The prince left the room with a swish of his cloak, and Martin, Darcy and Tommy fell upon the banquet. They had not eaten for about six hours, and they were all ravenous. It was a delicious feast—Martin ate massive helpings of steak and kidney pie, roast pork with stuffing, lamb chops, as well as huge servings of trifle and carrot cake.
‘Well, I wasn’t sure about coming along on this mission,’ said Tommy. ‘But if we do die now, at least we had a decent last meal.’
Martin smiled. He really wished they hadn’t come along. In fact, he had been secretly hoping that when the Axis Lords had arrived they would only beam him up to the ship. The Wheelmaster had offered his protection, but even so…
They finished eating, and Martin called one of the servants. It was a strange-looking blue creature that had yellow eyes and suspiciously long claws.
‘You are finished eating?’ said the servant. ‘Follow me. I will take you to the prince.’
The servant led them through the grand ship towards a tall door. He knocked three times and then opened the door. The blue servant led them into the room and presented them to the prince, who was bent over a large map.
‘Ah, good evening,’ said Prince Agamon. ‘I trust the food was adequate?’
‘It was great,’ said Martin, and not just to spare the cooks a beating.
‘Good. Then please sit. We must talk of your mission. How much has the Wheelmaster already told you?’
‘He told me that your planet was under attack from—’ Martin hesitated.
Prince Agamon smiled. ‘Do not worry, Martin. I am one of the few Axis Lords that does not blindly refute the existence of something that obviously exists. You can freely utter the name XO5 in my presence.’
Martin nodded. ‘Well, that’s about everything I know. The Wheelmaster said that I am the only person who can save your race. I’m not sure why, though.’
‘I am one of the few Axis Lords who has the privilege of conversing with the Wheelmaster. He has told me of your defeat of Moonstone two years ago.’ The prince paused thoughtfully. ‘I believe that the greatest battle will be to convince my people that XO5 is real. Only when that has been accomplished will we be able to offer any serious resistance.’
Prince Agamon activated a control and a floating holographic orb appeared. The surface of the planet was icy grey. A powerful storm was raging over a small area of the planet.
‘This is Hope,’ said the prince. ‘It may look serene, but it is actually under a vicious attack. You see that storm? That is XO5’s doing. It is the same kind of storm that visited your planet two years ago. Except this time the Wheelmaster is concentrating all of his energy into holding off the storm.’
‘How long can he hold it off for?’ said Darcy.
‘Not long. That’s where you come in.’ He smiled at Darcy and Tommy. ‘The Wheelmaster told me that you two would likely come along as well. Apparently Martin is most effective when working with his friends.
‘Here is the plan. This ship is currently travelling towards Hope. We will arrive at our destination in approximately 15 of your hours. Sleeping quarters have been prepared for you this evening. When we arrive on the planet we will—’
Suddenly, a young Axis Lord burst into the control room. He seemed very young, and his pale face was covered with acne.
‘Sir—’ he began.
‘How dare you?’ shouted the prince. ‘How dare you interrupt an official meeting?’
‘But sir—we’re under attack!’
Prince Agamon checked a monitor.
‘We are being boarded!’ said the prince. ‘How is that possible?’
‘We don’t know, sir,’ said the young Axis Lord. ‘It’s like they’ve taken control of the whole ship. All of our defence and navigation equipment is down. It’s as if they have… some sort of superior technology.’
‘There is no technology superior to that of the Axis Lords,’ said Prince Agamon. He turned to the teenagers. ‘Come with me—you must hide.’
They followed as Prince Agamon led them out of his office and down the corridor. He slid his hand over a section of wall and a secret door opened.
‘You should be safe in there,’ said the prince.
‘What about you?’ said Martin.
The prince smiled. ‘Do not worry about me.’
The Axis Lord slid his hand over the wall again and the door closed, sealing in Martin and his friends. The room was quite large and it was decorated in the traditional Axis Lord style—there were three leather wingback armchairs and a solid oak table.
