NEBULAR Collection 6 - The Great Tremor: Episodes 27 - 30

by Thomas Rabenstein

  »It feels like before. I can’t sense any changes.«

  Pi wiped over his bald head.

  »The transformation wasn’t very pleasant, although, we didn’t feel anything. I know that sounds strange, but I don’t want to do it again if I don’t have to,« he remarked.

  »I just picked up the Chiropter and his two guards from the hangar. They seem alright!« Nautilus announced. »As a matter of fact: I’m pleased how this powerful, destructive weapon was used for a good cause. Your procedure and the way you handled the situation goes along with my base programming!«

  Flattered, Arkroid smiled and thought, It’s always good to have somebody around who reminds you of good morals.

  »Okay, Klori’Tar it’s your turn now! You’re the last one on board the Messy-Unit,« Vasina suggested. »We’re waiting for you!«

  »You’d have to wait a long time!« Klori’Tar croaked excitedly. »That’s out of the question. I can’t leave Verzimut and my ship under these conditions!«

  »Well … take the robot along then. I’m sure Nautilus would like to meet …,« Arkroid recommended.

  »… I’ve built this ship with my bare hands,« Klori’Tar interrupted. »A Klorian never abandons his ship!«

  Arkroid drew a deep sigh.

  He really means it, he thought disappointed.

  »I can understand the bondage with your ship, but you won’t survive very long under these conditions. Isn’t it possible to use the weapon against your ship?«

  »That’s not how it works, Toiber,« Klori’Tar responded, depressed it seemed. »The anti-pol weapon array cannot transform itself. Verzimut simulated this case many times already. Each and every time it resulted in total annihilation! I’ll remain aboard the ship!«

  »C’mon be reasonable, Klori’Tar,« Vasina tried to bring him to his senses. »You can’t land on another planet. You’ll be isolated from the rest of the universe.«

  »I’ll transmit Morgotradon’s probe’s tachyon signature,« Klori’Tar ignored Vasina. »Use the data and try to track him down. I’ll participate in the hunt, already knowing that I’ll need to rescue you again …«

  Voit seemed unhappy. Pi didn’t like Klori’Tar’s decision either.

  »We owe you a lot, Klori’Tar,« Arkroid gave in. »I won’t forget it and ...«

  Loud, ugly laughter interrupted him.

  »Do you really think that you have it better? The Klorian is fooling you all!« the replication raged. »He made a good choice, because he’s safe from my Lord and his vengeance … at least for now! You … the others, are now within reach. Believe me, you’ll soon beg for your miserable lives. You’ll regret not having remained on the ship. It’s better to be isolated than to slowly be killed by Morgotradon!«

  Her rage was followed by an insane laughter. Her beautiful face had turned into a contortion.

  Arkroid whirled around and looked at Maya’s twin. For a second, it seemed as if he’d lost his self-control. Seconds later, however, he displayed his typical smile. He forced himself to answer with a calm voice, »We’ll see what happens. I was able to glance at the future and this gives me hope, even in this situation. Before your boss can seize power over this galaxy, he has to outsmart his masters first and then needs to get by us!« He closed his eyes for a moment before he concluded, »But he won’t achieve that!«

  The future is vague

  There she is again … the sun Maiter! She appears like a bloody eye, threatening! Arkroid pondered. The tiny shadow in front of her, not larger than a grain of sand – the Crux-Heart. The big station doesn’t look that spectacular from this vantage point – almost puny! I can’t believe that the station’s machines are adequate to thrust an entire galaxy back into the dimension it came from. Maiter’s energy isn’t coming close to what’s required. I should’ve noticed this earlier.

  »What are you thinking about, Toiber?« Pi inquired, noticing that Arkroid’s was in deep thoughts. He was sitting in the co-pilot seat beside him. »Is it the timelines?«

  Arkroid smiled.

  »Not exactly,« he replied.

  He looked at the replication. Although, Nautilus was able to restrain and isolate her if needed, Herimos kept a keen eye on her, nevertheless.

  »Are you brooding over who could be the traitor amongst us?« Pi asked.

