Patrik Jones and the Code of the Universe

by Robert S Kleinstone

  «I don’t know if I can tell you. She asked me not to tell you».

  It was interesting.

  «Of course you can tell me» he urged her with the tone of the Cat and the Fox struggling with Pinocchio. «There's nothing bad. And I'm your favorite uncle, right ?!»

  «All right» Kaira said, shrugging her shoulders. «She says it's very difficult because you're from two different races».

  «Ah, does she say the problem is just this?» he asked again, pretending to be only marginally interested.

  «No. She also says that the Melainians are stronger and you are a bit soggy».

  «What am I?!».

  «Yes, she said that. A little soggy. But uncle ...I do not know what soggy means».

  «Neither do I, honey» he replied and the conversation ended.

  Kaira got up and started playing a little more.

  Marco stood up and began to touch his chest and shoulders. But how was she allowed to call him soggy? He would let her see that conceited witch see who was soggy. He, who was the king of the women of northern Bavaria, certainly couldn’t be so offended with impunity.

  «Uncle Marco, who is Cupid?» Kaira asked suddenly.

  «A troublemaker, my darling. Believe me. A troublemaker!»

  *

  David stood for a moment without speaking. He had imagined this moment for years and now that his son was there in front of him he didn’t know what to say. He looked for a moment at Tadiero, who nodded his head as he tried to lift his still very weak brother.

  An Arkassian guard accompanied him and the vortian guards were ready to let him out.

  It took him a while to realize he was not dreaming.

  «Patrik ... you are ...»

  «Yup. It's me dad. I came to get you» said Patrik with tears in his eyes. «Are you OK? I do not…».

  David hugged him with all the strength he had left and he could not finish the sentence.

  Only then did he realize that he had finally succeeded, he had seen his father again. After all that time, the life that had changed, and the death he had seen, he had finally made it.

  He didn’t care about anything else.

  He felt weak on his knees. Then suddenly he thought of his mother and a new force began to grow inside him.

  He had found his father in a prison on the other side of the galaxy, a prison where he was finished to protect her too. He had to show her that the solitude of all those years had not been in vain, that all this was part of the design of that Code that regulates the universe and that now he felt pulsating in his veins, almost burning his skin.

  He had to do it for her.

  David Jones had to go home!

  «Patrik, I'm sorry, but it's time to go. You know that the longer we stay here the worse it is». Lokkar abruptly put an end to this idyllic father-son moment.

  «Don’t talk to me, Arkassian» David replied with all the contempt he could express at that moment.

  «He's right, David» Tadiero said.

  «Dad, he is Lokkar. You can trust him. A lot has happened since you've been here and I'll explain it to you, I promise. But not now. Kalberham is in danger. We left him alone with the queen of Vortix and they are not really good friends».

  David approached Ottolivi and took his other arm to help Tadiero carry him out.

  «Let's go then, but I don’t trust an Arkassian» and with that said he left the cell accompanied by all the others.

  They climbed the stairs as fast as they could. The Portiryan was really very weak. They had used him to blackmail David, depriving him of food and water for several days.

  They arrived in the throne room and they saw Kalberham on his knees stuck to the ground, and the queen who had turned his face into a mask of blood.

  «Enough!» shouted Patrik as he entered.

  «You have your prisoners. You can leave and don’t come back, boy. Your solaryan friend belongs to me now» replied Acalidi without ceasing to look at his prey with contempt.

  «It was not in the pacts. Armintala's armor in exchange for prisoners. Kalberham will come with us».

  «You dare give me orders in my house, little Earthling?! With a single gesture I can make you kill everyone in a few seconds».

  Lokkar took two steps towards her and looked at her very seriously.

  «My lord, the gohtarma, waits for Patrik Jones on Arkass. He accepted the armor exchange to get it back with him. If you try to hurt us, I assure you that all the destructive force of the arkassian alliance will flood you with death. None of our enemies will help you if you kill the chosen one of Kentaura and one of his best Guardians».

  «Your majesty, please listen to the Arkassian» said Banka Lax, knowing that those threats were not groundless.

  The queen of Vortix sat down trying to regain her calm.

  «Kalberham, my love. They divide us again. You can go for the moment, but I will come back to you sooner or later. You will die on this planet, I assure you».

  Having said that, she spread her arms, and two women approached her to clear away the blood stains on her hands.

  David didn’t have to say it twice. He left Ottolivi's other arm to Patrik and lifted his friend.

  «Hello big cat. How are you? I would say it's better go, let’s pack it up, eh?!»

  «Hi, David. It's a pleasure to see you again» Kalberham answered in a faint voice.

  *

  Marco sat on the sidelines thinking about his business.

  Maliki immediately noticed something strange in him, usually she could meet his gaze at least ten times a minute.

  He seemed absent.

  «What’s happened to your friend? He seems troubled» she asked little Kaira as she approached.

  «I don’t know. He’s been like this from this morning. In my opinion it's because of the ugly word that I don’t know what it means ».

  «What ugly word?» the Melainian asked her with a bit of fear.

  «Soggy. But we both don’t know what it means» answered the girl with the most innocent air in the world.

