The Celestials

by Richard Wood

  The following morning, as the sky glowed with pinks and purples, Breen awoke with a start. Something was nagging him, try as he might he could not remember the dream. Quietly, he slipped out of the charpoy, taking his clothes, he donned his pantaloons and boots with a backward glance at his beloved Glaina, as he crept from the room.

  After washing, he finished dressing took a banana and silently left the bungalow. Eating the banana, he strolled out of the village to the landing site. Where he greeted the guards, then, stood looking at the twelve Lander legs supporting nothing. That is the trouble with invisibility, he mused, you cannot see it. Like a bolt from the blue, it clicked what had been bothering him. Invisibility! Now we are in trouble, how can you work on fitting something requiring accuracy, to something invisible?

  He stood pondering the problem, and then his mind shot off on another angle. If I cannot see the Landers now, what will happen when we are in the air, and the landing legs are retracted? Well, that is easy. We will be invisible. If we are invisible, how do we avoid a collision? Oh dear, oh dear, if we are airborne and invisible, how do we locate the positions of the other Landers? For ship-to-ship, silent laser communication, we need to point the laser at the other Lander. Oh dear, this will not do. I think we have to discuss this problem of invisibility. It seems to have created more problems than it has solved.

  He turned and walked back to the bungalow, wrestling with the problem of invisibility. All the crew was still asleep at the bungalow, apart from the cook and a few servants, drinking chai in the courtyard. Asking for chai, he entered the bungalow and sat in the lounge, still deep in thought. A young serving girl brought him the tea he had ordered, bowing with a smile, she said, “Namaste burra sahib,” placing a steaming bowl of amber tea before him, she withdrew, again bowing. As he blew on it, then sipped the steamy brew, he mind wrestled the problem of invisibility. He could see no solution. The only sensible course of action was to remove the paint.

  Ancore and Rogan came out of their bedroom, “Hi Breen. You're up early,” before he could reply they were gone, jogging off around the park. He sat sipping his tea, idly looking around the room. He noticed Adeeone and Adeetoo, stood against a wall connected to each other by the one thousand and twenty four pin cable. I wonder what they are up to, he thought lazily, as his mind returned to the invisibility problem.

  Then Glaina came out of the bedroom. “Hi my love, you’re up early,” she called as she disappeared into the bathing area. Then Nassel and Fantee burst out of their bedroom, giggling and pinching each other. “Hi Breen you’re up early, anyone else up?” Nassel called, as they vanished into the bathing room, leaving a bubbling burst of giggles behind them startling him. Breen sat trying to recall if he was the last to rise in the morning since they had landed on the planet.

  Glaina gently rapped her knuckles on his head “hello Breen, is there anyone in there!”

  “Oh, hello my love, tell me, have I been the last one to rise in the mornings, since we landed on this planet.”

  Glaina replied, “What made you ask?”

  “I couldn’t sleep this morning and went for a walk to the Landers and back, when I returned everyone else getting up kept saying, hello Breen you’re up early.” Glaina began to chuckle, “I never thought I’d see you, being so sensitive about a little thing like that.”

  “Like what?” he asked.

  “Like you’re always the last one up, my love,” she said laughing outright at him.

  “Well, a growing lad needs his sleep,” he grumbled, “apart from my sleeping habits. We have a big problem with invisibility,” he added.

  “What, about invisibility,” she asked.

  “You can’t see it,” he replied.

  “If you could see it, then it wouldn’t be invisible,” she retorted.

  “Ho ho. I mean, if the Landers are invisible, how do I fit the rail guns on them. If the Landers are invisible, how are we going to stop them colliding when airborne, if we can’t see each other?”

  “We track one another on radar scanners, of course,” she replied.

  “I thought the idea of invisibility was so that the ZEDDS couldn’t find us, if we use the radar scanners it would be the same as using the radio. They could pinpoint us in a flash,” he said.

  “Oh, I see now, why you are so concerned about invisibility. You're so oblique, it’s a wonder you can walk upright,” she replied sarcastically.

  Ignoring her jibe, he continued, “Now you see why we need a full meeting of the crew. I’ve wracked my brains, but the only way out of this mess I can come up with, is to remove the invisible paint.”

  Fantee and Nassel arrived and ordered chai, “Are you having tea this morning Glaina,” asked Fantee?