There was no way out of the room, so they sat and waited.
‘I hope they’re OK,’ said Darcy. ‘I wish there was something we could do.’
‘We’re safe in here,’ said Tommy. ‘Let’s just hope someone comes to get us soon.’
Martin noticed a Sustenance Machine in the corner of the room, and walked over to it.
‘A white coffee, two sugars,’ he said.
There was a flash of light, and a coffee appeared. Martin sat down and sipped it slowly, trying to relax but feeling nervous. There was a crash, and Martin put down his drink.
‘There’s someone outside,’ whispered Tommy.
They sat in silence as they heard another crash, even louder than the first. Suddenly, the secret door slid open, and three men entered. They were wearing strange black clothing and necklaces that seemed to be made of bone fragments.
‘Ah,’ said one of them, ‘I knew the switch was around here somewhere.’
The tallest man snarled.
‘Tie them up.’
Chapter 15: The Space Buccaneers
Darcy’s face was illuminated by light from a tiny crack in the door. The three teenagers were tied up inside a tiny storage room. The air was warm and stale.
The three men had dragged them from the Axis vessel and into their own ship. Martin shuddered when he wondered what the men had done to the crew.
‘Are you OK?’ whispered Martin.
‘Just about,’ said Darcy. ‘Although I don’t like being manhandled.’
‘What about you, Tommy?’
‘Yeah, fine, but I wish I knew why we’ve been brought here.’
Martin sneezed. ‘I think I’m getting a cold.’
‘You never get a cold,’ said Darcy.
Martin frowned. No, he didn’t. In fact, he couldn’t even remember the last time that he’d had any kind of illness.
‘I wonder why they captured us,’ said Tommy. ‘I mean, there were hundreds of people on that ship, but they singled us out. They must need us for something.’
At that moment, the door opened, and light flooded into the tiny room. Martin squinted. A man grabbed him and pulled him out of the storage room. Martin and his friends were led down the corridor and into a larger room.
‘The prisoners, sir,’ said one of the men.
A bearded man sat at a dull metal table.
‘Untie them,’ he said.
One of the men removed the ropes from the teenagers; Martin stretched his arms gratefully.
‘Now leave us,’ said the bearded man.
The other men quickly left the room, and the bearded man pointed to three chairs.
‘Sit down.’
They sat down. Martin’s mouth was dry and his heart was beating heavily. The bearded man poured them each a glass of water. Martin held out a hand, but then hesitated.
‘There’s nothing wrong with it,’ said the man, and Martin took a sip.
‘My name is Captain Dranzig. And yes, I’m a pirate. I know the men have treated you a bit roughly, but look, we are pirates, at the end of the day.’
‘What do you want with us?’ said Martin.
‘Only your cooperation,’ said Dranzig. ‘This vessel—the good ship Homer—will land on the Planet Vortus in about an hour. Vortus is simply a market world—nothing too interesting. However, I have an associate on the planet that is very keen to meet you.’
‘Why?’
‘So m
any questions. I promise you won’t be harmed. All my associate wants is to take a quick scan of your brain, Martin. Nothing more. And I promise that the process is harmless.’
Martin frowned. ‘Why does he want a scan of my brain?’
‘He’s a scientist. You know what scientists are like. You’re famous, you see, Martin. You didn’t think that your defeat of Moonstone would go unnoticed, did you? No, Martin. Your name has become renowned throughout the five galaxies. And my associate is willing to pay very good money for a scan of your obviously unique brain.’
‘You can’t have one!’ shouted Darcy suddenly. ‘He’s my boyfriend and I say no!’
Dranzig smiled. ‘Either my associate gets a scan of Martin’s brain, girl, or I kill all of you. I hate to make threats, but sometimes they are necessary. Now, it’s your choice, Martin. If you cooperate, my men will treat you all as guests and we will take you straight back home as soon as we leave Vortus.’