  «Kaira! Did you tell him? Ahahahah ... well, not bad. The fact that he is there to take offence makes him even soggier» she then said somewhat amused. She decided it would be better to put things straight immediately and came up to talk to him.

  «Listen Terran. You want me, you desire me. I want you to know that you can’t have me, so just stop thinking about it. Apart from the fact of race, you are totally illogical for me».

  Marco looked at her in disbelief and then laughed.

  «What is it that makes you laugh so much?»

  «No, sorry» he replied, still with tears in his eyes, «I find it hard to believe you said something so stupid».

  Maliki frowned.

  «It's not stupid at all, I can feel it from your smell. You want my body».

  At that point, Marco's expression became very serious. He stood up and pointed at her.

  «Listen, jungle queen, listen to me well. I have no time to waste with your erotic fantasies, so it would be good if you lined up with other women. The only smell that I emanate is that of honey, of which, apparently, you're pretty hungry for...».

  The Melainian was struck by the far from flippant answer.

  «Very well! Apparently, when the Terrestrial wants to be, he’s not so soggy».

  That word began to unnerve Marco in a totally inhuman way.

  «Listen well Miss...» but something stopped him.

  «Ahia!» he suddenly felt a little farther. Someone had thrown a large stone at one of the palace soldiers, who was now looking around to find the culprit.

  Marco turned his head and saw that there was only Kaira there, intent on playing with one of the animals left free in the imperial garden.

  The three scale-faced beings, originally from Orena 3, approached threateningly.

  «Let's see? Who wants to be witty today?» said the one who had received the blow in the head.

  «I don’t know what you're talking about. We are here for o
ur business».

  «Dirty Terrestrial, I was not talking to you».

  «Soldier, it will be good if you show some respect or I will be forced to report to your superiors» Maliki said.

  Kaira reached her in the meantime, taking her hand and hiding in fear behind her.

  «Did you hear guys? The melainian companion wants to report to us, instead of being ashamed while nursing a little terrestrial monkey».

  Marco's punch went straight in the soldier's scaly face, making him waver, but immediately the other two fell on him, beating and leaving him in pain on the ground.

  «Enough!» Maliki screamed, gripping her halberd and walking towards them, ready to attack.

  «Throw down your weapon or the little monkey dies».

  The soldier who received the punishment was holding Kaira in his hands.

  Maliki obeyed the order and the other two blocked her.

  The Orenian let the child go and stood in front of her.

  «Now we’ll have fun» he said, and began to hit her in the face.

  Marco got up and from behind him he took his sword of order, pointing it at his throat.

  «Leave her, bastards! I don’t know enough of the anatomy of the dirty lizards like you, but I'm sure if I cut below here you stop breathing» he said, pressing hard with his blade.

  «Terrestrial, you're getting into a bad mess» he replied.

  «You are in a bad trouble. Let her go!»

  The other two gave up. Marco dragged him back for a while, then he saw that a black Guardian was approaching them and kicked him away.

  «What's happening?» the latter asked.

  «It happens that despite the orders received, these beasts attacked us for no reason» answered Marco.

  «We were provoked, sir» the soldier countered.

  «Sure! But it is I who bleed from the lip, while there is a child crying there. I expect these three to be punished properly».

  «Let me understand Terrestrial, are you giving me orders?!» asked the black Guardian, quite annoyed.

  Marco knew that the situation could be complicated and he decided to play his cards well. He stared intently at his interlocutor and took a firm tone.

  «Of course I want to make you understand! The deal was that no one would hurt us. I will have to tell Patrik Jones that the terms of the agreement have not been respected, an agreement to which the gohtarma holds a particular interest, or am I wrong?! Now ...I don’t know your lord well, but at a glance he doesn’t seem to me a man who doesn’t like to be disappointed».

  The Guardian stared at him for a moment, then looked at Maliki.

  «I confirm the version of the Terrestrial lord, they attacked us for no reason» she said without wasting time.

  The Arkassian thought for a moment and then looked at Marco again.

  «I beg your pardon from the people of Arkass. If you want to forget the accident, I assure you that they will be punished properly».

  They moved away towards the central body of the fortress and Marco resumed breathing. Then he picked up Kaira to reassure her.

  «Don’t cry any more, honey. They are gone».

  «I could have managed them alone. Anyway, thanks, soggy» Maliki told him, taking her weapon off the ground.

  He turned and smiled mischievously.

  «Miss, you can come to our room for dinner, but I want to make it clear that you don’t have to have any illusions. Apart from the fact of race, you are totally illogical for me. By the way, my name is Marco».

  He turned and began to walk, satisfied by the perfect timing of his response. Yet he still had not explained where the stone had come from. In his opinion, someone was kidding everyone, someone who knew what to do!

  *

  The journey to the surface seemed to last longer than the outward journey. They were all afraid that, despite Lokkar's threats, the queen would change her mind and block them from getting Kalberham back with her.

  At least Ottolivi had seemed to recover and Tadiero didn’t leave him a moment.

  «How's your mother?» David asked his son suddenly.

  «I don’t know» he replied, looking down.

  «What does I do not know mean?!»

