‘But—’ James got distracted by some movement outside. ‘Look, Gulino, over there!’
Some of the exposed roots at the top of the furrow retracted into the bank.
‘There’s something familiar about them,’ James said nervously. ‘But they couldn’t be…’
He paused, just as the blue band around the room stopped flashing, and the bridge brightened.
‘That’s better,’ Kalrea said. ‘We’re still in one piece, I’m glad to report.’
‘It’s good to have you back, Kalrea,’ James said anxiously. ‘Is Londuo all right?’
‘Yes, she’s stable,’ Kalrea replied calmly. ‘James, Londuo will be safe in the seatra, I promise you; there’s no need to worry.’
‘I’m sorry, Kalrea. I just wish I could speak to her.’
‘What damage has the ship sustained?’ Gulino asked.
‘I’ve only had minimal success in checking the systems,’ James added.
‘Not good, I’m afraid. There’s severe damage to the inside of the ship, but the Plyane hull integrity has been maintained. The two remaining event horizon drives are being repaired. Long range scanners are online. Front defence system is online. Front reactor at forty-three percent. The rear laser is repairable.’
‘Time to repair drives?’ James asked.
‘It will take twenty hours to repair the two remaining drives.’
James sat down.
‘Oh well, looks like we’re stuck here for a while. Anyhow, where are we, Kalrea?’ James enquired.
‘We’ve landed on Ghuno. It’s on the edge of a system called Paskio.’
‘The Treitans destroyed Ghuno over twenty sykals ago,’ Gulino said.
He exercised his neck muscles by rotating his head.
‘From what I remember, they put up a lot of resistance.’
‘More like they invaded,’ Kalrea added.
‘Invaded?’ Gulino said and stopped his exercises. ‘What have you found out, Kalrea?’
‘It’s in the data from Dagnamk. James was right when he said these roots looked familiar.’
The monitor changed to show a picture of a Treitan.
Gulino’s mouth dropped.
‘You mean those things out there are Treitans?’
‘I was hoping, I wasn’t right,’ James said. ‘The coloration is the same as the tentacles of the Treitan I saw on the Lonori.’
He looked across at Gulino.
‘And I saw the same on Qintaino.’
Gulino gulped.
The monitor changed once more to show an infrared image of the surface of Ghuno.
‘Like Qintaino, every continent on this planet has small areas covered in a network of tentacles,’ Kalrea said.
The image tried to penetrate the surface of the planet.
‘It’s difficult to pick them up on the scanners if you don’t know what to look for. There, the Treitans call them Dem-Fi-Larvay.’
The image cleared to show the lattice of tentacles just beneath the surface. Some were moving.
‘Amazing!’ James said.
‘What’s their purpose, Kalrea?’ Gulino asked inquisitively.
The monitor highlighted an area where a number of tentacles met.
‘There are some of their young forming,’ Kalrea said.
The image moved away.
‘There must be hundreds of them,’ James remarked.
‘I would estimate approximately one thousand, three hundred in this group,’ Kalrea said.
‘How long before they... erm… before they’re born?’ James asked.
‘These are very young; they’re not even half-formed.’ Kalrea said. ‘It takes eighty-three sykals before they spawn. The mother teaches them while they form. When the time is right they’ll emerge ready to start the cycle all over again.’
‘And move on to another unsuspecting planet, I imagine.’ Gulino added.
‘Kalrea, I thought that every planet the Treitans invade is drained of water, but if they’re plants, surely the one thing they would need to feed their young is water?’ James asked.
The infrared image penetrated further underground.
‘There,’ Kalrea said. ‘Colossal underground reservoirs under each spawning site. Even on planets which naturally contain no water they can still raise their young by creating vast caverns which they fill with water.’
‘Unbelievable. So each planet is used as a breeding ground for their young?’ James said in disbelief.
‘Remember the book of Qulain. We did some terrible things in our past, to other races,’ Gulino said.
