Zoren was taken by surprise, and replied nervously, ‘Oh... Er...We’re heading for a planet called Onliv... Kalrea knows that ten of our people and all the children have been taken-’
Vinuar interrupted him and said anxiously, ‘My little girl must be there. Is my wife also among them?’
‘I don’t know, but Kalrea may. She’ll be here in a minute, so why not ask her?’
‘No… I can’t,’ Vinuar said.
‘She doesn’t bite, you know,’ Zoren replied.
‘I’m not so sure,’ Vinuar said. ‘We all saw what she did to those Frinduls in that bar. She must have far more advanced technology than anyone else. Those Frinduls she killed seemed completely surprised.’
‘So, tell me, Zoren. How did you come to meet this Kalrea?’ Gulco said. ‘I can’t believe she just happened to be passing that… what was it…?’
‘Polnozoo,’ Vinuar informed him.
‘Yes that Polnozoo by chance.’
What do I say? I can’t mention that the Aurora was an exhibit because they’ll ask what Kalrea was doing there, and then I would have to tell them that she’s an artificial intelligence. I made a promise to her that I wouldn’t tell them, so I have to lie.
‘She was visiting it... She was one of the visitors. I… I managed to get out of our space station and she was… she was, going back to her ship.’
‘Is that so?’ Gulco said, not wholly convinced. ‘You know that I can tell when you’re lying, Zoren. Maybe I’ll ask her.’
‘That’s what happened!’ Zoren replied. ‘She saved me and then offered to help me find you.’
‘Just like that! She wanted nothing from you?’ Gulco added.
‘No.’
‘She looks like a killer to me,’ Diean commented. ‘Like one of those hired assassins I’ve read about in our old books.’
‘I don’t trust her, Zoren,’ Gulco said. ‘She seems to act like she’s a God, deciding who should live or die.’
There was a knock at the door and Gulco shouted towards the door, ‘Enter!’
Kalrea marched in.
‘We’re nearly at Onliv,’ she said.
Zoren noticed she was carrying something, which was a golden colour and looked furry, in her hand, and wondered if it was alive.
‘Kalrea, Vinuar wants to know if his wife is among the Agonians taken to Onliv?’ Zoren asked her.
Kalrea turned to Vinuar. ‘Yes, she’s there,’ and then looking to Gulco she added, ‘So is yours.’
‘Oh, thank God, Cafeor is there,’ Gulco said.
‘Doc Korye is also in that group. He’ll be able to check out that cut on your arm, Diean.’
‘What about my husband?’ Diean asked her.
Kalrea shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, he’s being taken to Trafth.’
Diean covered her face with her hands. Gulco and Vinuar remained quiet.
‘As far as I can tell, your people have been taken to a city called Uir on the Gullin homeworld, Onliv. I’ll need to locate them once we arrive. Zoren, I assume you’ll want to come with me.’
I’m not sure I want to go. I know what Gulco will think and he’ll probably make some snide remark about me following her around, like a boy out with his mother. No, I need to mention it before he does.
‘I don’t see what use I’d be to you,’ Zoren replied. ‘I feel, well... like I’m just a companion and I’m following you around with no purpose.’
‘I thought you would jump at the opportunity to go down to Onliv.’
‘Yes, but I wish it was under different circumstances.’
‘Suite yourself!’
‘No, I want to come, really! But I want to be more useful.’
Kalrea nodded her head slowly in acknowledgement, and then said, ‘All right, I’ll try to get you more involved if that’s what you want. Now if you’re coming with me, you’ll need this.’ She handed the furry mass to Zoren.
It feels smooth and soft, but it has all these very fine strands, Zoren thought and then asked,
‘What is it?’
‘It’s called a wig.’ Kalrea touched her hair. ‘It’s similar to my hair. You’ll need to put it over your head. It will make you look Gullin.’
Zoren studied the wig, and then stared at Kalrea’s hair.
This is a different colour to Kalrea’s hair.
He placed it very roughly on his head.
