by Candy Rae
PAWS AND PLANETS
Candy Rae
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SMASHWORDS EDITION
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Paws and Planets
Copyright © 2010 Candy Rae
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead; is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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Paws and Planets is dedicated to my illustrator Jen. She is the most wonderful artist imaginable and her illustrations are absolutely perfect in every way.
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Artwork Copyright © 2010 Jennifer Johnson
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PAWS AND PLANETS
PLANET WOLF - THE PREQUELS
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THE LAI - THEIR PREQUEL
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Haru, Taraya and Niaill, a Lai, a Lind and a Human, are principal characters in the fourth and fifth books of the Planet Wolf Series; ‘Dragons and Destiny’, ‘Valour and Victory’.
It was a warm, balmy summer day. Niaill stretched out his long legs on the feathery turf and gazed up at the clear, blue sky with a sigh of absolute contentment. It was good to be alive. The sun felt warm on his old bones. His weather-beaten face was as brown as a nut-cherry.
: This is what retirement should be : he telepathed to his Lind Taraya who was drowsing under some thick allst trees some lindlengths distant. She was also enjoying the summer, their first since they had retired to the more westerly of the two northern continents, the traditional home of the Lai.
: Haru comes : warned Taraya at that moment : he walks :
Niaill grunted but he was pleased to hear that Haru was joining them. Their friend, Haru the Lai almost never flew these days. He was, like Niaill and Taraya, getting on in years, his copper hide burnished so much with age to be almost tree-brown, his wing muscles stiffening, much like Niaill’s own joints when he came to think about it, which was often during the cold, damp winter months but almost never during the dry sunny, summer ones.
As Haru would tell anylai, anylind or any person who would listen, he was of a great age and one of the few who could still remember the arrival of humankind on Rybak, or Dagan as some of the more elderly Lai still called their planet.
Dagan was the word for home in the ancient language of the Lai. Like man and woman, the Lai were not native to the planet. As with Niaill and his kind, they had originated from a planet many suns distant. The planet had accepted them and it had become their home.
Niaill himself was in his seventies, Taraya some years older and pure white with age, the white mirroring Niaill’s own although his white head hadn’t thinned as with many of his contemporaries.
Yesterday Haru had told Niaill and Taraya stories about the days when he had been a young Lai, when Niaill’s ancestors had landed and about the events that followed. Much of it had been new to him and he had listened fascinated as the old Lai had told him about what wasn’t included in the history books.
Today Haru had promised, he would go further back in time and tell Niaill the full story about when the Lai had arrived. Niaill had listened to a shorter version of the story before but this time Haru had agreed to tell all, all that is that could be remembered.
Niaill heard Haru’s limping approach along the wide path that led from the undergrowth and rose to his feet with a smile of welcome. The rustling grew louder and Haru appeared, his eyes blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the bright sun, his little knobbly ears twitching as he located Niaill and Taraya.
Taraya drew herself a little closer to her life-mate and Niaill smothered a mental grin. Although she wouldn’t admit it, Taraya was just as interested in the stories as he was.
“I will join you?” queried Haru.
“A thousand welcomes my friend,” Niaill replied, “especially if you feel you’re up to telling us about how your ancestors really came here. I’ve always felt it most unfair that you know our story in consummate detail but we know so little about yours. Taraya and I know little more than that bare outline you gave us that day.”
“We had far more important things to discuss that day,” replied Haru, chiding him but with mirth in his eyes, “if you remember? The little matter of the imminent arrival of and the war with the Dglai to be exact. As you humans would say, a lot of water has passed under the bridges since then.”
“Indeed,” laughed Niaill but with a wince for some of the unpleasant memories that always came to mind when Haru mentioned those dangerous days when they had first met. Many of his and Taraya’s friends had been killed in the battles that followed. Haru too had lost friends and relations.
“So,” said Haru, “where would you like me to start? It is a long story.”
“At the beginning of course,” declared Niaill, “and don’t leave anything out either.”
“I will try not to,” replied Haru, settling down, “but it all happened so long ago, more than many generations and so I cannot vouch for the absolute accuracy of my tale. Some brave deeds may well have become embellished through time and some not so brave forgotten.”
“Do your best,” encouraged Niaill, squirming around trying to make himself comfortable.
Haru sat gazing into the distance, marshalling his thoughts and memories.