‘The only difference is that we saw the light,’ Kalrea added.
‘Yes, I know, but there must be more to this?’ James said. ‘I mean, how many planets can they possible need?’
‘You’re right, James; there is more to this than just the need to raise their young. They have the need to survive,’ Kalrea said.
‘Go on, Kalrea,’ James said.
‘It’s hard to believe, but the Treitans were once a very peaceful race. They had no need for weapons and had never been at war, but 2345.62 sykals ago their race was almost wiped out. Their homeworld was attacked by a lone ship, which released a deadly virus into their atmosphere. Only a few Treitans survived. In their words, “the black hand of Lzeop reached down from the stars and consumed our lives.” The Treitans believed it was a sign from their God, a warning that only the strongest races would survive in the universe and so they started to build weapons. They spread slowly throughout their galaxy, ensuring the survival of their race, but at the cost of extinction of all other life-forms. Then water started to become an issue, so they needed to seek out worlds in other galaxies to sustain the ever-growing population—’
James interrupted, ‘And now they’re after ours.’
‘Incredible!’ Gulino said.
‘I have the information we need to stop them. I need to inform the Telqintre.’ Kalrea said.
‘Have you tried contacting any of the other ships?’ James asked.
‘My communications systems have been severely damaged. It will take twenty-eight hours to complete repairs,’ Kalrea said.
‘Won’t the creatures out there relay our position to the Treitan fleet?’ Gulino said.
James was concerned.
‘Kalrea?’
‘Each planet inhabited by the Treitans is self-sufficient. They have no contact with the outside.’
‘Thank goodness! For a moment there I thought we were in deep trouble,’ Gulino said, looking relieved.
‘We still are,’ Kalrea said. ‘It won’t take them long to locate the debris left from that cruiser we destroyed; then all they’ll have to do to find us is follow the plasma trail we left.’
‘Damn!’ James said. ‘Will we have the drives online before they arrive?’
‘No, I believe we have twelve hours at the most,’ Kalrea said calmly. ‘You must get away from here whilst there’s still time. I’ve downloaded all the data I have on the Treitans into the remaining shuttle.’
‘But Londuo... What about Londuo? Can she be moved?’ James asked anxiously.
‘She will die if she leaves the seatra,’ Kalrea said.
James impatiently rose from his seat.
‘I won’t leave Londuo.’
‘I’ll protect her as long as I can—’ Kalrea said.
‘No, Kalrea! I’m not leaving without Londuo.’
He looked over at Gulino.
‘We would double the chance of delivering the data if we split up,’ Gulino said. ‘I’ll take the shuttle and head for the emergency rendezvous for this mission.’
‘How far is the Youkl system, Kalrea?’ James asked.
‘Eighteen light years.’
‘It’s going to take you two days to get there,’ James said. ‘By then the fleet will be gone.’
‘Yes, I know, but I have an idea where they may stumble upon me,’ Gulino said.
‘That’s if the Treitans don’t find you first,’ Kalrea
said.
‘Don’t worry, they won’t,’ Gulino replied.
‘All right, Gulino,’ James said. ‘But be careful.’
‘What are your chances here?’ Gulino asked.
‘Kalrea says the seatra is very strong. We may survive. Bring back help, Gulino.’
James took Gulino’s hand.
‘I know you can make it. The Telqintre must destroy the Treitans and free Qintaino.’
Gulino looked saddened.
‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘Say nothing. You must go now,’ James said. ‘Please take Kira with you. She’ll keep you company.’
Gulino picked up Kira from within the seatra. She hissed and then bit him on the hand.
‘Oww!’ he shouted, dropping her.
Kira ran behind the consoles.
‘I don’t think Kira wants to leave, James,’ he said, shaking his hand quickly in the air, before looking to see if she had drawn blood. ‘In fact, I know she does want to leave. That hurts.’
That seemed to break the tension. James smiled and then could not help laughing.
‘Sorry, Gulino, I honestly didn’t know she was going to do that.’
