by Mark Lawson
Nate listened intently, aware that what Farden was now telling him could well save his life.
At the completion of Farden’s briefing Nate’s head was spinning with all that he had just heard. To say that he was afraid would be an understatement: Nate was terrified. Nate wrestled with his fear of what he might encounter if he went on the mission that Farden had just outlined. His thinking raced wildly between fear and optimism, and all the while Nate remained very conscious of his youth and inexperience. “So what if I can catch a few lizards or score the odd goal in soccer,” he concluded. “This is much bigger than that. And what if I fail, everyone seems to be pinning there hopes on me. I might as well just give up now and go home.”
“If you fail, then you fail,” reassured Farden. “But you are the only one that has any hope of completing this mission. You must try Nathaniel Armstrong.”
Nate knew that he had to try. Farden’s reassuring words didn’t sway Nate’s thinking, but nether were they intended to do so. Both Nate and Farden knew that the small boy had realised that he simply had to try. It was up to him to protect his home planet and those of his new friends’.
The glow of determination that had begun in the pit of Nate’s stomach gave way to a flood of steely resolve. He would complete his mission regardless of the odds. Almost in an instant his fear and doubts were gone. He would do everything he could do to ensure that the Universe remained as safe as possible for its inhabitants. He might not be standing on the edge of a battle field with a cloak flowing out behind him, like the heroes in storybooks, but Nate Armstrong was, in that moment, every bit a hero.
“I have this for you,” declared Farden, as he presented Nate with a flat, metallic badge. Nate held out his hand and took it out of Farden’s hand and stared at it quizzically.
“It’s an emblem, like the one that you wear in your suits.”
“Yes,” said Farden. “If we are asking you to risk your life for the Confederation, then the very least we can do is make you a cadet. Place it on your suit.”
Nate held the object up to his left breast. His suit seemed to reach out and take it from Nate’s grasp. The suit moved the insignia into position over Nate’s left breast. The emblem, once in place, began to glow like the others that Nate had seen on the crews’ uniforms. A thin, brown border formed around the edges of the triangle that enclosed the symbols of the Confederation Security Forces.
“You’re now a cadet C.O.P.,” smiled Farden proudly.
“Thanks,” replied the new officer, looking down at his badge.
“Now we have some equipment that you may find useful on your mission.”
Nate’s eyes remained fixed on his new badge.
“Equipment,” repeated Farden a little louder.
“Sorry,” Nate aplogised, snapping out of his trance and focusing upon Farden.
“We have some equipment that you may find useful on your mission.”
Farden handed Nate a small, silver disk.
“Holograph compass,” he declared. “If you need to check your bearings, open the compass and it will project a 3-dimensional representation of your surroundings into the air in front of you. You can change the scale simply with your mind. Ask it to show a greater area and the image will show you more of your surroundings. If you are interested in looking at a smaller area, then simply ask it, and it will show you a smaller area in greater detail.”
Nate opened the disk. Instantly a 3 dimensional image of the bridge appeared in front of Nate’s eyes. He could clearly see Commander Arl, Keta, Sar and Vult at their posts near the various instrument panels and displays. He could also see Farden and himself speaking together in the corner of the room.
Nate closed the compass and turned his attention to the next item that Farden was holding up in front of him.
“This is a laser knife,” he explained. “There’s nothing it cannot cut through.”
Farden held a small cylinder before Nate’s eyes. He flicked a switch and a narrow, red light protruded about 15 centimetres from the end of the object.
“Turn it over and it will weld any two surfaces in a bond that is almost indestructible.”
The red light retracted into the device as Farden expertly flipped it over. A green light shot out from the other end of the cylinder, illuminating the bridge.
Farden switched off the device and handed it to his new cadet. Nate studied the on and off panel on the side of the cylinder and noted which end cut and which end welded.
“A watch,” continued Farden, “but not an ordinary watch. If set to detonate it becomes a Class 3 explosive device, powerful enough to destroy a small city, but not so powerful that Sultron will be obliterated. To activate the explosive simply turn the outer dial around the face until it is armed. Set the timer on the other dial and it will detonate at the time that you select. Oh, and it also tells the time, so you can check that you are making adequate progress towards the complex after you are dropped off on Sultron.” Nate took the futuristic looking watch from Farden quite gingerly. Somewhat unsure of the wisdom of wearing a Class 3 explosive device about his body, Nate strapped the watch to his wrist.
Farden had just finished his briefing when Big Sister announced, “Decreasing speed from Light Speed 5 to orbit planet Casseon.”
“Ready?” asked Farden.
“Ready,” Nate stated, not quite sure of whether he was ready or not.
Chapter 6: The Planet Casseon
Nate and Farden stepped out of the transport beam and onto the surface of Casseon. Rolling, but barren, hills stretched out to the horizon beneath a bright blue sky. Nate squinted against the brightness of the sun that hung in the middle of the sky, and looked into the hazy distance.
