Chapter Twenty
All That Remains
Aeolus stared at the viewing screen. What faced him was a great swathe of blue and white edged in black. The Prometheus had reached Eden, and the planet’s beauty and apparent serenity was overwhelming. But Aeolus and his crew didn’t notice any of it.
Silhouetted in front of the swirls of cloud and great oceans was a tragic scene. Wreck upon wreck spun and tumbled, the upper atmosphere of Eden filled with the fiery fragments of both dark and colourful ships. Broken fins, smashed and ruptured hulls, metal girders, bulkheads, deck plates, engines, even complete maser cannons on their mountings, debris of every kind and shape, filled the screen.
Dead ships, lifeless, Keruh and Klysanthian alike, slowly sinking deeper into the atmosphere as the gravity of Eden tugged at them. And down below, waiting to deliver the final blow was the Defence Net.
Even as Aeolus watched, sparks of lightening picked out one of the wrecks. There was a bright flash, and the now furiously burning hulk dropped rapidly toward the oceans below.
But not all the ships were dead or lifeless. A short distance ahead of the Prometheus was a multicoloured tri-hulled ship. It was drifting slowly among the other wrecks. The blackened craters of maser impacts peppered her hull, the serrations in the front fin were broken away and there was a large gash in one of the secondary hulls. Lights still shone through windows but her engines were silent. She seemed intact.
The Prometheus was manoeuvring carefully toward the Klysanthian ship, picking her way between the wrecks that were no more than just gigantic fragments. The huge numbers of smaller chunks of debris that spun off the wrecks or floated in their path were ignored. They banged and clunked against the hull of the Prometheus in a continuous rattle that echoed through the ship.
Aeolus waved his hand as he kept his eyes on the screen. “To port, Glaucus! Bank her! Bank her!”
Glaucus steered the ship as he always did, expertly, calmly, the sweat beading on his brow. Aeolus’s insistent demands and shouts never fazed him, even at the height of battle. Then, as now, his eyes flicked between the screen and the readings on his console, and he often obeyed even before Aeolus had uttered his commands.
The Prometheus banked to port to allow a large section of a triangular hull to tumble silently underneath her. Debris spun away from the wreckage and more of it bounced against the underside of the Prometheus as she surged on.
Aeolus held up his hand. “Steady, now, Glaucus!” He turned and glanced briefly at his First Officer.
“Peleus! Can you raise her?”
Peleus shook his head as he looked down at his console. “She doesn’t respond, Captain. There is only static.”
“Keep trying! We must make them hear us before they drop into the Defence Net!”
“Maybe they don’t want to hear us,” Peleus suggested.
Aeolus now looked at him more closely. “You think the Defence Net is their aim?”
“They have survived while many others haven’t. It is a possibility, one that would match the intent Telephus suggested.”
Aeolus thought for a moment. “Then we must wake them another way. Tyro! Fire on her! Aim for the nearest wreck! Pepper her with apples!”
A white beam shot from the Prometheus as one of her maser cannons fired. A tumbling wreck passing below the Klysanthian ship erupted into spinning fragments, some of which struck one of her hulls. There was an instant response.
Peleus looked up and smiled. “I have her! I’ll put her on screen.”
A slim but dirty face with angelic, child-like features replaced the image of tumbling wrecks above Eden. Long dark hair framed the face, and the expression was one of immature annoyance. There was a heavily bruised cut on her forehead, and her uniform was torn. Behind her, the bridge showed signs of damage. There were blackened burn marks on the walls and screens, and there was debris on the floor. Some of the control consoles also looked damaged. Sitting and standing by the consoles were other tall and sinuous women who looked on with sad expressions. They were also dirty and dishevelled. One of them had her arm in a sling, her head hung down. There was an air of doom about them.
“Why do you fire on us?” a tinkling voice asked in irritation.
Aeolus got up from his command chair. “I am Aeolus, Captain of the Prometheus. Ares has given me command over all remaining ships of the Klysanthian Second and Ninth Fleets at Eden. We are to clear the Keruh from the skies of Eden and provide covering fire for the Androktones once the Defence Net is open. What is the state of your damage? How many other ships survive?”
The childish expression of annoyance left the face on the screen. Instead she stared back aloof and haughty.
“And I am Pantariste, Captain of the Queen of Angels, once of the Klysanthian Ninth Fleet. I do not accept your command over my ship. I have been freed from Royal Service and my life is of my own choosing—”
Aeolus interrupted her, his voice loud and overbearing. “If you would rather die I will fire on you now and destroy you! There are Keruh ships still to hunt down! Their Host is engaged by the Androktones on Eden! There is work still to do and I have no time for the mewling of women!”
Pantariste became visibly angry at the taunt. She leaned closer to the screen and shouted her reply, her delicate voice strained. “You think what happened here was the work of mewling women!”