  Arkroid shook his head and said, »I’m trying to clear my mind. I want to think about our next moves. Regardless, if Boiltos’ prophesies come true or not, we still need to face Morgotradon. We also need the Jamal-Combs!«

  »The keys,« Pi said mutedly. »These things give me a headache. What’s so valuable or significant about these combs? Did Boiltos mention them and how these small keys are supposed to save our galaxy?«

  Arkroid was watching Maiter’s turbulences on the main holo.

  »I can’t tell you more than you already know, Pi,« he answered a couple of seconds later. »I wonder what the locks look like where these keys supposed to fit. This begs a different question: Are we talking about real locks or is this just a metaphor? Although, we freed Vasina by means of a Jamal-Comb, it doesn’t mean that these keys cannot be used in a different manner. I rather think that her sarcophagus was built to suit the comb. Considering the effects and how the combs behave when they’re brought close to each other, it’s hard to believe that they were designed to fit into some lock.«

  »Well then … we leave it like that for now,« Pi sighed.

  Pi leaned over and whispered, »The replication indicated that we’re now within Morgotradon’s reach. She probably means that he’ll come for us soon to obtain the Jamal-Combs. It’s maybe wise to fly back to the Crux-Heart, protected by the Krolakan Fleet, instead of waiting here for him.«

  Arkroid glanced at the replication. Loudly he announced, »We won’t retreat or become passive. We will look for Morgotradon. He probably expects us to fly back to the Crux-Heart … I want to do something else! It’s going to be dangerous, but I take that risk anytime, considering our galaxy’s future.«

  »You don’t have a future!« the replication yelled.

  Via the mental bridge, he commanded Nautilus to establish an acoustic absorption field to prevent the replication from spilling her guts further.

  He smiled in her direction and continued, knowing that she could still hear him, »I don’t want Morgotradon’s reign or enemies from a parasite galaxy rule over us. We said that we are the Protectors. We need to stop these all-changing, fateful developments and remove the causes!«

  The replication was yelling behind the absorption field … to no avail, because nobody could hear her.

  »I’m certain that the Krolakans will assist us with their fleet to rid us from this evil,« Kuster~Laap suggested. »I could talk to Peu’Fleur. He will understand that the Magellanic Cloud is within the sphere of influence of these alien rulers and that he and his people cannot escape it.«

  »I’m not thinking about raging a full-fledged war. Morgotradon won’t come with a fleet to attack the Crux-Heart, although, he could do it and send the Rexas or Trox who are still under his influence. He’ll choose a different approach,« Arkroid was certain.

  »In the worst case there could still be some parasite carrier ships hiding somewhere in the galaxy. Some infected Kokradians could be employed by Morgotradon to peek into the future,« Vasina worried.

  Arkroid nodded.

  »Certainly, Morgotradon is still very powerful. The loss of his star base just weakens him a little; nevertheless, the confrontations won’t occur on a galactic battlefield with fleets and space battles. We need to find him and take away the Jamal-Combs,« Arkroid reiterated. »I’m sure that the encounters with Morgotradon will show us the right path into the future and our fate.«

  Maya squinted and whispered, »You think you know what’s going to happen, but my instincts tell me a different story … the future is not carved in stone, the future is vague! We determine the outcome ourselves and can manipulate certain things. However, if we can do it then Morgotradon can do it also. He
will use his knowledge of the future against us!«

  »You’ve decided to follow the probe’s aura,« Herimos concluded. »I’ll come with you and do my part. The fate of our people is connected. I want to find out how and why!«

  »Don’t forget us Hybrids,« Voit added. »We still don’t know exactly how it came to the division of our blood lines. I have a lot of questions that scream for answers.«

  »What happened in the distant past?« Vasina whispered. »The Progonauts were supposed to guard the Jamal-Combs and because of that were wiped out!«

  »We all agree then,« Arkroid closed the discussion. »We use the portal and get answers.«

  I take the lead

  The Techno-Ferry slowly approached the tachyon portal, which had previously been used by Morgotradon and his replications. A return to the portal inside the star base was out of the question. The portal was, as well as the Crux-Heart, enveloped with defense shields, which had prevented the objects from being polarized by the anti-matter phenomenon. The Krolakan Fleet had been spared from the anti-polarization effect because their commander had quickly reacted and pulled back his ships behind the Crux-Heart’s defense shield, which had been expanded to accommodate the fleet.