“Orezan! It’s a rest stop for long distance cargo vessels, and the last one this side of the Solaris trade route,” explained Farden as Nate’s eyes locked on to a large object sticking up from the surface of the planet. The object was obviously not a natural feature, although it looked to Nate like a slender tree with mushroom-like fungi growing out from the sides of its trunk. Its silver and glassy appearance bespoke design, a city of some kind on the surface of this barren world.
“Hotel rooms, restaurants and other such things,” explained Farden. “A hive of activity as you will soon see.”
“Here, put this on,” instructed Farden, as he threw a rough, brown cloak in Nate’s direction. “If we walk around dressed in Confederation uniforms we will attract too much attention. In this no one will notice us.”
Nate slipped the brown cloak over his shoulders and covered his silver suit. He tied the cloak at the front, mimicking the knot that Farden had just tied at the front of his own garment. The new companions set out on their trek towards Orezan.
After a walk of a little over an hour, Nate and Farden entered the outskirts of the city. Makeshift stalls and cafés lined the streets, crowding each other for business, as various alien itinerants shopped and jostled each other for bargains. Strange and exotic creatures sat at makeshift tables, eating, drinking and sharing tall tales of encounters with hostile aliens and impossible escapes from pirates. As Nate walked with Farden through the bustle he couldn’t help but stare at the strange assortment of beings that surrounded him. Nate jumped sideways as a smallish looking alien tumbled out of a tent and into the street. A larger, heavy set creature charged out after it and chased it through the crowds. Frightening looking beings argued over the price of a few trinkets as Nate and Farden pushed their way along the streets and back alleys.
On at least three occasions Nate accidentally bumped into strange creatures as he tried to keep pace with Farden. On each occasion the creature stopped, glared at Nate menacingly and continued on its way. Nate interpreted their glares as a warning to be more careful in future. “Perhaps I’m being a bit uncharitable,” thought Nate as he came to the gradual realisation that most of the creatures in the market place wore expressions that could easily be mistaken for a glare, even when at their most cordial.
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br /> “Dangerous place this,” confirmed Farden over his shoulder to Nate as they picked their way through stalls and past their customers. “All of the riff raff gravitate to the markets and the shady dealings that go on here. You’ll find the restaurants and hotels inside Orezan much more inviting.”
Farden led Nate out of the makeshift market, across a narrow, almost uninhabited pavement and into the foyer of the large structure that they had seen from the distance when they first set foot upon Casseon.
Farden did not allow Nate the luxury of exploring his strange surroundings. From what Nate was able to see as he rushed through the foyer after Farden, it was not lavish or luxurious. It was furnished with a minimum of chairs scattered around the large room. Several green plants and some flowers with large, menacing red and purple petals were the only objects in the foyer that softened its otherwise clean, sterile appearance. More weird and wonderful creatures sat around the room discussing matters ranging from the weather to the politics on far off worlds.
Nate felt rather out of place among this strange assortment of creatures. He distinctly felt as though he was something of an object of curiosity. He felt that the collective eyes, antennae and other sensory organs followed him as he made his way across the foyer behind Farden. “You do look a little weird,” comforted Farden. “They don’t mean any harm. They just haven’t seen an Earthling before.”
“They think I look weird?” Nate began.
Nate thought that he could not possibly look any stranger than the large, fish like creature that sat near the far wall with an upturned bottle of liquid over his head and shoulders. And what could be stranger than the small, thin being reclining near the window that looked like he wore his organs on the outside of his body?
Nate’s senses were being bombarded by the strange sights and smells that confronted him. The place was lively, the creatures were excited and the discussion roughly what one would expect in a hotel lobby in any of the big cities near Nate’s home town.
As they picked their way through the lobby small servant robots scurried about on the floor taking food and drink orders, and then racing through a set of automatic doors to collect the orders for their customers.
Farden approached a bank of elevators near the centre of the foyer. An elevator’s doors slid silently open and Farden and Nate stepped in.
“Restaurant 44,” muttered Farden, as the elevator began its ascent towards its destination.
As Farden and Nate stepped out of the elevator they found themselves in a large, glassy circular room that stretched out from the elevator shaft.
Farden strode to the far end of the room where he sat down beside a stocky alien that was reclining in its chair. Nate sat beside Farden.
“Orders,” queried a small robot after it had approached the table.
“Two specials,” Farden responded. “You’ll love this,” Farden grinned at Nate in a way that made him just a little apprehensive as to what Farden had just ordered for him.
The alien was humanoid in appearance. His face resembled that of a man, but with a greenish, stoney complexion. He (at least Nate assumed it was a he) had high cheek bones and a very protuberant forehead. He looked like someone you would not like to meet alone on a dark night.
As Nate sat staring at the tough looking alien on the other side of the table the service robot returned with their order. Nate looked at the plate that was set before him. It looked like a salad except for the fact that it was evidently growing right in the middle of his plate. Nate looked across at Farden who was already half way through his meal. He looked back at his plate, picked one of the new leaves as it appeared and lifted it towards his mouth. As Nate bit into the soft, green leaf his mouth exploded with the most amazing array of flavours that he had ever tasted. It was as though all of his favourite foods had been mixed together into a convenient, single bite, it tasted like toffee, one of his mother’s cakes and his favourite roast chicken and strawberry jam sandwiches. Nate ate hungrily as Farden introduced Nate to the transporter.
