by R. E. Weber
About the Book
So many of us dream of another life – a life of excitement and danger.
What if, in the darkest depths of despair, you suddenly had a chance to live that life?
Would you have the courage to chase that dream, even if you had to leave your friends, family and everything you knew behind?
Would you take that chance?
Theopolis James Logan is about to get that chance.
The Universe is about to come knocking on his door.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1 – Adult Interference
Chapter 2 – A trail of Breadcrumbs
Chapter 3 – A letter of Condolence
Chapter 4 – The Pod
Chapter 5 – Polisium Prime
Chapter 6 – First Contact
Chapter 7 – An Invitation
Chapter 8 – About Christmas
Chapter 9 – The Journal of Alice Logan
Chapter 10 – Attack On Ch’Dath
Chapter 11 – Theo 2.0
Chapter 12 – Fallen Angel
Chapter 13 – Time off for bad behaviour
Chapter 14 – The Redeemer
Chapter 15 – Command Centre
Chapter 16 – The Descent
Chapter 17 – First Mentor
Chapter 18 – The Star Shield
Chapter 19 – De-briefing
Chapter 20 – New Horizons
Epilogue
THE STAR AGENCY
R.E.Weber
THE STAR AGENCY
Copyright ©: R.E.Weber
Kindle Edition 5
Published: June 2013
Publisher: Richard Weber through Amazon KDP
Cover Art by R.E.Weber
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. 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, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. You must not circulate this book in any format.
For Dad, who fought for us...
and for Mum, who held us together…
Prologue
Almost as quickly as it had started, the loud cracking noise stopped, and for a moment all Theo could hear was the sound of his own laboured breathing and thumping heart. Even through his suit, he could feel the intense cold rising up from the floor – which was already well below freezing – through every bone in his body and up to the tip of his exposed nose, which had already lost all sensation. His whole body ached and he so wanted to jump up and down and rub his hands together to keep warm, but he didn’t. However cold he felt now, he knew it was going to be nothing compared to what he was about to experience.
Then, it happened. There was a loud bang and Theo knew that the cracked observation window had finally shattered. Immediately, he took a deep breath, and as he did so a freezing cold wall of air slammed into him from behind, lifting him clean off his feet and flinging him forwards, like a helpless rag doll, through the gaping hole where the observation window had been. For a moment, he didn’t feel the intense cold outside. Then suddenly, it hit him, like thousands of tiny, freezing needles stabbing every part of his body. Instinctively, Theo curled himself into a tight ball to conserve as much heat as possible, but it didn’t seem to help. Even with the protection of his suit and with his body squeezed tightly upon itself, the cold was more intense than he had ever imagined was possible.
For long moments, nothing seemed to happen, and Theo felt like he was somehow frozen in mid-air. He knew he should have hit the ground by now – had there been any ground beneath him – but he hadn’t. Instead, he was still tumbling through the thin, freezing air, and that could only mean one thing: he had been blown clear of the cliff edge and was now tumbling into the massive canyon below.
Then a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him, and his thoughts, which moments ago had been so clear and distinct, began to swim away from him almost as if he’d been drugged. His instinct was to open his mouth and take a deep gulp of air to fill his aching lungs and bring his mind back into focus. Yet somehow, even now, a tiny part of his logical mind held on knowing that it was pointless. Instead, he continued to hold his breath, guessing that it wouldn’t be long before he lost consciousness...
Chapter 1 – Adult Interference
Any second now thought Theo as a clap of thunder rumbled in the distance. Any moment and his auntie’s shrill voice would be echoing up the stairs. Theopolis. Why did she insist on calling him that? Why, when everybody else in the entire world called him Theo because they knew that he didn’t like his full name, did his auntie still insist on using it, especially when she was angry? Of course, he knew what her argument would be. ‘It’s a noble and historic name and it also belonged to your grandfather, so why wouldn’t you like it?’ But Theo didn’t really care. To him, it was just a strange old-fashioned name that he had never really liked. Why couldn’t she just understand that?
Suddenly, he heard the back door slam. His auntie had gone outside. Relieved that she’d left him alone for a change instead of nagging him to help bring in the washing, he carefully pulled open his bedroom blinds and peered out, hoping that she wouldn’t look up and see him. But she was too busy hurriedly piling the washing into a basket to notice. For a moment, he felt a little guilty for not helping her. Then he reminded himself that it was her fault that the washing was outside in the first place, and that she could have used the spin drier in the kitchen, like any other normal person, and saved herself a lot of effort.
Tearing his gaze away from his frantic aunt, Theo stared out across the rolling fields beyond the end of the garden. It was a cold, grey November day outside. Why did the weather always seem to be so miserable on Saturdays? As he looked across to the horizon, he could see a bank of menacing grey clouds drifting slowly over the rounded green hills of the local countryside, hanging beneath which were what looked like ribbons of mist. But Theo knew all too well that even though it looked like mist, it wasn’t. It was rain: torrential rain. And as he watched, the shadows of the clouds seemed to be cascading down over the rolling hills towards him. Theo stared at the unfolding storm, sighed and then closed the blinds. How much more depressing could things get?
