“Why?” Vargev probed.
“You’ll found out very soon.”
The shuttle cut through the cloud cover, and the surface was at last revealed to them, far off in the distance mountain peaks could be seen; flocks of birds flew far below them. It looked like someone had thrown a smattering of large rubies on the surface of the planet, with one particularly large group; they glittered as the light reflected off of them.
“Are they communities?” Michael asked peering through the shuttle windows.
“Yes, the largest one is Solaria city.”
“What are those buildings made of?” Michael whispered aloud.
“I’ve no idea,” Vargev replied, equally fascinated.
Gradually the shuttle slowed as it began its approach to the small speck that was the Allathas spaceport; its gravitic engines began to whine as they continued to slow the shuttles descent. Gradually the spaceport grew larger as they neared it, individual landing pads could begin to be seen, and some were already occupied by other ships.
Kerulithar pressed a control on the panel above the front window, and the landing legs on the shuttle slowly lowered. The whining of the gravitic engines increased as they killed the last of the shuttles forward momentum, and then stopped as the shuttle rested gently on its landing legs.
Kerulithar pressed another button and the hatch slowly opened.
All three of them disembarked from the shuttle and stepped out onto the landing pad. There was a gentle warm breeze, and clear skies.
Vargev almost immediately stopped in his tracks awestruck, “Mother Russia, have you seen this place!”
Michael stopped and looked at Vargev, “what are you talking about?”
“Look!”
Michael looked around and immediately understood what Vargev was trying to tell him.
“My god!” Michael gasped aloud absolutely amazed.
And there they were, stood on the landing pad gazing out at the magnificent beauty of Solaria city. As far as the eye could see there were crystalline structures, all of which were polished to an almost mirror like finish, large birds flew to and fro high above, and perched on the apexes of the crystals, some of which were hundreds of feet high. Strips of chrome were added to the structures here and there; giving an indication of floors.
The entire city glittered like a collection of bright rubies as the light from the Solaris sun reflected off the sides of the buildings, each of these ‘buildings’ if you could call them that, were connected to one another via massive archways of the grandest baroque design, the occasional Shuttle flew high above the city.
“This cannot be; do my eyes deceive me,” Vargev exclaimed.
“No, they do not deceive you. It’s the reason why I couldn’t tell you on the shuttle, you had to see for yourself,” Kerulithar replied with a smile. “This is Solaria city, the capital of the entire Solarian confederacy, and one of our greatest achievements.”
“An entire city, built from crystal,” Michael said shaking his head almost in disbelief.
“The crystal was already here, as a people we crafted it into this.”
“People on Earth would pay a million credits to see a sight like this; I wish I had a camera,” Michael said.
“How did the crystal get here?” Vargev asked.
“Millions of years ago Solaria had two moons, Kyo and Ora’is, Ora’is exploded however. This caused huge tectonic upheavals on Solaria itself; earthquakes and volcanoes threw tonnes of ash and molten rock into the atmosphere; coming within a whisker of making all life extinct.” Kerulithar bowed his head low.
“With the ash clouding the atmosphere Solaria cooled as did the Volcanoes and the Lava flows. The bubbling chemicals on the surface went through a crystallization process, and produced the crystal structures you see today, crystal structures like these can be seen all over the planet; however this is the most dense cluster.”
“What is the chrome used for?” Michael asked.
“That’s the other great resource this planet has blessed us with; the core of Solaria is 60% nickel and 40% chromium, molten chromium was thrown up during the upheavals. It’s primarily used to strengthen the crystal, as well as aesthetic reasons.”
Kerulithar turned and made for the exit from the landing pad; Michael and Vargev followed him. The space port was full of hundreds of different types of aliens and other Solarians, talking, conducting business, and stopping by to have a drink in one of the many restaurants and bars that adorn the complex.
Soon the three of them exited the spaceport, and carried on their journey down one of the many arched walkways of the city. Resembling a wide roadway, anti gravity vehicles buzzed along the bustling street.
Along the paved sides of the archway thousands of Solarians and other races walked. To the right of them across the road, there was a massive structure almost a thousand meters high; it dominated the skyline in this part of Solaria city.
“What building is that?” Michael asked as he looked at it.
“That’s the Solarian central commerce building,” Kerulithar replied. “Most of the trade on Solaria is done there, in one form or another.”
They carried on past several other archways, some went under the one they were on, some loomed above casting great shadows, others connected directly to it.
At last after they had seemed to have walked for over an hour they came to a particularly wide crystal formation, with a large domed roof at its centre.
Continuing up a flight of marble steps, they entered through automatic glass doors. Inside there was a hushed atmosphere, the people inside all had an air of seriousness about them and were all dressed formally, the decoration was very formal also.
All this made Vargev and Michael in their torn, battered, and dirty landfall uniforms stand out like a sore thumb.
“Where are we?” Michael whispered.
“The Solarian council building,” Kerulithar whispered back, “It’s the seat of government for the entire Solarian Confederacy, and every planet has an elected member here, led by Solarian president Karalis.”