  “Yes, please make that three chai,” requested Glaina, then said to the company, “Breen is very worried about the Landers being invisible, and crashing into each other when airborne.” Fantee replied, “We have radar. Oh! I see what you mean, radio and radar silence, oh yes, we hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Have either of you any ideas on how we could track one another in the Landers, without alerting the Zedds,” asked Breen. They all remained silent thinking hard.

  The serving girl arrived with their chai, after serving them, she bowed and left. They sat around blowing on their chai and sipping, deep in thought. They heard Ancore and Rogan arrive, giving orders for chai to be brought them in the lounge. They entered smiling and talking animatedly, until they saw the crew sitting glum faced staring at them. “What’s going on,” queried Ancore.

  The crew looked askance at one another, then Glaina spoke, “Breen has discovered a major problem with the Landers being invisible, it’s twofold.

  One. He cannot see the Landers to accurately fit the rail guns on them.

  Two, when the Landers are airborne as we can’t use radio or radar scanning, how do we avoid mid-air collisions.”

  “Oh, I see what you mean,” she said, as she and Rogan slumped into vacant chairs. “Now we know why you’re all looking so glum.”

  Breen spoke up, “the only solution as I see it is to remove the invisibility paint, that leaves us with the original problem of hiding the Landers from prying eyes, when they are on the ground.” They sat quietly sipping chai mulling the problem over. After tossing ideas back and forth and bringing Adeeone and Adeetoo over to join them, they finally decided to paint over the invisible paint with a patchwork of different colours that would break up the outlines. This would save them stripping off the invisible paint, allow them to fit the rail guns to two of the Landers. Enable them to see each other in flight, and point the communication lasers in the right directions.

  With all the main problems resolved. They then considered what gift they could give the village in payment for their hospitality. It was decided to show them how to build the wheel and axle, so that large heavy loads could be transported, reasonably easily. ”Breen would you find Zakir and explain wheels and axles to him, and what it could mean for the prosperity of the village, Adeeone, would you accompany Breen please to help him,” Ancore requested. Breen gave an affirmative nod, and then left with Adeeone in tow to find the village headman.

  Ancore continued, “I think the rest of us should set about repainting the Landers, and then Breen can fit the rail guns when it’s dry.”

  Breen and Adeeone walked down the dusty main street of the village, to the centre where Zakir had his office, near the sacred Banyan tree that grew protected behind a low, sun baked mud brick wall.

  There they were informed that Zakir was outside the east gate, where a large caravan was due to arrive at the caravanserai in several hours’ time. The pair of them wandered slowly along to the east gate and out of the village to the caravanserai, on the edge of a very large field. It had corrals built off to one side of the large wooden building that would accommodate the merchants, the caravan leader and his men, the drovers and the Kshatriya or hired warriors along
with their marmaluks or warrior slaves. They guarded the caravan from the ravages of bandits and thugs, who inhabited jungli and forest areas along the caravan routes.

  They found Zakir around the back of the building, supervising the storage of fodder bales for the animals.

  “I bow to you great sirs,” he greeted them in the traditional manner, what he actually said was, Namaste burra sahibs. Breen returned the greeting then asked, “Have you time to discuss a very important matter Zakir.”

  “Oh yes sahib, I am just telling these fellows where to stack the fodder for the caravan due in today. Let us go inside out of the sun and have chai.”

  Inside was a very long open room, with charpoys down each side; above the charpoys along each wall ran a wide shelf. In the centre aisle were tables and wicker chairs, Zakir gestured for them to be seated, and ordered three, lemon chai from a servant who had suddenly appeared.

  He sat down with them at the table and politely asked, “How can I help your highnesses.”

  Breen explained, “We wish to give you and the whole village a gift, in return for your generous hospitality towards us.”

  “I know my duties my lords, to administer the village, and tax passing caravans and travellers. You are the first flying travellers my lords. I am not knowing what tax is decreed by the Emperor for a flying traveller.”

  Breen looked slightly perplexed, “I am not speaking of tax Zakir. I am speaking of giving to you and this village the gift of great knowledge, and it will make you and the village wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.”

  “Oh, yes my lord we thank you, the village and I am very grateful for great knowledge. I sent a soldier on horseback the day you touched the ground to Emperor Bharata, requesting how much tax I should charge for flying travellers. He should return in two months my lords, then I can charge the correct tax you see sahib.”