“I’ll begin with my ancestor,” he began at last, “Maru his name was. He was one of those who took to the stars all these generations ago to search for a new home for our kind. I believe that the situation he and those who set out with him faced was very similar to what your ancestors faced my Niaill. Both of our home planets were becoming untenable, though many thousands of years separated the events that brought us both here. Yes, that is where I shall begin…”
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EPISODE 1 - DAIGLON
Duntan – Echt – Zan – Tak – Olf – Rak – San – Lok – Vad - Dun
10 – 9- 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1.
The engines fired.
The great thrusters that would lift the huge ship out of its cradle began to shudder and roar.
Maru braced himself as the ship began to shake and his ears filled with the sounds of take-off.
This was not the first time his people had departed thus from their planet to explore space, but it was the first time he, Maru himself had. He was not enjoying the experience overmuch and if he was quite honest with himself; he was absolutely terrified.
During the previous two centuries and a bit more, once it had been realised that their planet, Daiglon was dying, many ships had gone; the first to circumnavigate Daiglon, the next venturing that little bit further, the next reaching the edge of their solar system. Some had not returned.
The process of space travel was a dangerous one. Maru’s grandfather had died during an implosion on the launch pad.
It was a risk that had to be taken, to further their knowledge and expertise, to enable a chosen few to venture out far beyond the edges of their solar system, to the stars; to find a planet where the Daiglon could relocate to, a planet alive, a planet that was not dying, its resources used up, its atmosphere polluted beyond repair.
; Maru was one of those ‘chosen few’; one of a crew of five times five times five who were well strapped in to the personnel launch receptacles of the Limokko. From the other four land-masses on the planet Daiglon four similar spaceships were blasting off, each crewed by another five times five times five crewmembers; the hope of the Daiglon.
As soon as the five spaceships had exited the atmosphere Maru’s fellow Daiglon would begin to build another five ships but time was running out.
On the landmass where lived the Sbnai, deaths were already being reported, caused by malnutrition. Many of those who had died were mothers who starved themselves so their young would have enough to eat. The ecological collapse was imminent, the fauna and flora withering away to dust due to the lack of clean water. The unclean was poisoning the land. Some xanus before, as the vegetative edibles had grown less, rationing had been introduced but it had not been enough to stem the reduction in herbivore, the staple diet of the Daiglon, numbers.
Soon, Maru knew, starvation would rear its ugly head amongst the population on the Lai landmass, his landmass and his home.
Even this trek into outer space to find another planet might not stop the extinction of those forced to remain on Daiglon and there was a chance they would find a planet soon enough and close enough that some might be transported there. That was Maru’s hope and the hope of the other one hundred and twenty-four on the Limokko and of those on the other four ships.
Planet Daiglon was split into five landmasses, or continents, set fairly close together but with sea in between. Each landmass was occupied by a different variant of the Daiglon genotype.
Five of them.
On each landmass lived an individual rtath; in the north lived the blue skins, the Rai, in the west, the black skins, the Brai, in the south the red skins, the Sbnei, in the east the golden skins, the Lai. In the centre lived the green skins, the argumentative and warlike Dglai.
The number five was considered important and lucky by the Daiglon. As there were these five landmasses and five Lai variants, so were there five Gtrathlins, or Leaders, five times five Angtrathlins or Sub-leaders and five times five Rtaths, or Clans, within each landmass. A family group of five was considered lucky and the Daiglon reached adulthood at five times five times five xanus.
Of the one hundred and twenty-five young Daiglon crew aboard the Limokko, half were female and the other half male. All were adult, strong, healthy and of breeding age. None were blood-related, by a distance of four generations so as to spread the gene pool as much as possible. Every one of them had left grandparents, parents and siblings behind.
The Susa, or Commander of the Limokko was called Zanua. She was a highly intelligent female, at three hundred and two the oldest on board and who had already completed two spaceflights, the first to the limits of the solar system and the second almost reaching the outer limits of the next. No Daiglon ship had been further out into space than this. The Limokko and her sisters were five times the size of this previous class of spaceship, designed to keep going beyond where the previous ships’ supplies and power had run out. This time there was to be no return when the warning symbols flashed informing them that the viable return point had been reached.
On the top deck was situated the living quarters, on the bottom two decks lived the engines and the enormous water cisterns that both cooled the said engines and provided the water for other needs, to grow the food supplies and for drinking water.
The engines ran on power crystals, crystals mined from deep within the landmasses of Daiglon and containing energy that would last, with careful handling, for hundreds of xanus.
This was a comparatively new technology, the means to harness this power and more importantly, to store it once it had been harnessed. The Daiglon had discovered how to convert this kinetic energy into potential energy, which could then be stored in a series of separate devices they called space elevators. It was very advanced technologically speaking and without it’s discovery the Daiglon would have been doomed. If the Daiglon had known about this technology earlier on in their long history their future as a race would have been so so different. The energy from the crystals did not pollute, but this was after the fact, even the crystal powered oxygen purifiers now on the planet were doing little more than to keep the air breathable and even they were beginning to lose the battle.