Kerulithar approached the nearest official, and began speaking. “I would hereby like to convene a meeting with the Solarian council as soon as is practicably possible; my name is ambassador Kerulithar.”
“The council is in deliberations at the moment, it’s unlikely that you will be able to convene a meeting for several days. They have an extremely busy schedule at this time,” the official replied.
“Please; it is a matter of great urgency,” Kerulithar replied, almost pleading with the official.
“One does not interrupt the council when in session,” the official replied sternly.
“It is these two Terrans who seek the council; their case is desperate and could have an impact on the galaxy at large, and I am acting on their behalf.”
“These are Terrans you say?” The official asked in amazement. He looked over at the humans again and then stammered. “I’ll notify the council.”
The official pushed open a pair of ornate looking chrome doors and disappeared inside.
“I hate politicians,” Vargev whispered.
“What’s to hate about politicians?” Michael laughed.
At length the official returned. “The council will grant your request; you may enter.”
Kerulithar raised an eyebrow at the relative ease of getting a hearing. It was hard enough even for Solarians let alone other races, yet he deigned to say nothing.
The three of them walked through the grand doors and into the council chambers itself.
Inside; the room was shaped like a vast oval, although only dimly lit; hundreds of delegates were all seated around its perimeter.
Several administrators worked in the centre; they were separated from the delegates by a handrail that ran almost the length of the entire room.
Kerulithar, Michael, and Vargev were ushered to a raised stand in the middle of the room; administrators were faced just in front of them.
&
nbsp; The lights in the room swung around and shone down directly on Kerulithar, casting him in a bright white light. The only other light in the room was from a row of lighting embedded in the handrail which showed up the faces of the delegates and the head of the council.
Suddenly a deep, powerful voice came over the speakers in the room. “What do you seek from this council?” It asked.
Kerulithar spoke into a microphone fixed to the stand. “We seek for our case to be heard, Mr. President.”
Then the deep booming voice said again, “and what is your case?”
“I am acting on behalf of these two Terrans stood next to me; they have come to ask this council for aid for their people,” Kerulithar replied.
There was a brief hushed silence; a wave of excited whispering voices washed across the room. This was unheard of in Solarian politics, two Terrans stood in their own council; and issuing a declaration for aid, this was big news indeed.
Lights suddenly shone on Michael and Vargev as well; as if scrutinising them.
“And these are the Terrans?” The voice boomed again.
“They are, Mr. President,” Kerulithar replied.
“The Terrans may explain their case themselves,” the voice announced.
Michael and Vargev suddenly felt distinctly nervous, they were standing in possibly one of the most powerful ruling councils in the known galaxy. It was a place for senior diplomats and heads of state, and who were they? Just two humans, nobodies really, not even high ranking diplomats, just two ordinary humans trying to survive.
“You may speak before this council,” the voice came.
Michael tentatively began by telling them the same story he had told to Commander Ralavas at the Omicron repair facility, after Michael had finished, Vargev dutifully took his turn.
Then after several minutes; once the council had heard their stories, and the whispering of deliberations taking place, the voice boomed again. “This is a profound case with severe consequences and must be reviewed with a full panel, we will reconvene tomorrow at 2 o’clock local time, this session is now adjourned.”
They emerged out of the council; both Michael and Vargev felt somewhat disappointed and looked downcast, Kerulithar however looked jubilant.
“Why are you so happy?” Michael asked nonchalantly.
“That was incredible! They are going to give our case a full hearing. That has never been granted to an outside race in the history of the Solarian Confederacy, this is going to be talked about for weeks now,” Kerulithar replied triumphantly.
“But are they actually going to do anything, apart from just sit down and twiddle their political thumbs,” Vargev said.
“It is the best we could have hoped for.”
“I don’t know about you Kerulithar, but I didn’t come nearly half way across the galaxy, just to be told they might think about it,” Michael said.
“What more would you have me do? I’m just a simple ambassador!” Kerulithar retorted growing somewhat angry at the two human’s attitudes.
“To help us; give us a fighting chance against these Krenaran murderers,” Michael responded.
Vargev stood aside; quietly watching Michael and the Solarian argue. I should take bets on who’s going to come out on top, he thought with a mischievous smile forming across his face.
“That is for the council to decide,” Kerulithar pointed out.
“Well they had best decide quickly.”
At last Vargev stepped in, “look, this is getting us nowhere comrades. Let’s just get our heads down; get some sleep, and see what the council has to say tomorrow.”
Kerulithar and Michael both looked at the Major quizzically.
“What?” Vargev asked innocently.
“It’s kind of ironic,” Michael said smiling.
“What is?”
“A hard bitten, E.D.F commando veteran like you playing peacemaker,” Michael replied.
“Now don’t you lay any of that bullshit on me!” Vargev replied in mock anger.
They both laughed.
After a brisk walk along another archway they arrived at Kerulithars apartment. It was getting dark now; Kyo had reached its zenith high in the Solarian sky, stars were beginning to twinkle, and shuttle landing lights chased across the night sky which had turned a very deep crimson as the sun was almost set.
