Solar Twins
By Jason F. Crockett
with Nicholas C. Crockett
Book One: Crystal Lake Chronicles
Copyright © 2018 Jason F. Crockett All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction.
All names, characters, places, incidents, and events have been created by the authors’ imaginations or used in a fictitious manner. Any similarity to actual people, events, or locations is coincidental.
No portion of this book may be reproduced or used without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotes in a book review.
Solar Twins: Book One of the Crystal Lake Chronicles
Edited by Christine A. Crockett
Artwork by Nikki Abbott
Dedicated to my wonderful family: Laurel, Krista, Kali, and Nicholas. Nicholas, this would be a hollow shell without the hours we’ve spent dreaming. Thank you, mom, for all the editing work, corrections, and ideas.
Thank you to those of you who read through all or part of this manuscript and gave me much-needed feedback.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: Unknown
CHAPTER TWO: Decisions
CHAPTER THREE: Arrivals
CHAPTER FOUR: Disaster
CHAPTER FIVE: Rescue
CHAPTER SIX: Survival
CHAPTER SEVEN: Death
CHAPTER EIGHT: Discovery
CHAPTER NINE: Surrogate
CHAPTER TEN: Windfall
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Outpost
CHAPTER TWELVE: Loss
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Reunion
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Blessing
Stalag language
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE:
Unknown
Jacinto and Baryesu stared into the crystal scope shutting out all distractions. It had been getting closer and closer since they first noticed it two days earlier, but until now they had not realized all that its appearance portended. It was heading straight for them; of that, there was no doubt, but it was like nothing they had ever seen or heard of before. There were those of the foresight that had spoken of great changes soon to take place, of dark-eyed aliens whose power was in his hand, not his head. They spoke of machines that seemed alive though they were dead, and of an evil soon to break out upon their simple lifestyle that would change forever the existence they cherished.
“How long do you think we have until it’s here, Baryesu?” Jacinto asked without looking up from the scope. She knew without asking how long it would be, but she must defer to Baryesu. Work was the only thing she could ever get him to talk about.
Without a pause, he confirmed her suspicions. “If nothing changes it will reach us by this same mark on the dial tomorrow.”
He didn’t appear concerned or put off by its approach, nor did he show any of the excitement that she could barely contain. He was always like this, but she had expected something of this magnitude to at least ripple his normally placid exterior. “That is why Barilio is my life partner,” she thought. “Barilio is someone I can share my life’s passions with and he would be just as excited as I am, not just sitting there like a useless cracked crystal!” This led her to her next thought that she just couldn’t keep inside.
“We must go to the Mwene with this, Baryesu. We can’t wait any longer!” She tried to reign in her enthusiasm and forcefulness, but it was leaking through every fiber of her crystalline frame. They had waited every night for a whole week now with Baryesu saying every night, “Maybe it will be pulled into the gravity of the dark sun, maybe it would at least change its track.” But as it was passing by the dark sun, no sooner did it begin to be drawn towards the darkness than it had flared brightly and had pulled away and turned directly towards Stalagdon, the planet on which they now stood. That should have been reason enough for him to go to the Mwene, but no, he had to be “sure” of their findings. He had sworn her to secrecy, but that time was past. The Mwene must know and if Baryesu didn’t do it then she would. Her loyalty to the sovereign superseded her oath to Baryesu.
He sighed as he pushed himself away from the crystal scope taking care not to bump into its rockers as he did so. “I know,” he said after a long pause. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but he has to know now. I only hope we haven’t delayed too long. Stay and keep it in sight while I’m gone,” and with that, he swirled out of sight.
