Zoren watched her for a moment, but then could not resist having a look at a nearby tree. He touched its blue craggy trunk, which was sparkling as if it had metal in it.
It’s all rough. Ow! And sharp, he thought, glancing at a small cut on his finger.
A dark-green tripedal insect was crawling on the trunk of the tree. He moved his hand closer to it, but quickly pulled it away when the insect rose up on two legs as if to defend itself. On its green belly was a long red spike.
That doesn’t look like it wants to be touched. Zoren noticed another one scurrying across the blue grass, heading for another tree.
He glanced back to the terminal, but Kalrea had gone.
Where is she?
He anxiously looked towards the other nearby buildings.
Ah, she’s now over there at another terminal.
Zoren felt relieved.
Kalrea returned and as she sat down alongside him said, ‘I know where they are. H’furni Raxom took them to a place called the Liyp building this morning.’
‘Excellent. So where is this Liyp building?’
‘We’ll need to take a mono-pod, but first I have a problem. My picture has been transmitted to all the planets near Xim’gu. I’m recorded as being extremely dangerous, the most severe rating for a person. That really upsets me.’
She killed several Frinduls by pointing at them and she thinks that this should be considered normal.
Zoren shook his head, but he knew that Kalrea was concerned over how she was being portrayed, so said, ‘Remember you killed a lot of Frinduls in that bar. If you were watching that, what would you think?’
‘I do understand what you mean, but what worries me is that it won’t be long before I’m recognised.’
‘Maybe you have been already. Have you noticed that people seem to be looking at you?’
‘Yes, I had noticed that,’ she replied.
Zoren peeked at Kalrea and then at the people strolling by. He then said, ‘Well, you do seem to standout a bit. Their clothes are completely different to yours. The women here don’t seem to wear any colours and there’s definitely nothing as revealing as what you’re wearing.’
‘I need to change!’
Zoren was still observing those walking by.
‘We need to-’ He stopped abruptly when he turned to Kalrea. The tattoo on her left cheek had disappeared and her hair was now blond. ‘You’ve... You’ve changed your...’
Kalrea smiled. ‘How do I look as a blond?’
‘Different!’ Zoren commented. ‘So can you change anything else?’ he said cheekily, raising his eyebrows and glancing down at her breasts.
‘Zoren, the answer to that is no. I mean what would your wife say?’
Kalrea stared at a passing woman. She got up and started to follow her.
‘What are you doing, Kalrea?’ Zoren said, catching her up, just as she was about to follow the woman into a small alleyway.
‘I must get some different clothes.’
‘What do you mean?’ Zoren said, and then thought, My God, what is she going to do? No, she can’t kill her for the dress.
‘Stop, Kalrea. I said, stop!’
Kalrea glared at him as she stopped.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘You can’t...’ Zoren said, and then realising what he was going to say, continued his sentence in thought, kill her. Wait! I could be wrong, so in a sheepish voice he added, ‘What I mean is… Er... What were you going to do?’
‘I was going to ask her where she bought that dress from, why?’
‘Oh…’ he said and then thought, See you idiot, she’s not like that. He then added, ‘Er... Good idea.’
Kalrea looked down the alleyway for the woman, but she had disappeared around a corner. She saw another woman who was passing in the square and rushed out to her, leaving Zoren in the alleyway.
‘Excuse me! I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I love the dress you’re wearing…’
Zoren was feeling annoyed with himself for thinking wrongly about Kalrea.
The woman put her hand over her mouth and then pointed to Kalrea. She seemed a bit startled.
‘Zoren… Zoren!’ Kalrea said, hurrying back.
‘Sorry, I was… miles away.’
‘There are some shops off the square that sell a range of clothes. I need to go there and quickly.’
‘Why?’
‘Never mind why. I should have looked into this planet’s culture, that’s all!’
Kalrea rushed out of the square and entered the first clothes shop she came across. Zoren had a job to keep up with her. As he arrived inside, Kalrea was being met by a shop assistant whose expression said everything about how she looked.
‘I’m looking for something to wear. Something casual,’ Kalrea said.
‘Young lady, what are you doing out in your underwear?’
Zoren’s eyes widened.
Underwear! No wonder people were looking at her.
‘I managed to get my access revoked from my apartment,’ Kalrea replied to the woman. ‘Do you have something that would look good on me?’
‘Come right through here,’ she replied. ‘My, my… Let’s get you dressed. Your husband did the right thing bringing you here.’
Husband! What? She thinks I’m Kalrea’s husband.
As Kalrea was in a back room, Zoren stood gazing out of the window of the shop. He felt the dio-plastic wedding bracelet on his wrist and then had a flash-back to the day after he and Sabri had been joined in matrimony.
*****
‘Well, we’re now married,’ Sabri said with excitement, ‘let’s have a look at our new home.’
‘But we’re not supposed to move in until tomorrow.’
‘Come on!’ Sabri said, pulling him by his arm. ‘There’ll be no one there, and I have access.’
After descending to deck two and approaching the door to their new home, Sabri entered a pin in the keypad adjacent to the door and, when the door clicked, she pushed it inwards.