Kerulithars’ apartment was six floors up inside one of the myriad crystalline towers, and it was located close to the centre of the city. The Solarian opened a door and beckoned the two men inside. “Come in, this is my place, you are most welcome to spend the night here.”
“Nice place,” Michael said as he looked around.
“I like it; it was passed to me when my father died ten years ago,” Kerulithar replied.
The Solarian was busy making them both a drink when Vargev beckoned to Michael. “Over here; come and have a look at this.”
He was stood at the edge of the room, looking out over the city, Michael walked over to join him.
The streetlights on all of the archways had lit up gradually; bathing the archways in a soft light, as well as the parts of the buildings that they interconnected with. Occasionally the lights of an anti gravity vehicle could be seen as it traversed one of the archways. It was a calming yet beautiful sight.
“You are so lucky to live here Kerulithar,” Michael said. “After what I’ve seen of this city, I understand why the property prices are so high.”
“Thank you; here try this,” Kerulithar said walking over to them and handing them each a glass of a bright blue looking liquid. “It’s called Solarian Atollos.”
Both Michael and Vargev held the glass, eyeing it ever so suspiciously, Vargev sniffed it. It gave off a strong alcoholic smell.
In the end, both men gave in to politeness and drank from their glasses.
“Tastes a little like gin, or perhaps whisky,” Michael said.
“It reminds me of drinking the finest of vodka’s back in the motherland,” Vargev replied.
Kerulithar took their glasses from them, and after barely a single glass the humans began to stumble across the room as if barely able to stand, before finally collapsing onto their beds.
I must remember not to give the humans Atollos in the future, Kerulithar thought.
“Good night,” The Solarian said to the two inebriated humans as he pressed a control that made the crystal walls go dark. Vargev and Michael simply grunted their responses.
Next morning they awoke, Kerulithar was already awake and had been for some time, he was looking his typical cheerful self, both Michael and Vargev hurriedly got dressed and staggered out of the room groggily.
“What was that stuff you gave us last night?” Michael asked.
“It’s called Solarian Atollos.”
“Goddamn it, that stuff is lethal.”
“It is 98.2% pure alcohol; however it also has a herbal extract, which only grows on Solaria. It is that extract which interacts with the taste buds and the areas of the brain that determine taste; fooling them into thinking that it’s the subject’s favourite drink.”
“Is that stuff legal?” Vargev asked.
“Yes. But only in Solarian territory, it seems we are the only species that can handle it, anywhere else and possession of it carries a heavy penalty. It has also been used by unsavoury characters to mask the taste of certain poisons.”
“Then why try it on us?” Michael asked.
“It has never been tried on humans before, I was curious to see if you could handle it; it looks like you’re intolerant to it also,” Kerulithar answered. “I thought you might like breakfast, we have a big day ahead of us today.”
“What is it?”
“It is a Solarian breakfast called Sorgrest, it is very sweet and full of energy.” The Solarian replied.
It looked like mashed up fern leaves, both Vargev and Michael eyed their bowls suspiciously. Not quite believing what Kerulithar was telling them, gingerly they tried some. And to their surprise
they found that they liked it.
It tasted sugary and seemed to give the body an injection of energy which human breakfasts could only dream of; they quickly finished the bowl off and felt highly invigorated.
“This stuff is great how do you make it?” Michael asked.
“We found it purely by accident; a Solarian transport ship was damaged and crash landed on the moon Saris III; a planet within Solarian space. The moon did have an atmosphere but only small amounts of oxygen; enough to breathe but only barely,” Kerulithar paused for a moment. “The rescue vessel was weeks away and with little food the choice was either to eat the native Sorgrest plants or starve to death; and that is how we came upon it. In time we set up production facilities on that moon, and began to cultivate crops of it on other planets. It has been a staple breakfast food of our people ever since.”
They finished eating and found that they had some time to kill, so Kerulithar offered to show them some of the sights of the city.
The Solarian also pointed out that Michael and Vargev could do with some new clothes to wear; since the filthy and battered landfall uniforms looked horrendous.
He showed them to an advanced looking machine within his apartment. It had a display written in Solarian script, and what appeared to be a scanner.
Kerulithar told the two humans to remove their clothes so that the synthesiser could scan them into its central database, since there were no records of human military uniforms Kerulithar would have to create a new file based on the design of their clothes.
Michael and Vargev managed to grab a towel each to cover their modesty as they stripped and handed their clothes over to Kerulithar. Who touched a few controls on the panel and held each item of clothing up to the scanner in turn; within seconds of the synthesiser scanning a dirty item of clothing. An exact clean copy was created, which Kerulithar handed over to them before placing the old battered items into the synthesiser; which rapidly broke them down into their constituent molecules and reabsorbed them to be used again later.
Both of the men were overjoyed at having brand new clean uniforms instead of the dirty ones they had been tramping around in, in recent weeks. Once the humans had dressed again, they headed out of Kerulithars apartment.
E.D.F chronicles - The Krenaran massacre. Page 14