The isolation of Theo’s home, Number 1, Brightside Farm, seemingly from the rest of humanity, had done little to lift his already low spirits. It stood right at the end of a rough, narrow, badly pitted, tree lined road, surrounded by hills and farmland. There were several other cottages at various points up the road, yet despite its regular use it had never been widened or properly tarmaced, and was still only just about wide enough for one car to trundle slowly up or down at any one time. It was so narrow that many Lorries had gotten stuck trying to get to the cottages and had then been forced to back out, much to the annoyance of any angry motorists behind them who’d then had to reverse back to one of the passing points further down the road. The other end of the road opened out onto a wider main road, which led onto a busy dual carriageway a few hundred yards away. Theo could always hear the distant hum of the traffic on the busy dual carriageway, even at night, but he’d become so accustomed to it that he barely even noticed anymore.
Up until the 1930s, Brightside Farm had actually been a working farm. However once it had closed for good, the main house had been split into two cottages by its new owners. Theo’s great grandmother had moved into Number 1 just after the war, and after she’d died it
had been passed to his grandfather who had lived there until his death. Then it had been put into trust for Theo until he was old enough to own it himself. The adjoining cottage was owned by the Kingsleys. They had one daughter, Julie, who also happened to be Theo’s best friend.
As Theo turned away from the window, he caught sight of himself in the half-length mirror on the far wall, and, just for a moment, he stopped and stared at the bedraggled figure looking back at him. He was taller than the average thirteen-year old boy, with a narrow face, thin neck and lean athletic body. He’d always been an above average runner and had enjoyed the school athletics competitions, but few other sports held his interest. His dark brown hair—which was a little lank and greasy due to his refusal to wash it for several days in a row—was split down the middle with a rough parting and hung down loosely either side of his forehead. He was wearing an old, baggy, grey, wool jumper and loose, blue jeans, which were dirty and frayed around the bottom and the pockets. His dark brown eyes looked heavy and bloodshot through lack of sleep and too many late nights on his computer, indulging in one of his favourite pastimes: online role playing games. He knew that he’d looked better. But he didn’t really care anymore.
As Theo stared at himself in the mirror, his computer, which had been left on standby all afternoon, bleeped into life. He walked over to his computer desk and looked at the screen. A new instant message icon had appeared in the bottom right hand corner. He clicked on the icon:
Sender: [email protected]
How u doing, T? Borin aint it? Can I come round?
A little smile crept across his face. He had thought that Julie from next door, or Jules as he preferred to call her, was out with her Dad as he hadn’t heard them return. But there she was online right now, seemingly just as bored as he was. Quickly, he sat down, typed a response and hit send:
Come on over J.
A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang. He heard his auntie run through the hallway, open the door and let Jules in. They exchanged a few pleasantries before she galloped up the stairs. Moments later, there was a quiet knock on his bedroom door.
‘Come,’ said Theo sarcastically.
The heavy wooden door creaked open and there stood Jules. She was quite a tall, thin, willowy girl, with long blonde hair and a pale complexion. Although quite plain looking, she had pretty blue eyes, which was something that many people had commented on when meeting her for the first time. However whenever they’d told her that, she’d always been quick to point out that it was just as well as she didn’t have much else to offer. Theo guessed that perhaps she might grow into her looks one day. Not that he really cared. She was his best mate and that was all there was to it. He liked her just the way she was, even if she was only twelve.
‘Typical,’ said Jules, ‘just as I opened the front door, it started pouring. Look at me.’
Without a word, Theo grabbed a towel from the radiator and tossed it over to her.
‘What you been up to then?’ said Jules as she began to dry herself. ‘Saving the Empire from the Ko Dan Armada again?’
Theo turned to look at Jules. She didn’t look much better than him. Her long hair was soaked through and stuck to her forehead, and her jeans were wet and splattered with mud around the bottom. She stood by the door as she continued to towel dry her hair.
‘Ko Dan’s been defeated now, Jules,’ said Theo. ‘I’ve now joined the Dark Shadow clan. We’re searching for Stella Nova.’
‘Don’t you ever get bored with those games? They just seem to go on forever.’
Theo just looked at Jules and shrugged his shoulders.
‘Well, if you fancy going out somewhere, my dad said he would run us down the bowling alley if we liked. Fancy that?’
‘Not really, I’m happy here,’ lied Theo.