  Breen looked astounded, “Zakir, are you telling me that we have to pay tax.”

  “Oh yes my lord every traveller has to pay tax. It is the edict of the Emperor all travellers pay tax.” The servant arrived with the chai and set it before them, bowed and left.

  “How much tax does a caravan pay,” asked Breen out of curiosity.

  “That is easy my lord, one-twentieth of all trade goods.”

  “That seems an awfully big tax Zakir.”

  “Oh no my lord that is the correct tax. The Emperor has much expense on keeping the road open; then there are soldiers to guard the road. Then there is the entire caravanserai in each village to maintain, all the servants, the village administrators, and the fodder for the animals. Then come all the wells and lakes, the princes, the kings, and the Emperor himself. Oh yes, my lords the expenses are very great.”

  “We don’t have any trade goods,” protested Breen.

  “My lords, you have three flying birds filled with goods,” said Zakir earnestly.

  “But they are not trade goods. They are things to help us survive on this planet,” complained Breen.

  “Is it not said my lord, one man’s things to help him survive, are another man’s trade goods.”

  “What if we didn’t pay our taxes and just flew away,” Breen asked.

  “Oh, very bad my lord, you would lose your honour. Your misdeed would be proclaimed throughout the land. People would say there go those flying people who stole from the Emperor his due tax. After you had been tried by the Emperor’s judges and found guilty, you would most likely be sentenced to impalement. Because I let you go without getting the tax, my family and I would be impaled, and the whole village punished. Oh no my lord, you are honourable flying people. You would pay the tax my lord.”

  “What if we took you to the Emperor, you could ask him how much tax we should pay in person. It will only take one day,” offered Breen.

  “Oh no my lord, I cannot leave. I have a village to run and taxes to collect, oh no lord. I must do my duty here lord.”

  Breen decided he was not advancing his case, if they did not want the wheel, well we can always tell someone else about wheel making. Thanking Zakir for the chai, he left with Adeeone in tow and returned to the bungalow and found it empty, a servant told them, the highnesses had gone to the flying birds, so they headed for the west gate, meeting the rest of the crew, returning to the bungalow for a meal and chai.

  “That was quick, building a wheel and explaining it all, very astute fellows these Taxillians,” called Ancore in greeting.

  “We need another crew meeting,” said Breen glumly.

  When they were seated, Breen was too mind weary to go all through it again, so he asked Adeeone to tell the crew word for word what had happened. After listening to Adeeone, the crew was at a loss what to say, it was just the very last thing they expected.

  Finally, Ancore spoke, “you can see Zakir’s predicament. He has been ordered to collect tax from travellers. We are travellers. Therefore, we must pay tax. However, we are flying travellers, and he has no instructions about taxing flying travellers because there, never has been flying travellers before, now he’s in a quandary, if he over or under taxes us and the Emperor hears, he could lose his life, and his families lives. If he does not tax us, it could end in the same result.”

  Nassel spoke. “We could leave this place nobody would ever catch us. I do not suppose this Emperor rules more than a very small portion of this planet. They have probably never heard of him a few thousand kilometres away.”

  “That’s not the point, as Zakir correctly says, it is our honour at stake we are the first flying travellers, not only our honour but the honour of all future flying people who land in this area,” replied Ancore.

  “How can we extricate ourselves from this predicament, in such a way that Zakir and his masters are happy, and we also are happy with the settlement,” asked Rogan.

  Glaina chipped in, “I think we should find out what the most valuable things are in this land, and give Zakir enough of whatever it is so that we are free to go. Because whatever the fee is, he would be holding enough to pay it.”

  “I agree, all in favour raise your hands,” requested Ancore. Seven hands were raised. “Carried,” she said.

  Breen then told them about the large caravan expected that day, “we could watch to see what goods are the most valuable,” he added. After a meal, they went back and finished painting the Landers, they were now earthy blobby coloured Landers, with an occasional pale blue patch here and there.

  That evening they all strolled to the east gate to see the caravan. The whole village had turned out. The place was heaving with braying donkeys, camels, and even an elephant. The unloading of the animals was progressing, and they were being fed and watered for the night. The caravan they were told had come through one of the passes through the Himalayas from Chini, bringing fans, umbrellas, silks, and wonderfully decorated, fragile pottery, destined for the Emperors palace, spices, medicines, intricately carved jade and ivory and a small herd of fine horses.