Kalrea laughed. ‘Here, let me help you with that,’ she said. ‘You look like the back end of a dirkon at the moment.’
‘Why isn’t it the same colour as yours?’ Zoren asked.
‘I thought you might look good as a blond.’
‘A blond… Is this the hair colour of a male Qinant’s then?’
‘Well no, but I think it suites you.’
‘It feels itchy,’ Zoren commented, scratching near his ear.
‘You’ll get used to it,’ Kalrea replied, and then nodding her head added, ‘Yes, you’ll just about pass as a Gullin, admittedly with no eyebrows.’
‘I notice a lot of races seem to have the same appearance,’ Zoren said. ‘In fact, I can’t really tell the difference between some of them. If it wasn’t for that image of a claw on your face, you would definitely look like a Gullin too, Kalrea.’
‘Yes, many races in this sector of the galaxy have this form. For example, the Xangol race is identical to the Gullin in every respect, right down to the position of all their internal organs, but for some reason a Gullin cannot become immortal, whereas Xangols can. It’s to do with the fact that they’re all descendants from the same race, the Ruiebs. Even yours has links back to the Ruiebs.’
‘Really! Except somewhere in all that history, we lost our hair,’ he said, scratching his scalp beneath the wig.
‘I’ve found a quiet location away from any people, where I can land the Aurora undetected,’ Kalrea said. ‘We’ll have to take the shuttle into the city.’
‘Why can’t we have the opportunity to go as well?’ Gulco asked forcefully.
‘I’m afraid I’ve only made the one wig and without it you lot would be recognised in an instant if you stepped foot on any planet around here. On top of that if you think I’m going to baby sit you lot as well, think again!’ Kalrea replied firmly and then looking to Zoren added, ‘Right, if you’re going to make yourself more useful on this trip, then you can fly the shuttle to Uir to get some practice.’
Zoren was taken by surprise. I’ve got to fly the shuttle out of the Aurora? He gulped.
Gulco said, ‘But... Zoren doesn’t know how to fly a shuttle. He’s just a boy.’
Zoren could not help but answer him, ‘Oh, yes I do know! Kalrea has taught me to fly one of her Qinant shuttles.’
‘I wouldn’t say I taught you,’ Kalrea said. ‘You seem to have a natural talent for it, though I do think all the practice in the simulator onboard the space station may have helped.’
‘So you can really fly a shuttle?’ Gulco said arrogantly to Zoren. ‘I’d like to see you do that!’
‘Yes, I can! I’m not a boy you know.’
‘You can see us off if you want,’ Kalrea said. ‘Shall we go then?’
As they walked out of the accommodation area, towards the Pojin lift, Gulco asked Kalrea, ‘How did you come to meet, Zoren?’
Oh, no! Zoren thought.
He looked to Kalrea, trying to attract her attention by winking at her.
‘Which shuttle are we going to take, Kalrea?’ he said, trying to change the subject.
‘The one you flew, obviously!’ she replied and then turning to Gulco said, ‘I was-’
And Zoren interrupted again, ‘How long will it take to fly to that city... Er... Uir?’
‘No more than six minutes. Is there something wrong with your eye?’
‘Er… No. Nothing wrong.’
If Kalrea tells him the truth, then he’ll know I lied to him.
Kalrea said to Gulco, ‘I was actually enjoying a day out at the Polnozoo, but when it was attacked by those merc
enaries, the alarms sounded and we were instructed to evacuate. I was a bit slow getting back to my ship and bumped into Zoren in one of the corridors. He seemed very lost. Have to say, I didn’t realise he was one of the exhibits at first.’
How did she know I lied to Gulco? She must have been listening in on us.
They entered the cargo bay and strolled over to the shuttle.
‘The Aurora’s landed,’ Kalrea said. ‘We can leave now.’
‘How can the Aurora fly on its own without anyone controlling it?’ Gulco asked.
‘It’s fully automated. Call it an auto-pilot,’ she replied, with a broad smile.
The door to the shuttle opened and Zoren got onboard. He hesitantly got into the pilot’s seat, while Kalrea went in the back.