But as Jules could plainly see, he was not happy at all. Although he hadn’t been crying, his eyes looked heavy and sad and she could see that they’d lost their boyish sparkle. The death of his beloved grandfather and guardian three weeks before, was still raw in his mind, and now he was again feelingas he’d felt so many times over the past few weeks—overwhelming sadness, with a sick knotted feeling in the pit of his stomach. Since the funeral, he’d scarcely thought about anything else and had barely left his room, except for school, which he hated. His auntie, who had moved in with him immediately after his grandfather’s death, had told him repeatedly that it was unhealthy to carry on living at the cottage where his grandfather had passed away, and had often suggested that he should come back to live with her in Finchley, North London. But Theo had been adamant about staying behind because somehow he’d felt that leaving and trying to forget about his grandfather would be disrespectful. How could his aunt have possibly thought that he could put his grandfather out of his mind so easily when he’d meant so much to Theo? To him, it had been an insult, and even the slightest suggestion to the contrary had nearly always resulted in Theo storming angrily out of the room.
Of course, Theo was far from helpless and didn’t need anybody else’s help, especially his interfering auntie. For a start, he’d never really cared for her cooking. ‘Any fool can knock up a Spag Bol’ he’d often said to Jules and had gone on to prove it, becoming quite an accomplished cook. And then there was her ironing – her insistence on putting a sharp crease in all his shirts and trousers. Once she’d even ironed a crease in his jeans, which he’d then been forced to go out in, much to the amusement of some yobs passing by in a beaten up old car, who’d yelled out ‘mummies boy’ and ‘beam me up snotty’ before hurling a half empty can of beer at him, narrowly missing his head. And then there was her constant nagging and her insistence on talking about his feelings. He really could do without that. No, as far as he was concerned, he could live quite happily on his own without any adult interference.
Not only was he able to look after himself perfectly well, but he’d been more than capable of looking after his grandfather too – a job with which he’d become increasingly familiar as his grandfather had become frailer. Spending more time doing chores had of course meant spending less time with his friends, but to Theo that hadn’t really mattered. Most of his friends had drifted away when he’d changed schools, and only Jules, of whom he was dearly fond, saw him often. Theo had never admitted to Jules, even when he’d had to do practically everything for his grandfather, that he’d wanted help so he could have just a little time to himself. But with her he didn’t need to. Without even a hint from Theo, she had always just got on with whatever needed doing and had never complained once – a fact that Theo had appreciated more than she would ever know.
But for all the help that Jules had given him, there had still been a few days over the last months of his grandfather’s life when Theo had taken time off school to look after him. Of course, he would have been quite happy to skip school altogether and stay at home, but despite his failing health, his grandfather had always insisted that he shouldn’t miss out on his education. ‘You’ll be surprised at some of the useful things you can learn at school,’ he had often said, ‘even if you think they’re a waste of time.’ But despite being rather clever, especially at the sciences, Theo had always thought that school was a bit of a waste of time, and even his grandfather had never been able to convince him otherwise. The other pupils just irritated him because they were so infantile, and the teachers—they were worse. They never taught him anything he was interested in and never stretched his mind in any way as far as he was concerned. He had always believed that he could learn more at home if he put his mind to it. But the fact was he had stopped trying and given up.
As Theo looked at Jules, a single tear rolled down his left cheek. He quickly rubbed it away, mumbling something about having spent too long in front of his computer, but she knew him far too well for that and, without saying a word, just wrapped her arms around him. They were warm and comforting and he didn’t push her away.
‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered.
But Jules just
hushed him and held him tightly.
A couple of minutes later, Theo gently released himself from her arms, wiped his eyes and then turned to face her, forcing a smile.
‘That bowling alley,’ he said, ‘sounds like a really good idea right now.’
Jules smiled and leapt up. ‘I’ll go and tell my dad,’ she said excitedly.
As she opened the bedroom door ready to leave, Theo reached down behind his bed, grabbed a small umbrella and tossed it over to her.
‘Try this,’ he said, grinning. ‘I’ve heard they work quite well.’
Clumsily, she caught it, and as they looked at each other they laughed.
*
Later that evening, they arrived home, and Theo had been pleased to discover that Jules had been right. He’d really enjoyed himself and had a good laugh at the half dozen times that her bowling ball had ended up drifting into the channel at the side of their lane, or indeed the one occasion where it had somehow seemed to stick to her hands and drag her forwards, comically, to fall flat on her face, much to the amusement of some older teenagers in the lane next to them. Theo wondered really why she ever bothered with bowling because he always beat her. And with a smile on his face, he crawled into bed and closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for him to fall fast asleep.
*
Sunday had been a particularly boring day for Theo. The Kingsleys had been away visiting relatives all day, forcing him to spend the day at home with his nagging aunt. So it was almost a relief when Monday morning came along, even though he didn’t particularly enjoy school.
Theo dressed quickly and headed downstairs to the breakfast table. The toast rack had already been filled and a bowl of cornflakes was waiting for him. His aunt walked in with a glass of orange juice and, without saying a word, plonked it down in front of him. Then she sat in her chair opposite. Theo grabbed a slice of toast from the rack, spread on some butter and marmalade, and then began munching noisily away. But instead of eating, his aunt just glared across at him.