  They were introduced to the leader of the caravan one Taskinti, who cut a fine figure in his horse hide coat, three cornered green fur hat, wide belt and leather pants and boots, very stocky build and with the most infectious grin. When asked what the most valuable things that were transported might be, he answered emphatically, “Elephants and horses, closely pursued by rubies, and emerald.”

  Ancore got into deep conversation with Taskinti about knowledge from the stars that would make him wealthy, able to purchase many wives and horses, and retire early with a guaranteed steady income.

  “What will I have to do to earn all this knowledge,” he asked.

  “You need to supply Zakir with horses enough to pay the tax on three flying birds, whatever the Emperor decides the tax should be. In exchange, we will give you a secret, and show you how to use this secret. Your caravans will be the safest, and crossing the great desert will hold no terrors for you,” she replied.

  “That might require more horses than I have, how will I know if
this secret is worth many horses,” Taskinti asked.

  “What are you doing at dawn tomorrow, can you meet me at the flying birds, outside the West gate, and I will show you what the secret is, you can then judge its worth for yourself,” she told him.

  “I will meet you at dawn,” he replied, “now I must leave, to negotiate with Zakir how much tax flying birds might have to pay,” he announced rising, and bowing before he left.

  Ancore wandered off around the field taking in all the sights. Village children were running everywhere, dodging in and out of piles of goods and animals playing bandits and caravans, villagers selling cooked food in wrapped leaves, and small groups all over the field engaged in barter. Eventually meeting up with the rest of the crew, she explained what had happened between Taskinti and herself, and the meeting at dawn, as they slowly made their way back through the village to the bungalow, for supper and bed.

  The following morning, found the crew assembled at the Lander field, as the sky turned from purple to pink then to golden orange and finally, the blood red orb of the sun, peeped over the far horizon.

  Taskinti arrived and was shown to Lander Three. It took a bit of persuading to get him on board as he said, “If men were meant to fly, they would have wings,” as he baulked at the entrance hatch. Ancore eventually persuaded him aboard and Rogan joined them, closing the hatch in preparation for lift-off. They strapped in and Ancore explained what would happen next. “We will fly up into the air very high; from there you will be able to see everything from coast to coast in detail. We will capture, that detail and let you take it with you on your journeys; you will always be able to see the country in your hand as if you were flying in this bird today.”

  She lifted the Lander and slowly rose higher and higher, pointing out features as they rose higher still, Taskinti gripped the arms of his chair with white knuckles, his teeth clenched in a death like grimace, eyes staring fixedly ahead not seeing anything properly.

  Rogan reached across and patted him gently on the arm. “There is no need to worry Taskinti no harm will befall you here. We shall rise much higher yet, if you look at the view screen you will be able to see what we will give you, that can be carried in your hand, but will look just like the screen in front of you.”

  Eventually, they were high enough to see the shape of the country below them from the seas on each side, plus all the mountains to the north and northeast and the passes and plateau. They resized the display and added a North pointer then printed out the map in Tri-Dee relief on plasticised metal foil, about one Metre Square.

  They placed it in Taskinti’s hands, for him to compare it with the view screen. His face was a picture. He just could not believe what he saw in his hands, “This is great magic, you must be gods,” he pronounced.

  “Not god’s just travellers from the stars,” corrected Rogan, who proceeded to show Taskinti the finer points of the map and how the arrow on the map pointed north. “When we land, I will give you a device that always points to the North.

  All you have to do is turn the arrow on the map in the same direction, and you will instantly know where you are and what lies ahead of you, whatever direction you choose to travel in.”

  “This is most wondrous; I think we can do business. When my feet again touch ground, I will intercede with Zakir and guarantee the tax for the flying birds, we are haggling around six of my finest horses.”

  Ancore asked, “where have you come from Taskinti, where is your home?”

  “I live many months travel to the East near the border with Chini peoples,” he replied.

  “Show us, the way and we will fly you home to see your family for the day,” she told him. Banking the Lander, losing altitude and turning toward the mountains, she increased speed; with Taskinti pointing the way through the mountain passes, they streaked toward his home.