The middle decks, there were another two, were divided into compartments and contained food consumables, much of which was alive and growing and the equipment. There was also a large area containing freeze dried protein ration and vegetable nutrients. The fresh cut and killed produce, in the cold compartments would be eaten first. Another compartment contained plant seeds in specially designed storage chests. Yet more contained medical supplies, hide oil (very necessary), replacement parts, the precious spare crystals, beacons, and tools. There were even E.V.A. helmets and oxygen cylinders if repairs had to be done while in the zero atmosphere of space. Behind the engines were the oxygen purifiers, also crystal run which kept the ship’s air sweet and even equipment to extract life giving oxygen from plants if need be.
Underneath, in a separate area connected by passageways leading from the engine decks were the scout ships, called Quorko, with which they would survey suitable planets.
The thrusters were propelling the Limokko upwards.
Maru closed his eyes. This was the moment of truth. Was there enough power in the engines to lift the immense ship away from the gravity field? He kept his eyes closed, expecting every tvan to hear the warning wails of the alerters signifying the imminent failure of the launch.
The Limokko pushed her ponderous way upwards, beyond the clouds, through the stratosphere and out into the darkness which came with a suddenness that surprised Maru who had opened his eyes a tiny bit by this time.
The engines stopped roaring and the ship stopped juddering.
Maru opened his eyes wide.
“We were the first,” announced Zanua, flexing her shoulders and unfurling her wings as she relaxed. “We wait for the other four then we can get on our way.”
The planet to ship communications console bleeped and she reported that the Limokko had attained planetary orbit. “They will reach us in duntan vadtvans,” she informed the others with her on the bridge-space. “The Ammokko has experienced a launch delay and will be the last to arrive at the exit co-ordinates. We shall just make it,” she added this last with relief. Any further time lost and they would all have had to make a full orbit of the planet before the convoy could depart.
Maru sighed a private sigh, he would have liked to make this last orbit and from the look on some of the other’s faces, they would have been quite happy if the Ammokko’s delay had been a protracted one.
Maru kept silent however, watching as first one and then another of the spaceships attained orbit.
“Ammokko approaching,” he announced after a long and tense silence.
“Thanks be,” said Wharua, another of the females amongst the crew and the third of the five Lai, apart from Maru and Zanua occupying the command space this first shift. Her golden, speckled eyes gleamed, “now we can be off,” she added in an aside to Maru as Zanua gave the orders for Maru to begin to steer the Limokko out of orbit and out into the blackness.
Maru did so and the spaceship of rtath Lai led the other ships out.
“Those on the Ammokko won’t be happy,” he said to Wharua, “they have an ingrained desire always to be in the forefront.”
Wharua shrugged, her wing muscles rippling, “first come first away,” she laughed, eyes full of mirth. “They know the orders. We lead, they follow.”
All five bridge personnel could well imagine the chagrin of the Dglai crew when they realised that their take-off troubles had placed them in last place. “I think however,” she added, “that Zanua will ask the Jamokko to move back behind them before many tvans have passed.”
Maru agreed. They would all feel more comfortable if the Ammokko was wedged between others.
“Never trust a Dglai, my mother used to say,” said Maru in a low voice.
Then, as if on cue, the secure communications channel between the Limokko and the Silokko, the ship of the Sbnai, bleeped and Maru heard the commander of this ship, Susa Brnu, request that very thing. It appeared he didn’t trust the Dglai either. Zanua, as she gave permission, told the commander that the flight order was going to change anyway once the five ships had passed out of the solar system.
“I hope the Ammokko always remains in front of us or another,” Maru heard him plead but then Maru’s own console bleeped and he did not hear what Zanua said in answer.
He recognised the sghail of the sender. It was his family wishing to say their farewells.
He pressed the toggle to accept the call and instead of his screen being filled with the image of the rapidly disappearing planet, up came the images of his family.
First his father and his baby brother, not yet able to fly, his wing strength only now developing.
Maru knew that he would in all likelihood never see them again.
“Ult si ban Maru,” said his father, his voice crackling.
“Inj elt tho bel,” he replied, his throat tight with emotion. “I love you all.”
“We know,” his mother told him as she appeared within the screen-frame as little Rezu bounced about in front of them
“Look at me!” he squeaked in his baby voice.
“In whan tho, I see you. Look after mother and father.”