  Aided by Kuster~Laap, Nautilus had transferred the team to the portal after cracking the defense shield security algorithms.

  Again, the team members’ bodies had to endure energy forces, they couldn’t detect with their senses. They didn’t even feel a slight tickle when exposed to tachyon energy. Nevertheless, their body cells were charged up! Before the transfer to the portal, Nautilus had showered them with exacted doses of tachyon energy, enabling the team to follow Morgotradon’s probe back to the portal it had come from.

  The entire team, including the replication, was lining up before the portal pillars. High above them hovered the Techno-Ferry like a silver ball, reflecting the fiery turbulences of the sun on the ship’s mirror-like surface.

  If the shield collapses then we’re all history! Arkroid thought uncomfortably as he observed the sun. No Human has ever been that close to a sun! Inside the Crux-Heart I felt safe … but this? We need to go quickly!

  »We’re on our own! Nautilus cannot follow us through the portal,« Maya remarked.

  »It is really not our mandate to participate in such missions,« Kuster~Laap whined. »Instead of educating the people of the galaxy, we’re now actively involving ourselves in possibly hostile situations.«

  It was obvious that Kuster~Laap didn’t like the mission. He flapped his ears and changed his voice several times.

  »We can do it!« Arkroid said convinced.

  As if the sun Maiter wanted to confirm his words, it sent a huge protuberance toward the portal’s direction. The hot plasma was, however, no danger as it didn’t reach the portal. The portal’s defense shield deflected the energy into space.

  Arkroid glanced at Maya who was holding a small cube in her hand, turning it around from side to side.

  She noticed Arkroid’s look and said, »It’s the old data cube which I took from the Progonaut undersea base. It doesn’t contain any data and might only serve as a lucky charm.«

  »I made some slight adjustments to your conditioning,« Nautilus announced. »I elevated your personal cell auras to the signatures Klori’Tar had transmitted to me.«

  Arkroid looked back at his team, making eye contact with each of the team members.

  Paafnas was slouching on Pi’s back and nervously licked his eyeballs. Herimos, who still watched the replication, gnarled in determination. Voit, who had never been in space before this expedition, seemed to measure up to what was in store for him. Maya, who was strangely and unpleasantly connected with Morgotradon, nodded at Arkroid with grim determination. Vasina’s and Tranos’ eyes glowed bright and golden – they were ready! Despite his objections, Kuster~Laap and his body guards were also prepared.

  »I’ll take the lead!« Arkroid announced and slowly walked toward the energy field between the two pillars.

  The Scull World

  Arkroid held his breath as he stepped out of the receiving portal.

  It worked! he thought.

  His tachyon aura had led him to a functional portal on another world.

  I wonder which galactic sector this might be.

  Arkroid looked up to a deep-red, dark sky which stretched across a far reaching plain. It was night time, no stars were visible, no moon, only this dark red, dull glowing sky!

  What’s that? Polar Lights or a vast high altitude energy storm? he pondered.

  His personal defense shield had activated automatically as soon as he had set foot on the planet. Sensors, integrated into the shield generator, were reporting environmental data on a virtual display before his eyes.

  Forty degrees Celsius, a weak atmosphere, consisting of nitrogen and carbon dioxide! Without my defense shield, I’d be dead! Arkroid resumed nervously.

  He scraped with his foot across the ground and stirred up a fine, yellow dust which had settled all over the portal platform.

  The immediate area, surrounding the portal, looked like a landscape of a fairytale or fantasy story. Dense meadows of thin, knee-high grass with colorful blossoms were growing in large patches across the plain. Other types of flora didn’t seem to exist on this world.

  As Arkroid slowly walked down the steps, leading to the portal, he noticed faint wave-like movements in the grass. Wind was, however, not a factor!