  Within two hours, they arrived at his farm on a remote hillside, corrals, and a barn stood at one side of the low wooden dwelling raised on stone blocks, horses roamed fenced pastures. They landed silently behind the barn, and disembarked, with Taskinti leading the way around the barn to the house, suddenly he was ambushed, by two young boys leaping at him from behind the corner of the barn, shouting father, father.

  He lovingly clasped them to him, as they wriggled to free themselves from his embrace, so they could see the strange people with their father.

  “How old are they,” asked Ancore.

  “My eldest boy Taleen is four his brother, Ashok is three, and this is my wife, Mylin, with my youngest son Hamar,” gesturing to a young woman who had appeared from the house carrying a baby on her hip.

  “Tasee, Tasee, why are you back so soon?” she called to her husband.

  “I bring star people to meet you,” he cried holding out his arms, as she rushed into them. “This is her highness Ancore, and her mate lord Rogan. They come from a star far, far away in the heavens. We are conducting business, bring us food and drink, while we finish our business together,” he ordered his wife, as he slapped her on the bottom when she turned to do his bidding.

  They sat on a stone bench outside the front door, as they took in the fine pastures and magnificent horses grazing on a lower meadow near a clear brook, in a short time, Mylin appeared to serve them unleavened bread and cheese and beakers of hot chai.

  Rogan gave Taskinti a compass and explained how to use it with the map. He also explained how iron deposits in the earth might give a false reading of north. How it was rare but possible, and how to fix several distant objects and find them on the map and rotate it to line up the objects then the arrow on the map would always point north, and if the compass was in doubt it could be checked against it. They let Taskinti practice picking out features he knew and then finding them on the map, he didn’t take long to pick up the principle, and by the time they were ready to leave, he was using the map and compass like old friends.

  They bade good-bye to Mylin and the children, and boarded the Lander, leaving Taskinti and Mylin a few moments of privacy before he entered the Lander. Rogan closed the hatch, and they strapped in and slowly lifted off circling the homestead before setting course for the pass through the mountains. BLAH, BLEEE, BLAH, BLEEE, Rogan turned down the missile alarm, as Ancore threw the Lander into a series of wild gyrations trying to lose the missile rapidly gaining on them. She suddenly turned and headed at high speed toward a sheer rock face, at the last second pulling up so suddenly they nearly blacked out as the Lander rocketed straight up. The missile slammed into the rock face in a massive explosion that threw the Lander end over end before Ancore could regain control and pull it back into a dive for the valley floor as another missile locked on.

  “ROGAN WHERE ARE THEY!” screamed Ancore trying every trick she knew to break the missile lock on the Lander.

  Rogan was scanning and eventually located them in the sun. “They’re in the sun, he called to Ancore twelve kilometres behind us.”

  “Right,” she replied throwing the Lander into another series of violent manoeuvres, “they’ve picked the wrong race to mess with. Man the cutting laser and when we get close enough in, let them have it.”

  She pushed the Lander to its limits as they hung on the edge of blacking out in a screaming turn. Then went vertically up like a rocket straight at the Zedd ship above them. It suddenly realised the Lander was heading straight for it, closely followed by its own missile its pilot chickened out desperately climbing to get away from the Lander, now rapidly closing on it, but not quickly enough.

  The Zedds aborted the missile before impact letting it explode harmlessly. Rogan fired the cutting laser as the Lander shot passed the Zedd ship the beam lashed out catching the rim of the Zedd vessel. It suddenly tumbled out of the sky whirling erratically until its pilot regained control and sent it diving for the ground closely followed by the Lander as Ancore tried to get within range. It shot along a canyon, and disappeared around a bend as the Lander rounded the bend they realised, they had
been suckered. BLAH, BLEEE, another missile locked on them. Ancore didn’t have time to think her training automatically took over, as she somehow evaded it and dodged behind a rock spur, growing from the canyon floor, the missile lost lock and went screaming off up the canyon, to explode harmlessly into a wall of rock, a kilometre away.

  “I’m getting us out of this, look for a hiding place we’re no match for them,” Ancore spat at them both as she wrestled the Lander back out the canyon and screamed off in the opposite direction.

  Taskinti suddenly pointed to a fork through the mountains, “There, there,” he cried, “left yes, up here, there is a large cave system around the corner of this blind canyon.”