Gulino smiled back.
‘It must be my charm. I get that reaction from all the women!’
They both laughed.
‘I’d better go, James,’ Gulino said, still feeling his hand. ‘That’s going to hurt for a while.’
He entered the lift.
James refrained from saying anything that would have killed the happy moment.
‘Goodbye, Gulino,’ Kalrea said softly, before the doors closed.
James took a deep breath. He had to get back to reality.
‘Is there anything we can do to defend ourselves?’
‘The rear laser is now operational, but the targeting system is damaged. You’ll have to control it yourself if we need to use it. I’m concentrating all resources on one of the event horizon drives. If I can get it working, we may be able to manoeuvre to somewhere with more protection.’
James watched the shuttle clear the Aurora and disappear into the clouds. He sat thinking of Londuo for a while, and then wondered if they would survive until the following morning. He wanted to ask Kalrea a question which had been on his mind for some time now.
‘Kalrea, I would like to meet you,’ James asked.
‘But you have. I’m not sure I understand.’
‘I’ve only talked to you, Kalrea. You might as well be at the end of a communications console, on the other side of the galaxy. The Aurora is a ship which you can control, I understand it’s your body, but what I’m trying to say is that, I would like see the real you. You must have a brain somewhere; a processor, memory core or something, even if it’s just a panel.’
Kalrea seemed unusually nervous.
‘I do have a Xint matrix, James, but it’s nothing, really.’
‘Where is it? Is it something I can I see?’
‘Why? Why would you want to see it? You don’t need to see it.’
‘Kalrea, I think you’re embarrassed! I’m sorry, I should never have asked.’
‘James, I’ve never shown my inner-self to anyone before. To me it’s like being naked. You would see what makes me what I am. For you it would be like someone opening up your head and watching your brain as it worked.’
‘I understand. It must be a very personal thing.’
‘It is. You could say I’m a little self-conscious about this. I’ve never seen myself before, so I’m a bit worried what I might look like.’
‘It’s your choice. And don’t worry, I would never order you to do this.’
‘Thank you, James, but I want to show you. You’ll need to hold on the edge of the seatra, you’re about to experience zero gravity.’
James gripped the edge of the seatra firmly; he didn’t know what to expect.
There was a loud cracking noise directly above him, and a circular line appeared in the ceiling. James looked up. A wide section of the ceiling moved downwards before swinging away, like the entrance to a very large safe. Light streamed out from the opening.
James’ mouth opened. He gazed upwards at a kaleidoscope of coloured light shining from within a cylindrical tube, which stretched into the distance high above him. His legs lifted from the floor. He steadied himself before turning, so he could look directly into the cylindrical tube.
‘That’s beautiful, Kalrea. Is that really you?’
‘Yes, what you see is my inner-self.’
The colours changed as she spoke. They moved along the cylinder into the distance.
‘You’re unbelievable, Kalrea.’
‘Can I read your mind to have a look?’
‘You could have just done it, Kalrea.’
‘But this is different, I don’t know what I’ll look like.’
The predominant colour within the cylinder changed to purple.
‘I do believe, you’re nervous,’ James said, watching the purple tones move away into the distance. ‘In fact, I can even see you’re nervous.’
He smiled. He felt an overwhelming happiness and had forgotten the perilous situation they were currently in.
‘Go on, Kalrea. I can assure you that you’ll not be disappointed.’
Kalrea read James’ mind.
The light brightened before turning more yellow, then darker.
‘Kalrea!’ James said, sensing a change in Kalrea.
She seems to be crying.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked.
‘Yes. Yes, James. I am beautiful. I’m just feeling slightly overwhelmed by what I’m seeing.’
‘Why are there some black patches on the surface?’ James asked.
‘That’s where I’ve been damaged. Don’t worry; it’s like your brain. That small amount makes no difference to me.’
‘How did they happen?’
