semi-transparent form faced him over a carpet of stars.
The great cat seemed to smile. "Destiny is being fulfilled."
"Everything is water."
Kazza's whiskers twirled. "Past turning points in your life involved water."
Those had not been pleasant times.
In fact, they were the stuff of nightmares.
The great cat's eyes glistened with amusement as if he knew the enormous extent of his discomfort. Thunder raised his palms in supplication. "I thought my destiny was to close the Star Bridge."
"And so you shall, if destiny allows it." A reassuring purr accompanied the thought.
If! "I must do this or Chatterre will be consumed by the monsters."
Kazza raised his paw and flexed his claws. Several points of light converged into a blue-gray ball with two smaller ones near it; one blood-red, one pale gray.
"The point of confrontation draws near," Kazza said. Golden specks danced across the red orb's surface and it began to wobble.
ooo
A wave of magma undulated across Vilecom's surface, then another and another. The radio crackled with static. "This is Gold-Five. I've got trouble."
Raine tapped the transmit button. "This is Gold-Leader. State the nature of your problem."
"I've got an adolescent heading toward the planet."
A pack of mooncalves and their dams moved away from the moon in a starburst of golden flashes, then, before they got near Nambaba, made a graceful curve and arched toward Kalamar's surface.
"Where are you, Five?"
"Zeda 94.7 and Romdan 43.8."
Raine looked at the view-screen and ran the calculation. He was the one at the closest point between the moon and the planet. And it looked like the entire pack was heading toward him. In all her years of service as a shepherd, she'd never seen mooncalves swarm toward the surface. She studied Kalamar; the point of convergence was the center of the Sea of Storms.
Her home.
She rammed the collective forward. "On my way." But before she reached the convergence point, the mooncalves altered course toward Ishdoo. Spirit, they act like one mind is governing them! Raine banked to port so she could thwart the new threat.
"Picking up Guerreterran band transmission," Nambaba said.
"Translate and transmit."
"Are you getting this?" The voice sounded like the woman in the asteroid field.
"You are on a restricted waveband," a second voice said.
"Admiral Roget ordered me to transmit this data-stream and Administrator Fitzminor."
"If you do not cease and desist, your transmission will be forcibly ended." With that, a piercing shriek emanated from the speakers.
"Shut off that waveband," Raine ordered.
The sudden silence felt like the slap of an icy wave, when a warm sea had been expected. One look at the view screen confirmed that the dragons were now moving back toward Vilecom. Raine expanded her view-screen and marked the spot, which had attracted the dragons. "Expand image." Nambaba complied and the screen displayed a large crater filled with ancient boulders and shadows. "Again." Still nothing. "Do you detect
a ship in this quadrant?"
"Negative."
Raine should have known it wouldn't be easy. "Save images and all transmission data."
Chapter 13
Inside Dasya Voltain’s two-man control hub, Tem-aki stretched her stiff muscles as she gazed at the pattern of white and red dots which surrounded the molten moon. So far, the crater seemed relatively safe, unfortunately, it also felt quite exposed and longterm exposure of the hull to the high lime content would not be good.
Abruptly, there was a flurry of activity among the red dots, which the white dots quickly responded to. She had been watching this type of scene for more than a day, but so far, all she had managed to determine was that the Kalamarans appeared to use the ships, depicted by white dots, in a similar way to how primitive sheep herders used their trained dogs. Why they herded madrox remained a mystery and though she had not put her speculation in any of her reports, she privately wondered if Kalamar's entire culture was mentally stable.
Three white dots, which she had begun to think of as 'shepherd ships' moved into a triangular pattern where the molten moon was closest to the planet’s surface. Almost as if on cue, several madrox appeared to swarm toward them. Tem-aki was reminded of a video clip she'd seen about locusts attacking crops on a primitive agricultural world. Tem-aki leaned forward with interest and watched the shepherd-ships efficiently intercept the swarm of madrox before they touched the atmosphere.
Suddenly, the communication network chimed and the halo-image changed to Admiral Starm's face. He had been her brother's superior. She gulped, then said, “Admiral Starm.” Hearing the squeak in her tone, a blush began to creep up her neck.
“Adjutant Atano.” He dipped his head, which was not necessary for her rank. She wet her lips. “Are you still monitoring Kalamar?”
“Yes, Sir. I’m preparing a dispatch to send to Admiral Roget and Administrator Fitzminor the data I have collected during the last cycle.” Hoping that he could see how nervous she was, Tem-aki forced a calm smile. “Would you like me to send you a copy, as well?”
He gave a quick nod. “For the moment, give me a synopsis.”
Tem-aki swallowed and clasped her hands together to hide the tremor. “Moments ago, madrox swarmed out of Vilecom, which is the Kalamaran name for their molten moon. The madrox were apparently intent about entering the planet’s atmosphere.” She cleared her throat. “Three of their antiquated ctenophore class ships quickly moved to thwart a possible attack.” She paused, then added. “The move appeared well practiced, as did the maneuvering of the other type of ships, which they seem to use with the madrox.”
“Roget said you had a theory about the Kalamarans using them for a purpose.”
“It is the only thing that makes sense – the way the ships move is very similar to the patterns I've seen used by the keepers of protein breeders, like sheep.”
“Interesting.”
“While the most recent break appeared to be the most violent, the dragons have displayed this type of activity since I entered this system.” She closed her mouth before she started to babble.
“Is your position secure?”
“I believe so.”
He gave a decisive nod. “Good. Continue monitoring.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Have you detected their eepyllihg production facility?”