They stepped into the living area, which was totally empty of any furnishings.
‘The room looks really dull without anything in it,’ Zoren commented.
‘My mum has made us some cloth murals as a wedding present. They’ll help a lot. We could have some chairs over there by the window, a desk over there, a-’
While Sabri continued to talk, Zoren approached the window and gazed out at Linud. ‘Wow, what a view!’
‘We’re really lucky to be on this side of the space station,’ Sabri said excitedly. ‘I think your father had something to do with that. As an elder he managed to persuade the council to let us have this apartment.’
‘I love it,’ Zoren said. He had a tear in his eye. ‘I’m so happy, Sabri.’
‘Me too,’ she replied. ‘All we need now is some children running about.’
Zoren raised his eyebrow. ‘Now there’s a thought!’ he said, before kissing Sabri…
*****
As Zoren got back to focus on where he was, he suddenly felt very lonely. He took a long deep breath.
I wish you were here, safe with me. Where are you Sabri? I hope you’re all right, wherever you are.
He glanced back to the door behind which Kalrea was trying some clothes with the help of the shop assistant.
Come on Kalrea! How long does it take to put a dress on?
Kalrea emerged wearing a plain dark-grey dress, which totally obscured her figure and almost touched the ground. It made her look ten years older.
‘That will be 8000 umo, please? Could I have your account number?’ the shop assistant said to Zoren.
‘What?’ Zoren said, totally flabbergasted.
He turned to Kalrea.
‘Oh, yes, of course,’ Kalrea replied. ‘It’s 347826-74829H.’
Thank goodness that she’s able to link into the computers around here. I hate to think what we’d do if we couldn’t pay for that dress.
‘Please confirm your ID by placing your hand
on the reader.’
Kalrea placed her hand on a large pad and Zoren was not surprised to see it was accepted.
‘Thank you,’ the shop assistant said, ‘I hope you sort out the access to you apartment,’ then turning to Zoren, she added, ‘Shame on you!’
What does she mean? Why is it my fault? Kalrea said she was locked out of her apartment, so why should it be something to do with me?
When they left the shop, Zoren asked Kalrea,
‘Why did she say that to me?’
‘Well Zoren, here on Onliv the man pays for everything when he’s with his wife.’
‘But you’re not my wife!’
‘I’m glad you didn’t say that in the shop.’
‘Why?’
‘Try explaining why you’re with a woman in her underwear then.’
‘Ah! I see your point.’
Kalrea looked up at the white mono-pods travelling past, and then to a nearby raised green circle set into the pavement, which people used like a bus stop to request a vacant mono-pod.
‘It’s time we got to the Liyp building,’ she said and then moved inside the circle.
A passing mono-pod stopped and then its egg-shaped body lowered to the pavement in front of her. A door slid open and they entered.
‘Please state your destination?’ a female voice asked, from a panel at the front of the mono-pod, as it ascended back to the track above.
Kalrea said nothing.
‘Thank you. Estimated time to Liyp building is five minutes. For your safety, please ensure you are seated at all times.’
The mono-pod’s spacious interior had one seamless window all the way around its sides and four pairs of very conformable rainbow-patterned seats, two on either sides facing each other, and one at the front and one at the back again facing each other. Zoren sat in one of the two back seats which were forward facing and Kalrea sat opposite him.
He smiled at Kalrea, while admiring her bland dress.
‘Zoren, please don’t say anything. I know this dress is awful,’ she remarked.
‘So, what goes on in this Liyp building where we’re heading for?’ Zoren asked her.
‘It’s a rehabilitation prison,’ Kalrea replied. ‘It’s a place where those who offend have corrective treatment. They probe the mind to find the offending neural pathways that made the person commit the crime, and remove them.’
‘That sounds a bit drastic.’
‘Yes, and the Liyp building is also a place where they can perform the transfer of an Agonian soul into a Xangol.’
Zoren felt anxious.
‘Are you saying that we’re too late?’
‘They haven’t been here very long, probably less than two hours, so they’d have had to be very efficient to have started already.’
‘But you said your picture has been circulated to other planets, so they must know that we saved three of my people and will be looking for the others.’
‘If that’s the case, then we can’t afford to waste much time when we arrive at the Liyp building.’
Zoren nodded his head slowly, and felt even more worried about Sabri’s life and said, ‘I really miss Sabri. We’ve always been together, even when we were little. I don’t think I’d want to be without her.’
‘What do you mean, Zoren?’
‘If she dies, then it would break my hearts. My life would no longer have any purpose. Kalrea, have you ever loved anything… I mean anyone?’
‘What a strange question to ask me,’ Kalrea replied.
‘I’m just interested. You’re very old, so I assume you’ve met a lot of people and must have become very close to some of them.’
‘I have, yes,’ Kalrea replied, now staring at the floor.
Zoren could sense he had asked a difficult question. He was about to say it wasn’t important, when Kalrea replied.
‘I have loved someone, or at least become so close that I cared a lot about him.’
Kalrea paused for a moment. She had a solemn smile on her face.
‘Remember I said my first pilot was Lex?’
Zoren nodded.