‘All right,’ said Martin. ‘I don’t see why not. Your friend can have a scan of my brain if he really wants one.’
*
Martin, Darcy and Tommy were sitting on upturned crates in the cargo hold. Boxes of various shapes and sizes were stacked all around—Martin guessed that they all contained stolen goods.
One of the pirates—a thin man with light brown hair and lots of tattoos—was pointing a gun at them.
‘You know, this is not a very nice way to treat guests,’ said Martin, who was tired of sitting in silence.
‘Shut up,’ said the man.
‘What’s up with you?’ said Martin. ‘You seem upset.’
‘I need the toilet, don’t I?’ said the man. ‘And it’s your fault I can’t go, so just shut it till we make planetfall.’
Darcy grinned.
‘Nobody’s stopping you from going,’ said Martin.
‘Do you think I’m stupid?’ said the pirate.
‘What’s your name?’ said Martin.
‘Alfra.’
‘Alfra? OK, think about it, Alfra. We’re locked in here, and we’re unarmed. Where could we possibly go?’
Alfra seemed to be thinking about it. He shrugged.
‘All I know is that the captain told me to sit here and guard you to make sure you don’t escape.’
‘We won’t escape,’ said Martin. ‘How could we? We’re in space! I promise that if you go to the bathroom we’ll all still be here when you get back.’
Alfra looked confused. ‘Why should you care, anyway?’
‘Well,’ said Martin. ‘Obviously needing the toilet has put you in a bad mood. It would make the rest of this trip much more pleasant if you were in a good mood.’
Alfra seemed to consider what Martin had said. He got to his feet, uncertainly.
‘All right,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll be back in less than a minute. Don’t even think about trying to escape!’
Alfra dashed out of the cargo hold.
‘All right,’ said Tommy. ‘Here’s what I heard…’
About an hour ago, the pirates had disabled their translation devices so that they could talk privately. But they didn’t know that Tommy had been able to understand every word.
‘They kept speaking about the ‘special cargo’—I’m guessing that means you, Martin—as well as a massive reward they were going to get for a scan of your brain.
‘It seems like they were telling the truth about not harming any of us. They plan to actually take us all home as soon as we leave Vortus.’
‘Great,’ said Martin. ‘So there’s no problem.’
‘I wouldn’t say that,’ said Tommy.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I also heard the pirates talking about their client—the man who’s after a scan of your brain. His name is Professor Witzig, and he’s a… weapons developer.’
Martin swallowed. ‘But what use could a weapons developer possibly have for—’
At that moment, Alfra ran back into the cargo hold, panting. He looked around at them suspiciously.
‘You see,’ said Darcy. ‘Just like we said. We’re still here.’
Alfra pointed his gun at them again, and they spent the rest of the journey in silence.
*
The pirate ship touched down on the Planet Vortus. It was an odd planet; virtually the entire surface was covered by a large outdoor market. It never rained on Vortus, and the ground was dusty, but the oxygen level and gravity were quite similar to Earth’s.
The pirates tied up Martin and his friends again, but they were treated a little more gently this time as they were led out onto the planet.
As soon as they stepped out onto the planet’s surface, an android approached them. It was carrying a gun.
‘Good morning,’ said the droid. ‘Are you here to sell?’
‘Yes,’ said Captain Dranzig.
‘What are your goods?’
‘Slaves,’ said the captain. ‘Three slaves.’
‘Wait a minute!’ Darcy began, but one of the pirates clasped a hand over her mouth to silence her.
‘The fee for slave traders is 16 silver narg coins,’ said the robot.
One of the pirates pulled out a bag of coins and gave it to the robot. It allowed them to pass, and they walked into the market.
There were stalls selling anything you could imagine. Alien spices, ornaments and curios, clothes, spacesuits, books…
The pirates led Martin and the others down a small flight of steps and into a damp storage room of some sort.
