The Hidden Treasure of Darfor
Page 51
***
An hour or so later, Saleek and Patrick were walking together along a grey metal walkway that connected two very tall buildings. However, the walkway had no visible barriers at either side and this made the human rather nervous as he peered over the edge of the pathway and looked downwards. He didn’t know exactly how high up they were from the ground but it had to be at least a couple of kilometres as he could not see the ground-level walkways and people scurrying to and fro – instead he laid his eyes on large numbers of hover taxis and the like whizzing this way and that atop a cloud of industrially generated smoke. Patrick inhaled a lungful of air and coughed – the consequence of such a busy planet full of industry, people and vehicles was poor air quality in most sectors. Saleek glanced at his companion and saw him looking over the edge.
‘Are you OK, dude?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, I’m all right,’ replied Patrick as he stopped looking downwards and continued walking along the walkway. ‘I’m just not crazy about heights, that’s all,’ he added a few seconds later.
The lyan smiled.
‘It’s totally safe – they have repulsor fields that activate whenever anyone steps over the edge. It’s impossible to fall. Don’t you have this kinda thing back on your home planet?’
Patrick chuckled and said, ‘Not exactly. We have more technology now than we could have dreamed of several centuries ago but most of it has come from mimicking alien tech. There’s still a lot that we don’t know. In fact, I think a lot of humans are still having trouble adjusting to the fact that we are not the brightest, strongest, most advanced bunch of people in the universe.’
‘Sounds kinda like my species a thousand years ago. It’s cool, you’ll all adjust – you’ve only been part of the Galactic Network for about two hundred and fifty years. You’re still growing.’
‘Yeah, I suppose you’re right,’ said Patrick as he gazed at the sunset in the distance.
The sky was darkening but there were strands of clouds decorating the vanishing sun and the result was sunbeams bouncing off the metal buildings of Nexus One, reflecting different colours as they passed through various clouds of smoke rising into the atmosphere. The sun itself was still large and powerful as it began to dip below the horizon which made the sky look like a painting of crimson, bronze and orange which was turning slowly to the black of night.
‘Beautiful sunset,’ commented the human as he stared in awe at the vista before him.
‘Yeah, it is,’ agreed Saleek.
‘So...what happens now? What do we do next?’
‘Well, remember when I said life with me would never be boring?’
‘Yeah?’
‘I wasn’t lyin’, was I?’ said the lyan with a grin.
Patrick laughed.
‘That’s true. Where are Ellu and Kracht, by the way?’
‘They’ve been contacted on the com with a job so they’re gettin’ ready to leave Nexus One and head for the Barrion system.’
‘Do you think we’ll see them again?’
‘Oh definitely. Wherever there’s trouble, Kracht is usually not far behind. Then Ellu will be there to try and keep him from gettin’ into more trouble....you get the idea.’
‘If that’s true, it sounds like we won’t be strangers to trouble ourselves.’
‘I guess you’re right. Hey, trouble is what makes life interesting!’
‘What do you think about all this stuff with Mr Vallan though?’
Saleek took a deep breath and sighed.
‘To be honest, I dunno. I’ve always been happy just doin’ my own thing and livin’ my life from day to day but I think that might be about to change.’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’ said a confused Patrick.
The lyan turned to look directly at the human as they both stopped walking and stood still on the walkway.
‘You said it yourself – there’s still a lot you don’t know. The relative stability and peace we have now has only existed in this galaxy for ‘bout three hundred years and even then, it’s touch and go at times. Before you humans arrived there were countless arguments and wars big and small. There’s a lotta beauty and resources in this galaxy and some people don’t like sharing so they wanna take it for themselves and they’re quite happy to start a war in order to get what they want.’
‘Sounds a lot like the history of my own people – they warred and argued over resources and different ideas until they had polluted and destroyed the planet so much that it could no longer support life. That’s why we had to leave and come to your galaxy,’ said Patrick.
‘Problem is: this galaxy is full of planets and people and it’s like a zillion times the size of your old planet with a hundred times the technology and destructive weapons. I have this horrible feeling that Vallan or someone like him will try and start a huge conflict again and plunge this galaxy into constant war for his own benefit. After talkin’ with Joval, I reckon it’s gonna happen soon as well...’
Patrick looked at Saleek and was surprised by the expression on his green features. The lyan seemed deadly serious in his words and his face looked forlorn. The expression looked wrong on him somehow – Patrick was not used to seeing the lyan without his trademark grin and a twinkle in his eye.
‘It might not happen,’ said the human.
‘Hm?’
‘What you just described. Perhaps someone will stop this potential conflict before it even begins. Maybe you and Joval are worrying over nothing.’
Saleek looked at Patrick and smiled.
‘Y’know what, man? You’re absolutely right. This is a worry for another day, eh? C’mon, let’s get goin’. I know I place not far from here that serves a killer sandakk! Time to see if Joval’s account chip really works!’
Patrick chuckled and with a smile on his lips he followed Saleek as the lyan bounded off down the walkway with his usual amount of enthusiasm firmly etched on his face in the shape of a huge grin.
Epilogue
Deep in the heart of super-space, an extremely large and sleek-looking ship sped onwards. Its engines generated little noise as the huge craft achieved most of its rapid velocity by hitching a ride on the ubiquitous faster-than-light waves of energy which continuously moved throughout the dimension. On the bridge of this ship, a small and yellow-skinned individual sat in silence, seemingly lost in thought.
His train of thought was interrupted by one of his ship’s crew walking up to him and saying, ‘It should be safe to re-enter normal space soon, sir.’
Mr Vallan turned slightly to his right to see who was talking before silently turning back again.
‘It’s about time. Make the necessary preparations and do it,’ he growled.
Rather than simply walk away, the crew member then boldly asked, ‘What should we do about Saleek and the Galactic Police?’
Mr Vallan was in a foul mood so his instinctive reaction to being bothered when he wanted to be left alone was to imagine how many ways he could discipline this member of his ship’s crew in a torture chamber.
However, he managed to calm himself quickly before replying, ‘I will sort out those particular annoyances later.’
‘He will not be happy that the police are now involved.’
Without turning around, Mr Vallan’s face contorted into an expression of rage.
‘Don’t you think I know that?’ he snapped angrily. ‘Still, it matters not. I already bribe many officers in the Galactic Police, having to bribe a few more to ensure their silence on this matter will make little difference. And if these investigators have the misfortune to be the honest type of police officer that cannot be bribed or coerced....’
He made a cutting motion at his throat with a bony index finger to indicate what would happen to the poor officers if they did not cooperate with his demands.
‘I see, sir. In that case I will leave you while I make the preparations to return to normal space.’
The crew member turned smartly on his heels and marched
off.
Mr Vallan turned his attention to the main screen on the bridge, which currently showed an array of charts and numbers as the large spacecraft zipped through super-space.
With an evil scowl crossing his face as he clasped his hands together, Mr Vallan stared at the main screen and said in a low voice, ‘You will pay for this disruption, Saleek. You will pay.’
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