Aeolus took a step forward. He shouted even louder. “I have come from a place where dead ships litter space more greatly than here! And the battle has not yet ended! Ships with half their hulls stripped loose turn to ram the enemy for there is nought else they can do, and you hide here among the dead and wait for the Net to snuff out your miserable existence! Move your ship!”
There was a lengthy pause as everyone on the bridge waited for the Klysanthian to react. For a moment Pantariste just stared at Aeolus, and then with a cry of annoyance she waved at those behind her. The image on the screen returned to the view of Eden and the tumbling wrecks. The engines of the Klysanthian ship now burst into hot life and the ship banked and flew toward them. It gracefully spun to avoid two spinning wrecks and surged passed the Prometheus above her starboard side.
Aeolus smiled and turned to Glaucus. “Bring us about! Now we are two!”
Zeus roared his annoyance at the heavens and banged the wall of the communications room.
“The Olympus can still fight! I will not be sent as nursemaid for those who are less able! This is an insult! A slight against me for my prowess in war! I will not do it!”
Telephus stood at the portal impassive. “You will do as you are commanded or the rest of the fleet will fire on you.”
Zeus’s eyes flashed in his anger. “Memnon is jealous! Jealous of my success!”
“Your success killed the Medusa and Titan.”
Zeus was dismissive. “The Olympus flew before them! The Medusa’s loss was not my doing! Erichthonius should have been more careful! And the Titan made the second intersection!”
“Your protestations mean nothing. The Senate view the battle in the Council War Room. The loss of the Medusa in particular will not have gone unnoticed. Your involvement in the destruction of both ships will not yet be clear. Return now and it may remain so.”
Zeus stared at Telephus in shock. “You dare to extract my compliance by threat?”
“Yours will be the first ship to return. It may be the only ship. See it as extortion if you wish, but obey.”
Telephus leaned forward and his image on the portal dimmed.
Zeus stared at the empty portal for a moment, and then he spun on his heel and stormed back to the bridge. As soon as he was there he barked his commands angrily.
“Nestor! Bring us about! Set course for Atlantis! Jason! Contact the Pegasus and Leviathan! Ascertain their best speed and have them form up behind us in an arrow formation!” He slumped into his command chair. “The enemy is broken and fleeing before us, and we go home to aid in a precautionary evacuation. The gods h
ave damned me!”
Memnon watched Telephus re-engage the portal. “Hephaestus would have been proud of you. A future in the Senate beckons.”
Telephus looked embarrassed. “Was I too harsh?”
“No. Zeus deserved it. But is he right, Telephus? Have I picked him unfairly? Would he not be of better use here than slinking home?”
Telephus paused. “His ship is damaged, but no more so than many others.”
“Then he should remain here to fight, and I should choose another.”
“The weaker the ship, the less chance of reaching home. The Leviathan ails badly, Captain. With only the Pegasus and another with similar damage, their journey would be more hazardous. No, I think your decision was fair. The Olympus is strong enough to ensure those with her reach home. And Zeus has a tendency to be unpredictable and selfish at times. Maybe it is better that he is isolated with them rather than among us in the final stages of the battle.”
“Provided he does not abandon them.”
“He knows the Senate watches from afar. He will not abandon them.”
Memnon sighed and nodded. He stepped forward so that he would now be in view. “Make the connection.”
Telephus activated the controls and the portal shimmered and flowed until a tall man appeared on white stone wearing a short robe with a cloak thrown over one shoulder. He was lit by bright sunlight and he seemed to be on the periphery of a jubilant party, as cheers and applause could be heard although no other figures could be seen.
“It seems the battle is won, Memnon,” Hephaestus said in a raised voice but without emotion.
“Ha! More likely our trickery is uncovered,” Memnon replied with a grunt.
“The reason is immaterial. The Keruh fleet is broken, at your hands, and at Eden by the Klysanthians. Success is close and the Senate rejoices. Many cry in open relief. Have you despatched any ships to aid the evacuation?”
Memnon nodded. “The Pegasus, Leviathan and Olympus return as we speak. Their progress should be apparent soon.”
Hephaestus turned and looked at something high to his left. “Yes, three ships in a triangle, I see them. Good, it will bring more joy.”
“What does Ares wish of us now, Hephaestus?”
Hephaestus turned to look at him once again. “Pursue the Keruh. Give them no respite.”
“Then the pursuit will be a sedate one, for there are no undamaged ships in what remains of our fleet. Our spirit is high, but we carry it forth in cracked and leaky urns. I can only travel at the speed of my slowest ships.”
“They also have damaged ships that fall behind.”
“Those we overtake we can pick off, but the Keruh will reach Eden before us.”
“They will not make planet-fall unopposed. The captain you despatched to Eden is gathering the surviving ships of the Klysanthians into a more cohesive force. He works quickly, and his activities can already be seen.”