  «It means that two spaceships landed one day between Elsenfeld and Kleinwallstadt, sowing panic. They were looking for me and they found me, taking me away. You were a soldier, no ?! Tell me, in your opinion, how is my mother?!»

  David understood what Patrik meant and could not blame him.

  Nadine had surely been taken and brought to a safe place to be studied and to get as much information as possible. All her friends and acquaintances would be put under pressure. However, planet Earth was no longer a safe place for his family.

  «We'll find a solution. In some ways we will understand where she is» he said, trying to calm his son.

  «No problem. I'll take care of my mother. They will give her to me or it will be worse for them».

  «I'm sorry to contradict you, Patrik, but they will not let you approach even a mile from her before you've been captured and studied well». David understood his son's anger and tried to be as accommodating as possible, it was fifteen years that he hadn’t seen him and it was certainly not time for a discussion between them.

  «I must contradict you, my dear friend».

  Kalberham intervened, trying to catch his breath while he was still sore, because of his last romantic encounter with the crawling queen.

  «Your son has become a very powerful wag warrior. From what I saw him do, I don’t think there's anything on Earth that can stop him when he gets angry. I agree, however, that you can’t kill everyone until they give her to you».

  «What?! Have you become a Guardian? Were you able to kill a Kentauro?!» David didn’t believe his ears while his heart was filled with pride. This meant a lot to him. The sacrifice he had been forced to do many years before had not been in vain after all.

  «Technically he committed suicide» Patrik replied sarcastically, returning his dreamy father to reality.

  David didn’t understand and looked at the Solaryan again.

  Kalberham smiled. «It's not really like that. The older Kentauro donated his life so that Patrik could have Armintala's siel. Your son, dear David, is the chosen one of the sacred planet. In contact with the Flower of Eta Carinae, he will make the difference».

  «But it's wonderful! Damn Patrik, do you realize the honor that has been reserved for you?»

  Then David gave a strong punch on the shoulder of his friend from Portirya.

  «Then Tadiero, completely his father's son, eh ?!»

  Tadiero and Kalberham laughed looking at him in trepidation. It almost seemed that all that imprisonment hadn’t had any effect on him.

  David took his son back and looked him straight in the eyes. «Patrik, I'm very proud of you».

  «Really?! Are you proud of someone you don’t know?» he replied with tears in his eyes. «Are you proud that your son is a killer ?!»

  «Patrik, what are you talking about?»

  «We've already talked about it, boy. Every time you were forced to kill, you did it for the common good of many other people» Kalberham broke in again.

  «You speak to me of common good. But everyone who fights a war believes he is acting for the common good. Here is my friend Lokkar. A long time ago, someone decided to play with the balance, and millions of people on his planet died. His family is dead. And now his only sister is left alone on Arkass, just to come and join a mission where he could even lose his life».

  «The Arkassians don’t understand that forcing the Code could make things worse». Despite the wounds, now Kalberham had stood up quite annoyed by Patrik's words.

  «Sure. It's easier to say when others die!»

  Lokkar, who had deliberately kept his distance, turned to look at Patrik.

  Nobody said anything.

  «Kalberham, you are a good friend and I would not be alive today if it were not for you» he added, fearing that he had of
fended his teacher. «But you say that I have been chosen by the Code, and you know that the Code belongs to them too. I cannot ignore this. For the rest, a dead man remains a dead man, and whoever took his life remains a killer».

  Patrik didn’t speak again but turned and walked to the other side of the convoy that was transporting them to the surface.

  David looked at Kalberham, who stood there scrutinizing his distant son. He realized that the child he had held in his arms was now a man, a person destined to mature much sooner than necessary, long before necessary.

  Patrik must have felt really alone and as far as David knew he had made the right choice, however he had not been there. He knew that one day he would pay that price, but now that he knew that, the taste was really bitter.

  Lokkar approached Patrik.

  «Thank you Terrestrial» he said in a whisper.

  «Don’t thank me, Arkassian, I haven’t done anything yet. And above all, I haven’t decided anything yet» he replied, to underline the fact that what he had just said didn’t mean he was giving in.

  Lokkar smiled.

  «It doesn’t matter. What matters is that my grandfather was right. The Code always knows where to go».

  A glimmer of light began to shine in the distance.

  Soon they would be back in space.

  35

  King Karmora was reunited with all the generals of Solyar's governing Council. His daughter had been on a mission for quite some time and this worried him a little, but he knew that Kalberham was with her. Usually he always could handle things and after all, the truce with the Arkassians, even if for who knows how long, still lasted.

  Hiylos, as a counselor, sat next to him. Unlike the king, he was happy that the rebel had risen from his feet once and for all. Being an educator to that girl was definitely a nightmare.

  Princess Myah was intent on talking to the Council about the urgent need to improve the fleet in the event of a resumption of hostilities with the Arkassians.

  The young Andal climbed the stairs in a hurry, accompanied by his inseparable folder full of information and spatial calculations. The king had made sure that the boy remained a member of the army, and moreover detached to the palace. Myah understood that he had done it for her and she didn’t mind at all, but she would never admit it.