“This is Nathaniel Armstrong,” began Farden. “He will be traveling with you to Sultron.”
The stocky alien sat quietly at the table.
“I don’t mean to rush you, but we are on a rather tight schedule.” Farden said almost apologetically.
“Can’t do anything on an empty stomach,” came the gruff response as the large alien ate hungrily.
“Nathaniel, meet Captain Turg.”
“Hi.” Nate said as pleasantly as he could, holding out his hand to Turg.
“Not used to traveling with anyone,” muttered Turg, “but for the Confederation I will make an exception.”
Nate’s hand hung conspicuously in the space between himself and his new traveling companion.
“Long distance haulers always travel alone,” explained Farden. “As a result they don’t have very well developed people skills. And they don’t have much of a sense of urgency either.”
Turg ignored Farden’s last remark. “The rumour being circulated is that a lot of Lisaurians have passed through recently. Put a few of the locals in hospital after a particularly violent incident in the markets,” volunteered Turg to Farden in rather hushed tones. “They could be the ones that stole your plans. Can’t think of another reason why they would be out here.”
Farden turned to Nate with a dark expression on his face. “I never suspected that the Lisaurians were behind this. I had expected a race that was, well, a lot brighter. An Ion Ray in the hands of a clever tyrant would be bad enough, but in the hands of ignorant savages, that’s unspeakable. They are cold-blooded killing machines with razor sharp teeth and a bad attitude to match.”
Farden glanced anxiously at what Nate assumed was a high-tech watch and continued. “Listen Nathaniel Armstrong, there are some things about the Lisaurians that you might be able to use to your advantage. There are other things that you should know in order just to survive. Brutal creatures. Brutal!” Farden muttered these last words to himself, more in an effort to come to terms with the thought that the Lisaurians were behind the theft of the plans for the Ion Ray than in any attempt to impart some knowledge to Nate. “They have very limited eyesight, they can see only ten or fifteen metres in front of them. Fortunately for them, but unfortunately for those that venture too near their lair, they don’t need to rely upon their limited eyesight to locate their prey, they can sense if their victim is nearby from its body heat. Nathaniel, if the Lisaurians are behind this, you must be very careful. Their leader is a cruel warlord named Dargon. He will stop at nothing to dominate and enslave lesser species.
“If it is the Lisaurians, they possess quite advanced technologies and will certainly be monitoring the surface of Sultron and the surrounding space. But their technology is not so advanced that they can set up an energy shield over their operations. The facility will have to be shielded from the heat of the Sultronian day by a carbon shield, which they will probably retract at night. Certainly it must be possible to retract the shield enough to allow a Lisaurian ship to exit the complex after the Ionium has been mined. The shield is your way in, find the opening and you have found a way to infiltrate their facility. But watch yourself, if you make it into their lair wear your full suit at all times, it will contain your body heat and allow you to move around undetected.”
Nate sat in silence as Farden described the Lisaurians to him.
“It has to be the Lisaurians. I can’t think of a single reason why they would be so far from their home planet. This is not good news,” Farden muttered.
A silence fell upon the table. Farden fell deep into thought, concerned for Nathaniel’s welfare while Turg was simply not used to making conversation of any kind. Nate shuddered as he felt Farden’s anxieties flood into his own mind. In an attempt to break the silence Nate decided to change the subject:
“What are you transporting?” he asked of Turg, not so much out of curiosity, but in an effort to turn Farden’s thoughts away from the numerous scenarios tha
t were running through his mind, none of which ended well for Nate.
Turg hesitated for a moment and then leaned into the centre of the table between them. Nate was aware that Turg expected him to lean in too as if he was about to impart some valuable information or secret that was not intended for the ears of others.
“Water,” whispered Turg, their faces now only centimetres apart over the middle of the table.
“Water!” exclaimed Nate, clearly in a voice far too loud for Turg’s liking.
The ears of a rather ugly alien some three tables away from where Nate, Farden and Turg sat twitched as it sat up in its seat and tilted its head to the side, attempting to eavesdrop on Nate’s conversation. The alien was very short and stocky with a face that looked like a human’s, but with features that appeared to be falling from its face. The nose and mouth ran into each other to form a single blob of flesh and the eyes were wide, but uneven.
“Are you trying to get us killed?” snapped Turg.
“But it’s only water,” whispered Nate, in an attempt to placate Turg’s evident anger.
Turg was clearly unimpressed with Nate’s lack of discretion. “Yes, water,” he whispered. “Do you think it just grows on trees out here at the edge of the Universe?”
“I guess not,” Nate confessed, feeling rather awkward that he had already tarnished his relationship with his new traveling companion.
“Come on, let’s get out of here before you have every thief and miscreant in the place trying to trade my life for my cargo,” growled Turg as he left the table and hurried for the exit. Nate and Farden followed. As he was leaving, Nate observed Farden looking carefully around the room at the crowds of aliens that lounged about talking, eating and drinking.