“Aeolus is a good man. The skies above Eden will be cleared.”
Hephaestus’s eyes flicked briefly to Telephus standing behind Memnon. “Your brother?”
Telephus bowed.
Hephaestus continued. “A good choice indeed. Advise Aeolus of this change in plan. Crush them between you, Memnon. Let none of them aid their Host on Eden.”
“It is a task we shall relish. But what of the Androktones? Do they not need our support?”
“The Androktones have been advised of the change in events. They have established their bridgehead in Jutlam City, but their progress is slow.”
“If they are unable to gain control of the Net in time, Aeolus will have to leave before he can give them support.”
“If you are unable to overtake the Keruh as you say, then Aeolus cannot wait. He must break orbit to intercept the Keruh who approach as soon as he is able. There is no alternative. We must leave the Androktones and the Keruh Host to their own battles beneath the Defence Net. They have been warned of this possibility.”
“It will be a hard and cruel battle for them without air cover.”
“It is a battle they have been bred for. Do not concern yourself, Memnon. Whether the Defence Net is open or closed is no longer relevant. What is relevant is that the entire Host is now trapped on one planet with the Androktones. It is the scenario that the Keruh fear most, and the reason why their fleet flees before you. But be warned, victory over the Keruh is far from complete. If the evacuation of Atlantis is to prove unnecessary, it will be because no Keruh vessel escapes you.”
Memnon nodded. “I understand, Hephaestus. The surviving Keruh ships will be our priority.”
Hephaestus bowed. “The gods be with you, Memnon. Victory is close, do not let it slip from your grasp.”
The image of Hephaestus faded. Memnon slapped Telephus on the back.
“I return to the bridge, Telephus. Contact the Prometheus, tell Aeolus of the plan. Not one vessel must escape us, not one.”
Applause, tears, shouts of “Victory!” All of these filled The Great Hall of the Council War Room. Even Aegina cried openly now, her relief plain to see, as was the triumph in her eyes. She turned to Ares with tears flowing unchecked down her cheeks, and raised her voice above the noise.
“My eyes have seen a sight that no other has seen or imagined! The Keruh flee from battle! You are once again triumphant, Ares, you are once again the Stamping Horse of Atlantis!”
She bowed to him, and the sporadic applause grew to a thunder as all the Senators cheered and clapped. Even Aetolus clapped as strongly as the rest.
Ares, too, bowed, and was forced to raise his voice above the applause. “I bask in the glory of your praise, President. But it is the captains of our fleet who have won this battle, and the celebrations should be kept for their return. For although the battle is won, the war is not yet over.”
Aegina raised her head, her reply lost among the cheers. “Well spoken, Ares.”
She raised her hands and turned to the cheering Senators. Slowly the clapping and the shouts died down. When all was quiet, Aegina addressed them in a clear but emotional voice.
“Senators of Atlantis! The Keruh have fled from the battlefield, for the first time they are defeated in the black oceans of the sky! Final victory is within our grasp! Now we must harden our hearts, stifle our conscience and put remorse to the sword! Not until the Stamping Horse of Atlantis has ground his hooves into the very hives on the Keruh home world will the victory be ours!”
As one, the Senators cheered their support, and Aegina turned to face Ares once more, her eyes now filled with fire.
“Kill them, Ares! Kill them all! And if we must turn our back on the galaxy, let us do so with it safe from the parasites that would consume it! Let their extinction be our final legacy!”
Tipi didn’t mind carrying Phoebe. She weighed next to nothing at all and he liked the feel of her warmth against his body. He felt happier now that he had some purpose and direction, and he walked quickly and easily. He was sure things would get better now. He had even seen a falling star. It had been very bright and had taken an age to pass below the distant horizon. It was bound to be a lucky sign. They would find the Klysanthian ship and the Klysanthians would take him to Hilbrok. Once there he could look for Breda and his mother and father. He had to keep thinking that they were still alive. And maybe he would find Kelandra and the others at Hilbrok too. Feeling confident that the future would be brighter, Tipi quickened his step.
Next to him Philippis wasn’t doing so well. The gravity of Eden dragged her down and Tipi’s quick pace often caused her to fall behind. She would stop, take furious breaths, and then trot tiredly after him, her head down. It was a process repeated far too often until she finally gave up.
“Stop! Stop!” she gasped as she leaned on her rifle.
Tipi stopped and turned. “What’s the matter?”
Philippis collapsed to her knees, still leaning on her rifle. “Like this...go on...I can’t...”
H
e quickly walked back to her, worried by her sudden collapse. “Are you alright, Philippis? You aren’t wounded, are you?”
She looked up at him. She could see from his expression that his concern was genuine. She shook her head. “Too strong...your gravity is...too thick...your air...and too weak...my physique...”