‘Well, I love him. He means everything to me.’
Why is she talking in the present? He must have died years ago.
The mono-pod started to slow.
‘You have reached your destination,’ the female voice announced from within the mono-pod.
Zoren looked at the surrounding buildings. One stood out from the others. It was a building over two hundred metres tall, which looked like a square column of stone and had no windows.
‘You’re going to tell me it’s that building over there, aren’t you, Kalrea?’ Zoren said, pointing towards it.
‘Yes, it stands out, doesn’t it?’
He gazed at the entrance.
‘Is that the only way in, or is there a back door.’
‘Well, I’ve accessed the building’s computer system and downloaded a floor plan. That’s the only entrance. There are four guards inside the entrance.’
‘So how are going to get past them?’
‘Well, if I’d been here on my own, then I’d have had to kill those guards. But as you’re here with me and want to help, then you can act as a diversion for me.’
The mono-pod stopped at the nearest green circle to the Liyp building and then descended to the pavement. Zoren and Kalrea got out.
‘What do you want me to do?’ Zoren asked with some trepidation.
‘Do you think you can pretend to look terrified if you were stuck in a mono-pod that was on fire?’
‘What do you mean? Definitely, I would be terrified!’
‘Don’t worry, the telementor will protect you.’
‘So you’re serious! You want me to be in a burning mono-pod.’
‘Trust me! All I need is twenty-two seconds to get past those security guards and into one of transit tubes, which I’ll make sure is waiting for me.’
‘But what do I do once I’ve been… well rescued?’
‘Say thank you and then get the next mono-pod back to the Yigot landing zone. Remember it’s the Yigot landing zone. Go straight back to the shuttle and get onboard. It’s in bay 63MXB. Use the telementor to open the door by moving your hand near it. Once onboard you’ll be able to speak to me again.’
‘All right, I understand. When do we do this?’
‘Now would be a good time,’ Kalrea said, as she moved into the green circle to wait for the next free mono-pod.
Once one arrived and descended, Zoren nervously got onboard.
Just before the door closed, Kalrea asked, ‘Zoren, tell me where the shuttle is?’
‘The Yigot landing zone, bay… bay 63… MX... B.’
Kalrea smiled at him, before saying, ‘Good, I’ll see you soon.’
Chapter Fifteen
The mono-pod started along the track, passing twenty metres away, in front of the Liyp building.
Access mono-pod systems. Apply emergency brakes. Full power to motors. Override safety controls.
As Kalrea walked casually over to the entrance of the building, she glanced up to the mono-pod and Zoren inside. Smoke was bellowing from the track above him as the mono-pod jerked forward. Then, there was a loud bang and the support above the mono-pod burst into flames.
Override fire suppression system. Open door.
Come on, be a bit more urgent, Zoren! What’s he doing?
This will wake him up! Switch power to secondary systems.
There was an explosion at the front of the mono-pod.
Zoren shouted from the door, ‘Help me!’
He really looks frightened now.
Kalrea moved towards the door to the Liyp building as soon as the guards were distracted by Zoren’s cries for help. They all rushed out over to where he was.
Activate defence shield.
Access building security system. Turn cameras off in section one, five and six. Open main entrance, code 345-542.
She quickly moved through the main doorway of th
e building and into a small lobby area, which had eighteen transit lift doors along one of its walls and a long black topped security desk opposite them, where the guards would normally be seated. There were a number of round tables, at waist height, but no chairs, so people could only stand at them.
Close main entrance.
Kalrea approached an open transit lift door, but at that moment another arrived and its door opened.
Close lift door three!
As someone was about to exit the transit lift, the doors closed on them almost trapping their leg. Kalrea could hear the person swearing at the door.
She entered the lift.
Close lift door eight.
The door closed.
Transit maintenance override. Then thinking to the mono-pod. Enable mono-pod fire suppression. Emergency decent.
Right, Zoren will be ok now. Time to locate the Agonians.
Kalrea accessed the many cameras within the building.
There! On floor 105, far corner. What are they doing? Damn, I’m too late! Floor 105.
Three seconds later the lift door opened. She accessed the floor plan of the building, before rushing out and into a long brightly lit corridor, which disappeared in both directions and had doors at regular intervals on both sides.
Turn off security cameras in section forty-one, forty-two and forty-five, she thought, and then turned to her right.
She rushed along the corridor, but she could hear footsteps in the distance behind her.
‘Hay, you!’ a male voice called out from behind her.
Kalrea continued towards the room where the Agonians were.
She then heard him say, ‘Control, I have an intruder. I need a containment field in section 42G.’
An energised wall of light appeared directly in front of Kalrea blocking her path. As she turned, another energy field appeared behind her.
‘How did you get in here?’ the middle-aged guard asked, as he marched calmly up to the other side of the energy wall.
Kalrea approached the energy field and looked him in the eye.
‘I must have taken a wrong turn. Oh, and sorry for the headache.’
The guard looked puzzled.
Deactivate defence shield.
Kalrea swung her clenched fist through the energy wall, striking him on the chin. He fell backwards onto the floor.
Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life Page 13