“Perhaps, but if you require positive evidence, I will need to come out of hiding.” She took a deep breath, and reminded herself that even though Admiral Starm's brutal reputation was well known, he was several quadrants away and in no position to harm her. At least, not at this moment, and to keep it that way, it was wise to answer his questions as fully as possible. She wet her lips, then added, “All activity that I've observed seems to be divided between two areas: the madrox, which infest Vilecom and agricultural pursuits in the swampy areas of the Kalamar's surface. Scans indicate the principle crops are reeds and rice. Their space patrols are the only evidence of high tech capability and these activities center on Vilecom.” She was babbling, Tem-aki clamped her jaws together, before she antagonized him.
“The manufacturing facility must be under water.”
“That is a distinct possibility.” She touched a few keys and sent copies of her previous reports to Admiral Starm. “In the report I just sent, there is a segment where I monitored one of their antiquated ships slipped beneath the waves. A short while ago, it reemerged and is engaging in activity with the madrox. I've dubbed the behavior of this type 'shepherd-ships' because they appear to use these to control the madrox's movements.” He raised a brow. Her pay-grade wasn't high enough for her to make that sort of analytical statement. Tem-aki swallowed hard and tried not to blab out any more opinions. “Should I remain here and observe or try to get on planet to try and confirm anything?” What was wrong with her? Had she actually volunteered to try and sneak onto the planet and spy? She was a geologist, neither a warrior nor a spy. The only reason she had managed to gather so much information thus far was due to pure luck and Dasya Voltain’s stealth capabilities.
The last thing she wanted to do was figure out a way to land on Kalamar; unfortunately, it looked like Admiral Starm was considering her comment. Shiver! Guerreterre had no water, therefore it was something which terrified her when she saw a lot of it. Just watching Kalamar's constantly shifting surface made her queasy.
“For the moment remain in your current position so we can find out how to produce eepyllihg. Once we have that technology, we will no longer have to suffer greedy parasites like Zar Vole d’Laire.”
“I will do my best, Sir.”
With a nod, he cut the transmission. The screen returned to display the movements of the white and red dots. With a sigh of relief, Tem-aki's spine collapsed into the command chair. Why hadn't she thought of the consequences before sending a copy of the bizarre behavior she'd witnessed in the asteroid field to her superior? But she knew that she would do the same thing, again, if she thought she might be able to find out what had happened to Larwin.
ooo
As Thunder moved cautiously down the shaky, curved corridor, he paused to look through the open door into a circular chamber. No fish-boy. Odd as the guy was – at least Thunder had the impression that it was male – he was the only other individual he had met, aside from his captor. He wanted answers. The woman wasn't here, so there was only one source for the answers he needed. Thunder continued down the corridor, searching for the only one in the vicinity who might have the answers he needed.
Why had he been brought here?
What had they done to him?
What did they want from him?
Why did nightmare images of a water world haunt him?
Who was the pretty little yellow-haired woman?
And how had she managed to capture him?
Worse, why did she wish to leave Chatterre vulnerable to dragons?
Would Chatterre be safe until he returned?
Had he died and gone to the realm of Hades that some of the dark fairytales spoke of?
Abruptly, the passageway jerked so sharply that Thunder was thrown against the odd wall, which gave slightly when his shoulder slammed against it, but popped back to smooth when he straightened. Curious, he pressed his hand against the strange surface, which was more like a taunt fabric than the rock and wood walls he was accustomed to. Again, the tube shuddered. He fought to remain on his feet and wondered what had caused the sudden instability.
The orb closest to the floating dock had contained a strange table, which was also made out of a something smooth and white. In fact, it seemed like just about everything in this odd place looked as if it was made from the same basic stuff. The only things that looked at all familiar were the large upside-down woven-reed baskets, which seemed to function as seats. And thus far, he had only seen those in the semi-understandable area, with the table.
Keeping one hand against the rounded wall, he ventured a few more steps down the sloped tube.
The next chambe
r had a gigantic flat pillow at its center and a vividly colored fish mural all over its walls. One of the fish moved. Curious, he stepped into the chamber and looked around its circular walls. Seeing more movement, he took another step into the room. Bright red finger-sized streaks burst away. Thunder stopped and stared. Nothing happened. He took a third step forward, and noticed movement from an airy plum-toned fan, that appeared to be rooted to a rocky landscape. What a strange thing to paint. A silvery cloud swept by in the distance. What sort of magic had been added to this paint? Thunder ventured farther into the circular chamber, and caressed the mural. A cool, smooth surface, which felt the same as the other wall surfaces met his fingertips.
He stepped back, caught his foot on a soft lump and landed with a thud on the huge central cushion. The smell of sunshine and fresh air greeted him as he lay on his back and stared upward at the domed ceiling. This room seemed like being in a room-size version of the clear head covering of Larwin's suit.
Movement to the right caught his attention. He turned his head and watched a swirling school of silvery fish move by. Thunder swallowed. The next moment, the dark shadow of a much larger fish passed over. What kind of evil magic did these horrid walls possess?
He stumbled toward the entryway. The floor seemed to rise and fall beneath his feet. Stomach rolling with misery, he closed his eyes tight shut, gripped the doorway and gasped for breath.
Slowly, the threatening bile resettled. Though he wanted to flee back to the exterior platform, he knew that it held no answers to his questions and his stomach wouldn't be better up there, so he might just as well find out where fish-boy was and get the answers that he needed. Squaring his shoulders, Thunder headed further down the peculiar tunnel.
Thunder Moon: Book 2 of the Chatterre Trilogy (Chatterre Triology) Page 14