Tipi looked at her breathing so hard, her chest heaving. It was almost as if she had been running. He felt sorry for her and guilty at the same time. He hadn’t even noticed that she was suffering. He had just been walking along buried in his own thoughts, totally oblivious to the fact that she was unable to keep up.
“I’m sorry, Philippis. I should have paid more attention. Do you want me to carry you?”
Philippis looked up at him in surprise. “Carry me...and Phoebe...how can you?”
“You’ll have to climb on my back.”
Without another word, Tipi turned his back on her and got down on his knees. Philippis just stared at the vast back in front of her. She reached out with one hand, paused, flexed her fingers, and then placed her hand on his back. It felt hard.
“Not heavy...twice the weight be?”
He looked over his shoulder at her. “Phoebe weighs hardly anything. You don’t weigh more than her, do you?”
Philippis shook her head.
“Climb on then.”
Philippis slung her rifle over her shoulder and stood up. She leaned over him, putting her arms around his body and hooking her long legs around his waist. Tipi looked up at her.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Tipi climbed to his feet and resumed walking. He felt like he was carrying two babies, one in a rucksack on his back, and one in his arms. His pace was hardly affected by the extra weight at all. What did affect him was having Philippis’s long limbs wrapped around him and her body pressed against his back. Her head was also right next to his, her face pressed up against his ear. He liked the feel of her skin next to his. And when she breathed he could feel her warm breath on his cheek. It all caused stirrings in his body, and it didn’t help when she spoke to him. It was almost as if she knew.
“I am not heavy?” she asked in her delicate little girl’s voice. She had recovered her breath, and now she felt like talking.
“No, you’re fine.”
“Strong you are. What age you be?”
“Seventeen.”
“Not child then you be, but adult?” she pried.
“Not really. I’m still not old enough to do certain things.”
“Physical things?”
“Oh, I can do all the physical things, I mean I’m capable of everything, it’s just that I’m not classed as grown up yet. I still have to do what my parents say, I can’t vote, or live on my own yet.”
“Sexually active are you?”
It was a direct question that caused Tipi to miss a step and a heartbeat. If she could see his face she would have seen him blush, but the darkness and the fact that she was so close to him hid his embarrassment. It wasn’t a question he was expecting, and for some strange reason he said the next thing that came into his head.
“I’ve never done it, but I suppose I can, well, I hope I can, I mean properly, I mean, oh, you know what I mean.”
Philippis seemed puzzled. “Practise do you not?”
Tipi turned his head slightly and found her face in his face, her tiny mouth close to his, their lips almost touching. Her breath seemed almost sweet. He quickly turned to look ahead again.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said quickly.
“Experiment do you? With females?”
“They don’t like me.” It just came straight into his head.
He could feel her sit up on his back. “Not like you?” She surveyed him from above, moving one of her hands over his chest and shoulder. “But big and strong you are, why not they like you?”
Tipi shrugged his shoulders causing Philippis to move up and down. “I don’t seem to get on with them right.”
“Get on?” she asked. “Your technique you must improve if fall off you do.”
“No, I mean I don’t know how to chat them up.” Tipi wracked his brains for a good word and suddenly found one. “I can’t relate with them.”
“They want talk?” She remained sitting up on his back while she thought about that. “They waste time,” she finally decided, and snuggled down again, wrapping herself more tightly around him. She stuck her face in his neck.
“Like you I do,” she said in a slightly muffled voice. “And no talk I need. Reward you I will when Gate of Heaven we reach if willing you are.”
Tipi was now very red faced, and he was also very hot and bothered. He was pretty sure what Philippis was offering, but he wasn’t sure if he could wait until they reached the Gate of Heaven, not with the way Philippis kept nuzzling his neck and caressing him with her hands. One hand went under his shirt and he could stand it no more.
“I think you better get down,” he said, and stopped walking.
Philippis stopped nuzzling his neck and sat up on his back again “Receive reward early you wish?” she asked rather hopefully.
“No, not quite, nearly, well, almost. It’s just that I think you better walk for a bit.”
He started to kneel down so that she could climb off, but then she tightened her grip on him. “No! Wait! Wait!”
Her voice sounded so urgent that Tipi stood up again and looked around in surprise. “What is it?”
“See something I do! High in sky and toward us it comes! Yes!” She let go of him with one hand and pointed. “There! See?”
Tipi stared ahead. At first all he could see was the countryside with scattered trees and gentle hills. It was all bathed in darkness, but the distant shadow of the Brok Ridge Mountains could just be seen, and above them the stars glinted. But then he saw it. One of the stars was moving. It was quite low, just above the distant hills. It took a moment before he realised that it was between them and the mountains.
“Oh, yes,” he said, squinting up his eyes. “It must be an aircraft. Maybe a search plane.”
“Not plane!” Philippis said excitedly. “Ship it be! And only one ship be here that fly can still!”