‘Wait in here,’ said the captain. ‘Don’t worry about what I said earlier—I’m not going to sell any of you. I just had to say that so the droid would let us in. My associate will collect you shortly, Martin, to process the brain scan. If all goes to plan, we will take you back to Earth. If you try anything, well… do I really need to make threats?’
Martin shook his head. ‘No. We’ll wait here.’
The captain nodded, and left the room. They heard the door being locked.
‘Great,’ said Tommy. ‘What are we going to do now? I don’t want to be a slave on some alien planet. I’m sensitive. I wasn’t made for heavy work.’
‘He said—’ Darcy began.
‘I know what he said! But do you trust him? Do you accept the word of a criminal at face value?’
‘No,’ said Darcy. ‘I don’t. That’s why I’m going to get us out of here.’
She touched the ropes that were binding her with a gentle finger. A small flame appeared at her fingertip; within a few seconds the ropes had fallen away. She did the same for Martin and Tommy.
‘Stand back,’ she said, facing the door.
She threw her arm forwards and a jet of fire shot from her hand towards the door. Within seconds, the entire door had been burned away.
‘It’s so good to have a reason to use my power again,’ said Darcy. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’
They quickly left the room and dived into the bustling market.
‘It looks like this market goes on pretty much forever,’ said Darcy. ‘We’ll walk for a bit to get some distance from the pirates. After that we can relax and think of a way to get off this planet.’
They did as Darcy said. After about an hour of random movement, they relaxed a little, and began to browse through some of the stalls. They stayed very close together—if one of them wandered off they might never find the others again.
Martin stopped to look at a stall filled with caged creatures. A little furry black thing caught his eye. It was almost like a dog, except that it had a pair of pink wings.
‘Ah, you like?’ said the man at the stall.
Martin shook his head. ‘Er, no, I haven’t got any money, I was just…’
They left the stall and continued to walk around.
‘So what’s the plan?’ said Tommy. ‘How are we going to leave this place?’
‘Don’t know yet,’ said Martin. ‘There must be a spaceport or something on this planet. Maybe we can get on an outgoing flight in exchan
ge for work.’
He paused suddenly, and grinned at his friends.
‘What?’ said Darcy.
‘I’ve only just thought about it,’ said Martin. ‘We’re on an alien planet! We’re actually on an alien planet!’
One of the market sellers spotted them and beckoned them over to his stall. He took out what looked like a tape measure and began taking Martin’s measurements. He was humanoid but very short and blue.
‘What planet are you from?’ he asked Martin. ‘No, don’t tell me… the Eye of Orion? No? You have a wonderful shape. Such height, such tone…’
‘I don’t want to seem rude,’ said Martin, ‘but I don’t have any money.’
‘Oh,’ said the trader, looking disappointed. ‘I see. Well, good day to you.’
Martin wished he did have some money with him. There were so many interesting things around. But he didn’t even know what kind of money was acceptable to traders on Vortus.
‘Humans!’ said a voice.
They turned. A woman’s face peered at them from behind the curtain of a small red tent.
‘Come in!’ said the woman.
‘We don’t have any money,’ said Martin, getting rather tired of explaining the same thing to everybody.
‘No matter,’ said the woman. ‘Please, just come in!’
Martin shrugged, and they slipped inside the tent. It was quite dark inside—a crystal ball lay in the centre of the table and the woman sat them down around it. She had a scarf tied around her head, but Martin could see that she was very beautiful. Her tent smelled like strong incense.
‘Are you a fortune teller?’ said Tommy.
‘No,’ said the woman, smiling. ‘I actually run a budget transport service. That sphere is a teleportation device.’
Martin frowned. ‘It looks like a crystal ball.’
‘I’ve been to Earth many times,’ said the woman. ‘It’s a beautiful place—so peaceful, so primitive…’ She looked up at them. ‘That’s what made me so curious when I saw you. I didn’t think humans had invented interstellar travel yet.’
Martin King and the Space Angels (Martin King Series) Page 12