I’m not sure I’m ready to fly this shuttle out of here, he thought. He watched Gulco standing there with a smug expression, almost as if he was waiting for him to fail. With great determination Zoren thought, No, I’m not going to let Gulco have the satisfaction of saying ‘I told you so’. I’m going to do this!
He gazed out from the front window, up at the ceiling of the Aurora’s cargo bay, waiting for the large doors within it to slide open. His adrenaline started to flow and his two hearts quickened as the cargo bay doors revealed a bright light-orange sky. He now looked at the control console, before moving his shaking hand onto it.
‘Relax,’ Kalrea said, from the back of the shuttle.
Zoren closed the entry door to the shuttle and then rubbed his hands together.
Right, let’s do this.
He slowly placed his fingers on the controls and then calmly lifted the shuttle a few metres into the air. From the front window of the shuttle, he could see the others were all staring at him. Vinuar pointed to the shuttle.
Zoren guided the shuttle upwards and out of the Aurora, and then flew directly ahead.
Thank goodness that went well, he thought.
He peered out the front window at the blue countryside passing beneath him. Forests of trees and rolling open fields swept by. The light-orange sky was like a star-rise on a winter’s morning.
‘Where am I going?’ he said, glancing over his shoulder to Kalrea.
She joined him in the cockpit.
‘You’re going in completely the wrong direction, but well done, that was very impressive.’ She had a large grin on her face.
‘Oh, then where should I be heading?’
‘See that blue dot at the top of the console over on the far left-hand side.’
‘Yes, I see it.’
‘Well turn until that’s in the centre of the circle. Then you’ll be heading in the right direction.’
Zoren carefully turned the shuttle.
‘Do you want to hear what they’re saying about you?’ Kalrea asked him.
‘What? You mean Gulco and the others?’
‘Who else would I mean?’
‘I don’t know. It depends on what they’re saying, I suppose.’
Gulco’s voice came from the speaker. ‘…I’m amazed. He got on that ship and flew it.’
‘You treat him too harshly, Gulco. He’s a good kid,’ Vinuar said.
‘He’s a pain you mean. Always has been, but I have to hand it to him he did fly that shuttle out of here,’ Gulco replied.
‘It must have been all those hours in that simulator,’ Diean said in jest.
‘Please don’t mention that damn simulator,’ Gulco said.
‘He was always in that,’ Vinuar added.
And Gulco almost as if he was thinking aloud said, ‘One thing which is for sure, is that he’s not the same kid I spoke to yesterday. Something’s changed him. I think that Kalrea is teaching him how to behave like an adult.’
Zoren looked to Kalrea.
‘Don’t look at me, boy!’ she quipped and smiled.
Maybe I have changed, Zoren thought. Maybe I’ve had to change.
The rooftops of large buildings appeared on the horizon. Orange star-light glinted off their white surfaces, making them sparkle like a glitter ball.
More ships came into view, some travelling towards the city, others away. They did not appear to be following any rules or pattern to their flight paths, with each ship heading directly to where it wanted to go.
I hope I don’t hit anyone, Zoren thought, as he watched ships passing above, below and directly in front of the shuttle.
The vast city was now stretched out directly in front of him.
‘Wow! I’ve only ever seen pictures of cities in books. I’ve never actually been to a real city before. It’s huge! Look at all those building, they’re so tall. Look Kalrea, there are people down there. What are those?’ he said, pointing out the front window of the shuttle, in excitement, towards the ground at a vehicle, which was suspended beneath an overhead track.
Kalrea glanced out, before saying, ‘They call them mono-pods. They’re a form of personal transport.’
‘Have you been to Onliv before, Kalrea?’
‘No, this is my first time too. This is not a planet I know much about.’
‘Wow! And… And what’s that over-’
Kalrea interrupted him. ‘Sorry Zoren, but we’re nearing one of the landing zones. I’m going to have to take over now. You’re learning fast, but you’re not that good.’
Zoren gazed out at the landing area, where there was a melee of various sized ships trying to find somewhere to set down.