He looked up at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! Sure I be! Scyleia not wait for us to them go! Brings the Gate of Heaven to us she does!”
Tipi looked back at the ship. It was moving across their path and a sudden thought came into his head.
“It’s too dark, Philippis. They can’t see us.”
Philippis tapped him on the head. “Strong and smart you are! Reward you double I will, this promise I make! Now this they will see!” She pulled the rifle from her shoulder and fired it in the air.
Tipi looked up, startled, and he saw the bright white beam shoot up at the night sky. Philippis fired twice more. For a moment Tipi was scared, worried that others might see the stark beams. He looked around but could see nothing. He looked back at the bright spot that was the ship. It seemed to be hovering now, but then he noticed that it was getting larger.
Philippis lowered her rifle and began waving. “See us now they do! Toward us they come!”
Tipi looked up at her. She was sat on his back gripping him only with her legs, both arms over her head, the rifle in one hand, waving furiously. Next he looked down at Phoebe. She was still sleeping, missing it all.
Philippis was getting more excited. “Come to us they do! Rescue us they will!”
Tipi looked back up at her, and then he looked around at the darkness and distant shadows of trees. He felt a sudden feeling, and without a word he broke into a run. He didn’t really know why, he just didn’t like the idea of just standing there in one place. Maybe it was because Philippis had fired her rifle, the white beams of the lasers marking their position for all to see like an arrow over their heads. Maybe he just needed something to do to work off his over-heated hormones. Philippis didn’t question why he was ru
nning. She sat tall on his back, waving with both hands.
Tipi watched the lights of the ship get brighter and brighter as he ran. Then it split into several lights, and he could begin to make out three distinct shapes all close together. It was one large triangle with two smaller shapes on each side. The ship came closer and closer, the shape and details becoming clearer. And then he began to hear it. It was a slow rumble at first, but it grew louder and louder with every passing second. He saw the trees the ship passed over suddenly shake into life, as if a great wind blew them. He could see more lights on the triangular hull, tiny windows that glinted. And the lights lit up the side of the ship brightly enough for him to see that the hull of the ship was painted in bright vivid colours, colours that were broken in a multitude of places by blackened craters and bare, twisted metal.
Philippis continued to wave at the now rapidly approaching ship, totally ignoring everything else. The ship was very close now; it turned sideways as it glided toward them, the noise from its engines drowning out all other sounds. It dropped lower and lower. A wind started to blow. At first it was a gentle and cool breeze, but then it grew stronger, stronger and warmer. Suddenly the ship was enormous, and the down force of its engines caused Tipi to stagger forward in the now hot wind. Above him, Philippis shielded her eyes and screamed in excitement. Then several flaps opened in the ships underbelly, three large tubular legs descended, and it sank down onto the ground. The engine noise immediately began to die down and the hot wind subsided.
Tipi ran under the shadow of one of the secondary hulls as a hatch in the main hull slid open and a ramp glided down. Light spilled out of the hatch, and the silhouettes of slender figures with long flowing hair trailing behind them ran out. The silhouettes turned into Klysanthians with blonde and light brown hair. They were carrying rifles and they ran toward them purposefully.
Tipi stopped running and Philippis instantly jumped off his back, screaming her head off. Tipi watched her as she ran forward, jumping into the arms of one of the blonde haired figures.
“Heli! Heli!” she screamed in delight. “You came for us!”
Heli hugged her tightly, but she already seemed out of breath from the short run, and her eyes darted back and forth in the darkness. “Philippis! You are safe! But where are Anaxilea and the others?”
Philippis broke the embrace and stepped back, her joy at their rescue quickly forgotten. “This is all that remains,” she said sadly. “The Charity is lost, and only Phoebe and I have survived.”
Heli looked devastated. “Are you sure?”
“The answer will be on the road beyond those hills.”
“I will tell Scyleia. But we cannot waste time here any longer. The Androktones are in the Capital, and above us three ships fly very high under the Defence Net toward the Keruh portal. We must leave here.”
Now Philippis looked shocked. “They intend to destroy the portal?”
“It is a possibility we have envisaged. Now hurry!”
Heli turned and began to lead them back toward the hatch. It was obvious that they were all eager to leave, and Philippis was just as eager to follow them, but then she realised that some of the other Klysanthians were carrying Phoebe and she turned and saw Tipi standing all on his own. While she had spoken with Heli, he had been surrounded and Phoebe had been prized out of his arms and carried away. Now he was abandoned. Philippis pointed at him.
“He carried us here! Without his help we may both have died! He must come too!”
Heli paused and looked back. She nodded. “Alright! But hurry! Scyleia will not wait any longer!”
Philippis ran back and grabbed the surprised and confused Tipi.
“With us you must come! Quickly now!”
Tipi resisted her. “But I haven’t decided yet!”