  Ancore eased the Lander around the corner almost one hundred and sixty degrees into the entrance of a large cave. They gingerly edged further into the back of the cave, Ancore landed when they were completely hidden, and shut everything down while they remained in hiding.

  “Where did they come from,” asked Ancore.

  “I don’t know the answer to that,” replied Rogan.

  “Are these other star people?” asked Taskinti.

  “Yes one of their flying birds killed one of our flying birds far away across the heavens. They have no mercy. We are now at war with them. We only know what they look like, not where they come from, or why they try to kill us,” answered Ancore.

  “Enemies you cannot negotiate with must be killed swiftly, a man cannot live looking over his shoulder all his life,” pronounced Taskinti.

  “We agree reluctantly, but we do not know where these murderous fiends live, if we did we could attack them, explained Rogan.

  They waited in the cave for an hour, finally Taskinti and Rogan, left the cave on foot climbing the canyon wall, they surveyed the area but could see no sign of Zedds. Suddenly, Taskinti clutched Rogan’s arm, with a terrible look of fear on his face. He pointed to the far distance. Rogan could just make out a thin plume of smoke.

  “My family, my farm,” he cried anguish cracking his voice.

  Rogan pulled him by the arm, “come on let’s get back to the Lander,” he cried.

  They scrambled back down the canyon wall, into the cave and boarded the Lander. Rogan quickly told Ancore what they had seen, as she swiftly took off, easing the Lander out of the cave, and heading for Taskinti’s farm. When they arrived, the house and barn were almost burnt out. What at first sight they took to be a pile of clothing, turned out to be bodies.

  Ancore landed quickly as Taskinti rushed from the Lander, towards the bodies, they saw him stop, his shoulders slumped, and then his knees gave way, as he fell to a kneeling position next to his wife and children.

  Just as Ancore and Rogan reached him, and knelt beside him, he cried in anguish, “who would murder a defenceless woman and her children.”

  Nevertheless, he knew whom now, Zedds. He raised his arms to the heavens and swore a terrible oath. “I shall not rest unto the last breath of my body; Zedds are my sworn enemies from this day forth. I will kill them without mercy wherever I find them, this, I swear on the bodies of my dead wife and children.”

  At that moment, Taskinti’s neighbour rode up with his son, to see if the family needed help, and looked on in horror as they realised what had happened. Taskinti thanked them for riding all this way to help, and arranged for the neighbour to look after the animals, while he was away with the caravan. They set about building a funeral pyre because Taskinti believed the smoke would take the bodies to live with his gods. When all was ready, he sacrificed one of his beloved stallions, to carry his wife and children in comfort in the afterlife, and then lit the pyre. They all stood with tears streaming down their faces. It was a terrible sight, to see the little bodies burning.

  They left in the late afternoon, grim faced heading for Taxila. Ancore tried to apologise to Taskinti saying that if they had not taken him home, this might never have happened, but he stopped her.

  “You could not know what would happen, you did not murder my family, Zedds did. I have sworn a terrible oath against them; you my friends are also at war with them, which make you doubly my friends”

  “Thank you for those words Taskinti, we are so happy you consider us your friends,” said Ancore.

  When they landed at Taxila, they took Taskinti with them to the bungalow and over a meal, they explained to the rest of the crew what had happened, Glaina and Fantee were in tears, Breen and Nassel were grim faced.

  “We are up against fiends who have no honour, and show no mercy,” ranted Nassel.

  Breen spoke up, “this just shows how badly we need the rail guns fitted and tested, the sooner the better. I’m going to work through tonight fitting them, with the help of Adeeone and Adeetoo.”

  “I’ll give you a hand Breen,” volunteered Nassel.

  Taskinti took his leave of them all, “I will stand surety for your tax, with Zakir. I must bid farewell my friends, as the caravan must depart in the morning. If ever you have need of me send word, and I will come,” with that, he shook the men’s hands, and kissed the hands of the girls, before vanishing into the night.

  Breen, Nassel and the androids left to fit the rail guns Ancore suggested the rest get a good night sleep in preparation for calibrating the rail guns in the morning. Breen, Nassel and the androids had not only fitted the rail guns. They had also set up the communication lasers, programming them for speech transmission. By the time, the rest of the crew arrived and took over Breen and Nassel were ready for breakfast and bed.