‘Where are we going to land?’
‘Just down there.’
‘But, there’s no space down there.’
Kalrea flew the shuttle into the crowded landing area. There was a very small space in-between to two large ships. Another small craft had attempted to land there, but the pilot must have found it too difficult because the ship moved away looking for another space. Kalrea headed directly for the space.
‘You can’t be serious,’ he said and then thought,
She’s never going to get it in there.
With great precision the shuttle descended, landing swiftly and neatly between the two larger ships.
‘There, told you we would fit,’ Kalrea said and then powered down the drive.
Chapter Fourteen
Zoren and Kalrea left the manic landing area behind them, and sauntered into a large quiet square with only the occasional person passing by. The square had an immaculately maintained blue grassed area at its centre, which was ringed with tall blue trees planted at regular intervals around its edge and surrounded by a paved border in front of tall white buildings. The orange light reflected off the walls of the buildings, resulting in the square appearing to be in star-light, even though it was in the shadow of the buildings. There were many seats beneath the trees and up against the walls of the buildings.
Overhead of them a white mono-pod, which was suspended beneath a large metal track, screamed by.
Zoren found he had to take deeper breaths than normal, so with concern asked,
‘Kalrea, the air feels very dry and I’m finding it hard to breath.’
‘That’s because there’s twenty-three percent less oxygen in the air than what you’re used to, so yes, you’ll notice the difference. Don’t worry! You’re just not used to this level of oxygen and may feel a little bit more tired.’
He gazed upwards at the building that towered skywards directly in front of him. Only the highest rooftops were in direct star-light, but the light was bouncing between each building creating reflections of different intensity all the way down to the ground. He hurried over to the nearest building and felt the wall.
It’s cold and very smooth.
‘What are you doing?’ Kalrea asked him.
‘I’ve never been near a building before. I wanted to feel what it was like.’
He turned and watched a man and woman as they passed by. The man had a spiny pet wrapped around his leg, it was a doump, and Zoren recognised that it was the same type of animal he saw back on Xim’gu. The man was wearing brightly coloured clo
thes, but the woman just bland greys.
Peering in excitement towards the centre of the square, Zoren said, ‘I can see trees, and those look like plants.’ Then, feeling the need to have a closer look at them, he rushed over to some flowers, which were beneath a tree.
Wow! What a lovely sent, he thought, taking a deep breath.
‘Kalrea, come here! You must smell these.’
Kalrea ambled over and then smelt the flowers.
‘That’s different,’ she said very surprised. ‘It’s... it’s very pleasant. Yes, pleasant.’
Zoren turned and stared at her.
‘You’ve never smelt a flower before, have you Kalrea? Just like me!’
‘No, Zoren, I haven’t, but we don’t have time for this. Remember why we’re here, please!’
‘Yes, of course. Where do we need to go?’
‘We need to find somewhere to sit.’
‘But, I thought you said we need to go.’
Kalrea went over to a nearby bench, which was beside a tall tree and sat down. She then started to observe the people in the square.
Zoren sat alongside her and then asked, ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m watching people.’
‘I can see that, but I don’t understand why?’
‘There are some computer systems in the buildings around here, but none are interconnected. It seems that they control people’s use of computers here on Onliv. I need to get access into the main network to find where your people have been taken and for that I have to find an access point.’
A man passed by them. He looked at Kalrea then instantly away. Then another woman did the same thing.
Why is everyone looking at Kalrea? That woman definitely looked at Kalrea. Why did she look disgusted?
‘Kalrea, I don’t see many other races here on Onliv. I can see two Drulfians over there with masks on, but they’re the only people I’ve seen who don’t seem to be Gullin.’
‘The lack of oxygen puts most off coming here. It’s not nice having to wear an oxygen mask all the time. There! That’s what I’m looking for. See that woman over there in the distance, well she’s now using a terminal at the corner of that building. Hopefully that will give me a way of accessing the main network.’
Kalrea got up and marched over to the terminal.
Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life Page 12