“No time! Come with us you must! Leave you here I will not! Now come!”
Tipi allowed her to pull him forward. In truth he would have been scared to be left behind. But he also wasn’t sure if going with them was the right thing either.
“What about my sister and my parents?” he protested.
Philippis kept pulling him toward the hatch, smiling and coaxing him with words of encouragement. “Find them you can after! First be safe! Rest and eat! Then take you any place in ship we can! Search much quicker and farther than on feet on ground! Come now! Come with Philippis. Reward you I will as promise I did. Not miss it would you, a chance to lay with a Klysanthian?”
Tipi looked at her as she led him along. He didn’t know what to think. From the moment the Klysanthians had gathered around him his mind had gone into a whirl. They were all so slender and tall, their features tiny, and they seemed to smell so sweet. Why did he like them so much? Why did they have this effect on him? He wasn’t sure what he was feeling anymore, but the promise Philippis had made and her reminder of it filled him with anticipation and fear. He felt so silly, and for some reason he kept thinking about Kelandra, about her legs as she had sat opposite him in the truck, or when Bibi had stuck his tongue out at her in the classroom when they had stood at the window to watch the Keruh go by, or even about the dream he had had about her. She didn’t even like him. But what was he supposed to do? Then he had a worse thought.
What if he got it wrong?
He was suddenly embarrassed. Part of him wanted to run away, but the greater part of him just wanted to follow Philippis up the ramp and into the ship.
Before he knew it he was inside. Everything was bright and colourful. Slender figures ran up the corridors, and, yes, he felt lighter, lighter and the air was thinner, thinner but with a sweet smell. It was like being high in the mountains that time when they all went on holiday together. The air was fresh and the spring mountain blossoms had scented the air. It was like that here, similar, but different. Tipi remembered that holiday. He remembered the laughter and the fun. He was younger then, and Breda was younger too. Children. Was he still a child? He looked at Philippis. She smiled at him as she led him down the corridor. The other Klysanthians stared at him, but passed by without comment. Only Philippis spoke to him.
“Come with me, Tipi. Take you somewhere safe and quiet I will. Happy you will be. Happy and safe.”
Happy and safe.
Tipi kept thinking about Breda and his parents, about Kelandra and the others on the truck. But the thoughts seemed to be more at the back of his mind now, almost as if they were less important. There was something else to the fore, something else that filled his mind, something that stirred his body and made him feel hot and anxious. And all the time Philippis was there in front of him with her short feathery hair and tiny smiling face. He became aware that they were alone together, alone in a quiet room, a cabin that belonged to someone. There were chairs and a low table, and on one side was a strange looking sunken bath with water still in it. The walls were painted in vivid colours, and on the ceiling a slender woman with wings flew. He hadn’t even noticed that they had left the corridor and gone inside. It was difficult to notice anything other than Philippis. She seemed to fill all of his view. She was closer now, right in front of him, her hands on his chest. She still smiled, but the smile had changed slightly. It was different now.
Philippis rubbed her hands over Tipi’s chest, her eyes fixed intensely on his. He didn’t even notice her unfasten his shirt, her long fingers moving quickly and delicately. Then she suddenly pushed him. It took him by surprise and he stepped back and caught his legs on the low table. It splintered and broke under his weight and he fell back on the floor. The impact winded him and he felt foolish. But then Philippis pounced on his chest like an animal, kneeling on top of him, her long legs on either side of him, and his foolishness left him. He stared up at her with wide eyes. She had such a tense and yearning expression on her face, and the air around him was suddenly warm and exquisitely scented.
Philippis flexed her fingers and gently placed her hands on his bare chest, leaning over him.
“Now, Edenite,�
�� she whispered delicately through pouting lips as she moved closer. “Now the true gate of Heaven show you I will...”
Heli had reached the bridge to find Scyleia standing in front of her command chair. There were signs of damage and repair to some of the consoles. Scyleia spun round. She had long, jet-black hair and her eyes were a sparkling green. Her expression was filled with urgency.
“How many?” she demanded.
“Only two! And Phoebe has internal injuries!”
Scyleia smacked her chair with her tiny fists. “Prothoe! Get us in the air! Now! Heli! Get to your post!”
Heli jumped into her seat. “Philippis said that other survivors maybe on the road!”
“There is no time! The three Edenite ships are already over the Keruh portal!”
“But if they—”
“We’re leaving!” Scyleia screamed in her tiny voice. “Prothoe! Full power!”
With a roar of her engines, the Gate of Heaven lifted into the air. The three tubular legs retracted into her hull as she turned and swung away. The ship began to climb slowly, but then her main engines glowed incandescent red and she suddenly powered forward into a steep climb, the down force of her engines raking up the soft earth and incinerating the grass and trees. As she shot into the air three huge gouges were left in the earth behind her, the flames blowing in the hot wind.