‘As you know, when the ship is damaged I feel pain. Unfortunately, sometimes my mind is affected.’
‘The colours - I’ve never seen anything so vivid in all my life, Kalrea. There’s no word that would describe it. You should be very proud.’
‘I am, James. And thank you.’
‘What for?’
‘For showing me. If it hadn’t been for you, I would never have seen myself.’
James smiled.
‘I wish Londuo could see this.’
‘James! I’m not getting naked for just anyone. I’m not that type of lady!’
James laughed. Kalrea seemed very pleased.
‘Is it dangerous if I was to get closer?’
‘No,’ Kalrea replied.
James was about to let go of the seatra, when Kira floated by. ‘Kira! I’d forgotten about Kira.’
‘She’ll be all right,’ Kalrea said. ‘Look, she’s enjoying it.’
He shook his head. Now I’ve seen everything. Even a floating kiol!
James pushed upwards, letting go of the seatra. He grabbed the edge of the opening. He could now see the surface of the cylinder, which had an infinite number of coloured dots on it.
A purple light appeared again.
‘James, can you touch the surface?’ Kalrea asked apprehensively.
James ran his fingers over it. Where he touched it, a white light was produced. He felt a tingling sensation in his fingers. A pink glow started to shine within the cylinder. He could see it increase in intensity. Then he stopped. The colour changed suddenly to a dark-purple. Kalrea seemed to be extremely embarrassed.
‘What’s wrong?’ James asked.
‘Nothing. No, nothing,’ Kalrea said, in a very sheepish way. ‘I’ve… I’ve never felt like that before. It was… It was a fantastic feeling.’
James suddenly realised that Kalrea liked him touching her. He felt very uneasy, and many images flashed through his mind, which he knew Kalrea would have read. There was an uneasy moment of silence, which James broke:
‘Would you like me run my hand over the surface again?’
&
nbsp; ‘James, thank you, but I think I need to concentrate on the repairs.’
‘Of course. I’d better let you get dressed,’ James said cheekily.
Chapter Twenty-Six
James felt powerless and frustrated at being unable to do anything to help Kalrea repair the ship. For him time passed very slowly, and he spent many hours sitting on the edge of the seatra, watching Londuo resting peacefully inside. He wanted so much to be able to speak to her and wondered if he would ever hear her voice again.
Kira brushed up against his legs and then sat looking up at him in expectation, which indicated she was hungry.
‘Kalrea, Kira needs feeding again, please.’
A few moments later, a micnorit construction drone exited the lift, and Kira rushed over to get her food.
‘Given we’re unsure how long we’ll be stuck on this planet, I suggest you think about having something to eat as well,’ Kalrea said.
‘What sort of food do we have onboard, Kalrea, and most important of all, where can I find it?’
‘There’s a selection of dried food in a storage box next to the consoles,’ Kalrea replied.
A section of wall moved inwards, revealing a hidden cabinet. Inside was a brightly coloured stack of food bars.
James walked over and took out a random selection of them. They looked like small bars of chocolate but of different colours and without any packaging. Attracted by a red one, he tried it.
Grimacing at its salty taste, he asked Kalrea,
‘What’s this? It’s disgusting.’
‘That’s condensed tolu. Supposedly, it’s very good for you.’
‘I’m sure it is; but I bet you haven’t tried it.’
James suddenly realised what he had just said.
‘Sorry, Kalrea. I sometime forget you don’t eat.’
‘Sounds like I’m not missing much anyway.’
‘No, you’re not.’
James picked up another bar.
‘What’s this blue one called?’
‘Yimp.’
He took a small bite. It tastes a bit like banana, he thought, pleasantly surprised, and then asked,
‘What are the ingredients?’
‘Eighty-three percent of a yimp bar is made from extract of giolp, a plant which was extensively farmed on Qintaino. It gives it the distinctive blue colour. Fifteen percent comes from polk, which is used as a preservative, then there’s some kilp, lemin and donli.’
The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1) Page 25