  Hmm … the grass seems to have a life of its own, he pondered with surprise.

  Cautiously, he approached the edge to the vegetation and placed his foot down on the grass. He also kept a keen eye on his surroundings, especially the portal. Morgotradon could appear any moment. This was no time to be careless.

  Arkroid’s approach caused an unexpected reaction: The grass retracted lightning-fast into the ground. This phenomenon was not just subjected to his area, but also outlying areas. With a domino effect, the grass meadows disappeared. It looked as if a huge wave of grass suddenly vanished.

  Reactive flora! Arkroid thought and bent down to investigate the phenomenon.

  He swept over the ground with his hand. The ground had changed radically to hard, life-less surface. It didn’t look like dry soil, rather like scorched, melted volcanic rock.

  Fine pores meandered downward through the glass-like underground, creating capillary tubes through which the plants had retracted.

  As much as Arkroid tried he couldn’t find a sign of vegetation. The blossoming meadow landscape had had changed into a barren desert. It seemed as if a great catastrophe had destroyed all the beauty that this planet had to offer.

  Did I do that?

  One of the enviro-sensors at his wrist reacted and warned him of steadily increasing winds in the upper atmosphere. The low cloud cover began to move suddenly. Red sheet-lightning flashed across the sky. A storm was brewing.

  Other movements in the sky got Arkroid’s attention. Flocks of high-flying beings flew below the clouds. Normally, the creatures were invisible to the naked Human eye at night, but the red glowing sky provided Arkroid with an eerie backdrop.

  Arkroid wondered why the flocks became larger in numbers with more creatures as if they were fleeing from something.

  He cautiously kept walking and looked back.

  The portal platform was about five meters higher than the plain. He didn’t waste a thought about the portal seeming out of place as if it had been forgotten. As he could see under these light conditions, the ground around the portal was black and cracked.

  The grass adapted to this forsaken landscape! he pondered.

  A bright flash blinded him for a second as the transport field reacted while Pi, Herimos and the replication appeared between the pillars, accompanied by a flood of photons, creating scurrile looking shadows on the ground.

  Arkroid saw a dark wall forming behind the portal, about one kilometer away. Although, well capable to see in the dark, he couldn’t make out what came with the wall.


  What’s that? he thought perplexed.

  »What a beautiful place!« Pi’s voice sounded via the comm-link. »I just hope that Nautilus didn’t send us to the end of the universe.«

  »The Genorantans never got that far,« Arkroid replied dryly and looked around. »I agree, Pi, this is not the place I’d like to be buried.«

  Again, a reddish aura flashed across the cloudy sky while the portal spewed out the rest of the team.

  Kuster~Laap’s ears flapped nervously, while his head turned around.

  »I don’t know this planet,« he remarked.

  »It’s not possible to know all the planets in this galaxy. Your brain would be as big as a moon then,« Maya mocked, which caused Kuster~Laap to become even more nervous. He wasn’t able to comprehend Human humor.

  »If he keeps flapping his ears like that then his going to lift off soon,« Pi nodded at the ZyClonians. If Naad and Nood reacted to Pi’s comment it wasn’t clear, but at this moment the nanopods detached from their chests like clouds of fine dust, forming some sort of an object which became clearer and clearer by the second.

  Herimos deactivated the capture field around the replication and pulled his plasma rifle from his shoulder.

  »Just in case,« he replied to Arkroid’s inquiring glance.

  Paafnas used his suction-cup hands and moved from Pi’s shoulder to the top of his bald head. This way he had a higher vantage point. Pi didn’t seem to mind.

  »Is this tachyon pulse generator going to work right?« Arkroid asked fascinated, watching the ZyClonians create this device before his eyes.

  »The signal will be very strong and hopefully call the Creator’s ship to us,« Kuster~Laap explained. »It depends how far we are form the Crux-Heart. This planet might be just a couple of lightyears away, maybe thousands.«

  »I just hope that we don’t attract any other, not so pleasant, visitors,« Maya commented and squatted down to inspect the ground. While she was scratching the ground, she said, »That feels like dross. This certainly is not Paradise!«