  Ancore and Rogan took Adeeone in Lander One. Glaina and Fantee, with Adeetoo took Lander Two. Three hundred metres, above the village they turned south, and accelerated toward the sea, far over the horizon.

  In four hours, they were out over the ocean and had found a tiny uninhabited atoll with white sandy beach where they landed and had lunch before getting down to the serious matter of calibrating the rail guns for direction, range, trajectory, and windage. They were fully integrated into the main viewer system, and could be radar computer controlled. Finally, they were ready and set up several targets at each end of the atoll, then taking off they attacked the atoll from various altitudes, directions and speeds. Eventually leaving the area when the atoll was obliterated satisfied that the rail guns were sighted in, and working faultlessly.

  “I didn’t like having to annihilate that pretty little atoll,” Ancore signalled Lander Two.

  “No we didn’t like it either, but the rail guns had to be aligned for our future protection,” called back Glaina.

  They were passing over a very large island east of its large mountain, when Glaina signalled Lander One.

  “I saw a Zedd ship parked down there, near those buildings we just passed over.”

  Ancore replied, “Let’s circle back and attack, what do you think?”

  Glaina and Fantee signalled back, “Yes blow them off the face of the planet, while we have the chance to catch the murderers unawares on the ground. They armed the rail guns and swung around to attack, but they had been observed, someone quick thinking had taken the ship off very rapidly, and it was accelerating towards the mountain in the middle of the island.

  BLAH, BLEEE, the Zedd had locked on and fired two missiles at them. They both fired the rail guns simultaneously and took out both missiles.

  Ancore called Lander Two, “Concentrate on taking out any missiles they fire at us, while I attack the ship.”

  “Understood,” replied Glaina reducing the alarm volume.

  Ancore fired at the ship, at the last moment it side slipped and the disc missed, BLAH, BLEEE. More missiles came smoking towards them both. Glaina took the first one out, but the second was getting too close for comfort when it was finally blasted from the sky. Ancore fired a second time at the Zedd, this time hitting it on the outer rim as it swung to avoid the disc. There was an almighty blast, and the vessel staggered, before wobbling slightly as it dived for the ground, trailing a plume of smoke.

  BLAH, BLE
EE, it was not finished yet still firing missiles at them. Glaina again managed to knock them both out.

  The Zedd was still transmitting what they took to be a message for help, which meant more than one Zedd ship, thought Ancore, as she again fired this time hitting the ship centrally on its upper works. A gigantic blast blew both Landers end over end before the pilots managed to regain control. All that was left of the Zedd ship was thousands of plumes of smoking debris splashing into the ocean far below.

  Suddenly, they were receiving a Zedd transmission without being told they both peeled off in opposite directions at high speed, trying to get a fix on the radio signal. After trying twice and not getting a reply, the radio went dead.

  Ancore signalled Glaina and Fantee, “well done let’s get down to sea level and head for home.”

  Glaina replied, “Great shooting that is one less, we have to worry about.

  The rest of the flight back to Taxila was routine, as they stayed very low to avoid being scanned by the other, Zedd ship that they had worked out was somewhere over towards the western seaboard.

  When they landed at Taxila, it was late afternoon, they piled out of the Landers whooping, and hugging one another, as they danced about in joy.

  When they had calmed down a bit and locked up the Landers, they strolled back to the bungalow ready for the evening meal, as they were suddenly ravenously hungry.

  Breen and Nassel were up when they entered the bungalow and recounted their adventures, over the evening meal.

  “Wonderful news,” Breen enthused. Nassel was more cautious, “this is going to make the other Zedd ship, or ships crews, redouble their efforts to find us before we find them.”

  Fantee added, “If I were a Zedd I don’t think I’d hang about long around that island, after I had ascertained what had happened.”

  The rest of the crew agreed it would be stupid of the Zedds to hang around where they had been found once, unless they were very well hidden. Breen sounded a note of caution, “I think we should split up the Landers, if we are discovered; three Landers together make a very tempting target. If we lost them we would be very vulnerable, not being able to move very far.” After more discussion, they decided to fly west to visit the Emperor in the morning, and in future not to park all three Landers in the same place.

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  Chapter Six