Captain Limeno sat patiently in his command chair. He seemed to be deep in thought. Keltus came to stand next to him. Limeno slowly looked up.
“Is it time?”
Keltus nodded. “We are over the target, Captain.”
Limeno turned to look at the viewing screen ahead of him. In the distance another comet fell brightly toward earth. “Has there been any defensive fire from the batteries at Elengrad?”
“No. They are silent.”
“Strange, that, isn’t it?” Limeno commented.
“Maybe they think we pose no threat at this altitude,” Keltus suggested.
Limeno ignored his answer. “Are there any other ships in the area?”
“Only the Klysanthian one, and she scuttles away rapidly.”
Limeno smiled wryly. “Almost as if they know.”
Keltus placed his hands behind his back. “Your orders, Captain?”
Limeno continued to stare at the viewing screen. “Deploy the first device.”
The bus had reached the outskirts of the city again. There were more signs of damage to the buildings and there were some military vehicles among the abandoned cars in the road. The whole road was littered with debris and some of the buildings still burned. Nothing moved except the smoke and flames. If there were any bodies, they were lost in shadow.
The survivors from the truck stared out the windows at the scene of desolation. Gusta looked as they looked. The smoke drifted through the broken windows and caught at her throat. She coughed and Didi patted her back. She was sitting in his arms, all hope of finding Tipi and Breda gone from her now. There was just sadness in her mind, sadness and grief.
There was a bright flash, a very bright flash. For an instant it was broad daylight, like a sunny afternoon in summer. All the colours instantly stood out, all the details previously hidden in shadow, everything, became stark and clear. The blood on the road, the bodies of soldiers and Keruh lying at the corners, the grass at the side of the road, the colours of the doors and windows of the buildings, even the fractured glass scattered across the pavements flashed and twinkled. Then it went dark again.
Everyone drew a quick breath in shock, and the Corporal leapt from his seat and looked out through the back of the bus.
Kiki was one of many who looked around. “What was that?”
Ganatus brought the bus to a halt and the Corporal rushed back to him and grabbed him by the collar.
“Where’s the nearest entrance to the underground system?”
Ganatus looked around, startled. “Erm, eh, it’ll be on your map—”
The Corporal shook him. “You’re a bus driver, you must know! Think man!”
Ganatus looked around in panic, then he pointed. “Second on the left, check your map!”
“Damn the map! Drive! Now! Fast as you can!”
Ganatus drove the bus along the road, cannoning into several burned out cars. The Corporal kept urging him to go faster.
“Cut the corner! Go over the verge!”
His urgency caused the people in the bus to become panicky and they started to get to their feet and stare back anxiously. Gusta was doing the same, but Didi joined in the demands of the others to know what was wrong. It became a babble of questions that the Corporal finally put an end to by firing his gun through the roof.
Everyone ducked down and some of the women screamed. The Corporal wasn’t sympathetic.
“Shut up! Shut up!!” he shouted.
The soldier who had been on the other truck, whose name was Relther, was the first to raise his head.
“Tell them! Tell them the truth! That’s all they want to know!”
The Corporal looked manic. “You want the truth!” he snarled. “Fine! The brass have dropped a nuclear bomb on Elengrad! That was the flash we all saw! In about two minutes the blast wave will flatten everything above ground! Now shut up and sit down! Because when we get to that entrance we’ll have only seconds to grab everything and get down there before the whole world goes to crap!”
Before his words could sink in the bus lurched to a halt and Ganatus jumped from the driver’s seat.
“We’re here!”
The Corporal looked round then shouted, “Everyone out! Altus, Eastomoner! Grab that stretcher!” He pointed at Didi and Gusta. “You lot! Grab all the bags! Everything you can carry! Ganatus! Get everyone who can move down those stairs!” He pointed at Kiki and Relther. “You two! Carry that other stretcher! Klemunus! Go and help Pedomoner! Everyone! Move! Move!”
With screams and shouts, complete pandemonium overcame the occupants of the bus as they all scrambled out. Stretchers were lifted high, bags and holdalls thrown out the door, Pedomoner hopped and skipped and toes were trodden on and legs kicked. The bus rocked as everyone tumbled out and rushed down the stairs of the underground entrance.
Ganatus had parked the bus right at the top of the stairs, and some people leapt out the door only to stumble on the stairs straight away. More than one fell, but instead of walking on each other, the people still had enough control to pick up the fallen and pull them along. Still more than one fell down the stairs. But it didn’t matter. Getting down the stairs, any way they could was all that mattered.
The wind started while they were still jumping out of the bus. The two stretchers were at the top of the stairs when the wind grew stronger and began to howl. As Pedomoner and Klemunus went down the stairs the bus began to shake and the wind became a hurricane. Ganatus had stayed at the top of the stairs as he had ushered everyone into the safety of the underground rapid transit system. Now he lingered behind and watched the bus shake and rock in the powerful wind. His hair blew and he could hardly breathe. He was suddenly on his own, everyone else had rushed down to safety, and then the Corporal grabbed him and tugged him down the stairs.
An instant later and the blast wave hit. All the windows on the bus shattered and it leapt into the air. It was gone as if by magic. All the debris, the vehicles, and the bodies in the street were flung aside, and with a deafening roar the buildings exploded and shattered to fragments, the masonry and bricks flying like confetti.
Down in the darkness of the underground system the people screamed as the wind howled down the entrance behind them, covering them in dust. They had reached a concourse above the platforms and now they fell to the floor in the darkness, screaming, shouting and crying. Then with a tremendous crash that caused the floor beneath them to vibrate, everything became silent and still.
People cried and coughed, they moaned and whimpered, gasped and panted. All was darkness, a complete, black darkness, and only the
sounds they made filled the air, that and the sounds of the dust falling around them.
Gusta realised that something must have fallen on the entrance behind and above them. Maybe a building had collapsed. She also realised that the war must be over. The Keruh would all be dead, killed by the nuclear bomb. But so would all the people up above. And like them her dreams of finding Tipi and Breda were also now dead. There was nothing to look forward to. Surviving meant nothing.
The Corporal wiped the grime from his eyes and mouth. “Altus! Where’s that torch?”
Didi rummaged in his holdall. “Here!” He brought it out and switched it on. A bright beam of light pierced the blackness. People sighed, happy that they could see something, anything.
Didi waved the torch about, picking out faces and figures in the dark. Pedomoner, Kiki, one of the stretchers, Ganatus, Gusta right next to him, big silver monster, Altus—
Everyone screamed. Didi brought the torch beam back but there was nothing now but the wall of the concourse with adverts for an opera. Then someone snatched the torch from him. Didi jumped, but then he heard the Corporal’s voice.
“Klemunus! Did you see it?”
“I dunno, Corp! I thought so!”
“Then where’s it gone? How could it move so quickly and quietly?”
The Corporal kept moving the beam of light around, but all he picked out were scared people and adverts on the walls.
“Maybe it was just a picture?” someone said hopefully.
The Corporal wasn’t so sure. “All those with rifles or side arms, sound off!”
One after another the voices of the soldiers answered. But one of them was missing.
The Corporal waved the torch beam across the wall again. There was still nothing there. “Altus! Altus!”
A quaking voice answered. “I’m over here, Corp. But I ain’t alone...”
The Corporal moved the beam in the direction of the voice, it was behind him, right across them all, almost on the other side of the concourse. The beam flashed over the heads of everyone, causing them to squint in the bright light. There were ticket booths on the far side, and stairs down to the platforms, a coffee machine, and a chocolate and sweet dispenser, all of them flashed by in the beam, picked out for an instant and then gone in the dark. Then Altus appeared. Everyone gasped. A numbing shock, a complete and utter disbelief and a suspension of reality, all of this passed through them before fear had a chance to take them.
Altus was lying on his back on the floor of the concourse. Standing over him with its feet apart was an enormous four-legged creature that was born from fantasy. It had a large and evil looking head with a gaping mouth full of long dagger-like teeth. Its feet had huge curved claws, and one of them it kept on Altus’s chest, pinning him down, the claws on either side of his body. The creature had bright red eyes, like red lights, and behind it a long and sinuous tail waved and curled. It was so big it reached the roof of the concourse, and it was entirely bright chrome silver, everything, all of it, all except those angry red eyes.
As everyone stared at it transfixed in the torch beam, almost as if the sight of it transfixed them even more, it suddenly spoke. It had a deep and malevolent voice, but it spoke clearly and in Edenite.
“I AM EL-QUAN, A CLONE OF THE TUN-SHO-LOK. THOSE CALLED AL-BA-TUS, STEP FORWARD, SPEAK AND ANSWER ME. WILL THOSE HERE FEEL MY FRIENDSHIP, OR MY WRATH?”
The Friendly Ambassador
A Gathering of Angels
In the second part of the story, Gusta and the other Edenite survivors in Jutlam City at last come under the protection of the Ambassador. But the Ambassador’s representative is large, silver, with a mouth full of teeth. The drone, El-Quan, is as confused by her charges as they are scared of her, but there are worse dangers ahead, and they aren’t all Keruh. Yan-Jai is the largest drone on Eden and she no longer cares who she kills, friend or foe. The battle in space has also reached another phase as Aeolus tries to control the Klysanthian captains now in his “flock.” Pantariste doesn’t help matters by baiting him at every opportunity. And when Lysippe is sent aboard his ship as liaison, the atmosphere aboard the Prometheus gets decidedly warmer.
The Friendly Ambassador: The Beginning of the End Page 22