“Hopefully, directly to the Mwene’s front portico.” she thought, not understanding how he could seemingly point the finger at her when he was the one that had dallied and procrastinated in making the report. With a sigh, she returned her attention to the scope. Now that he was gone she had no compunction keeping herself from zooming in on the vessel that was approaching. He would have a conniption if he found out that she was a stronger scoper than he. He would feel threatened and would send her off to do some menial task. She wasn’t about to let that happen. She drew it in until it filled the scope with its bulk. Up close it looked like two dragonflies mating, but without the wings. There were three larger pods connected by smaller tubes of some sort. It was still a little hard to make out the details at this distance. There were markings on the front and sides, but they were strange markings that held no meaning for her. They could just be decoration for all she knew. She was oh so tempted to go ahead and make contact on her own but steeled herself against that thought knowing that the fate of her civilization may depend on that initial contact. The Mwene would probably try to avoid any and all contact until the last possible moment. “It was likely that it would be gone before he decided to do that,” she thought, grimacing at the waste. “What was the point in having stargazers if not to interact with other life when it was discovered out amongst the stars?” She grimaced again, this time at herself for the direction her thoughts had turned and forced her concentration back to the scope. She zoomed back out a bit to bring it back into view. If she lost it, she’d never hear the end of it and the results could be catastrophic. Even at this distance, she could tell it was traveling quite rapidly.
Rakhabi sat across the glade from Yakobe watching his reaction to the news. She loved this glade; it was one of her favorite places to be. It was a natural clearing in the otherwise thick jungle undergrowth. The trees towered over them and seemed to lean in towards the center like a protective hen covering her nest. They were not as tall as the renowned reds by the mountains, but still, they were impressive. Their bases were large. The roots fanned out from the tree like walls a full three to four meters from the ground to where the top of the root met the trunk and stretched out from the base just as far. A soft covering of lichen spread like felt across the glade floor. The hum of insects could put one to sleep.
Yakobe was her life partner of thirty turns. They were both quite young, not yet even 100 turns, but the examiners had just informed her that she would never bear a child. She could hardly bear to think of it. She knew that Yakobe was as disappointed as she. She could read it in his face and actually had to shield herself from the aura that he was casting. Once bonded, life partners knew each other so intimately that what one experienced the other felt almost as strongly.
Yakobe stood up and crossed to where she sat. Kneeling down in front of her, he said, “Rakhabi, my love, this changes nothing. The design was already set by the creator. Who am I to judge what threads He uses. My love for you continues.”
Rakhabi gazed into his green eyes only a shade darker than the emerald-colored crystal set in his brow. Her crystal was a light rose-colored ruby that brightened her dark brown eyes. “What a child we could have made,” she thought to him. “Thank you for your love,” and she leaned in, embracing him as only a life partner could, crystal to crystal, nothing hi
dden, a sign of total union and trust; a complete and timeless embrace. To them, it seemed like forever before the glow subsided and they broke the embrace, but had another been watching, it was a gesture done in passing.
“My love,” Yakobe thought back, the creator’s loom is not yet silent. Though this may be closed to us, I feel the shuttle will soon bring a thread that none here have yet seen. Wait. Wait!”
Helping her to her feet, they walked off through the jungle in deep conversation, not saying a word.
Pwiya Yakobe kneeled before Mwene Crisólito; his hands raised palms up out to his sides. “Please allow us to go to Kipero. We have tried every remedy and seen every skilled there is to see. They all tell us there is no hope, there’s nothing we can do. But we have heard that among the skilled in healing there are some new methods being done in Kipero of which we have no knowledge or skill.”
“Pwiya Yakobe,” the Mwene responded, “We find no fault in your desire to go and search for a solution to your dilemma. Changes have been seen in the stars and though you would be of much value to us here, perhaps the changes we face will follow you where you go. When can we expect your return?”
“I shall not let one turn pass before we return,” said Pwiya Yakobe. “Though that be the longest, we expect to return sooner yet. We will keep you informed of the on-going situation.”
“When do you plan to depart?” asked the Mwene.
“By your leave, your Excellency,” replied Pwiya Yakobe. “We can leave immediately, and we should have no problem taking the first tesser gate run to Kipero in the morning.
The Mwene took his hand and touching it to the crystal in his forehead; he said “Go then with our blessing. We eagerly await your return and call for success to guide you by the hand.”
“Thank you, your excellency,” said Pwiya Yakobe as he stood and walked out of the throne room and onto the entry bough. The throne room was located about halfway up the largest and oldest Kwila tree in the jungle and had been grown and pruned over the turns by the royal palace tenders. The Mwene’s suite was located several boughs higher than the throne room, and the only public areas were below the throne room. The trunk had been grown with a two-meter wide branch encircling it all the way up to its highest living area that made for a very nice walkway up its side. None were permitted to tesser into it and wards had been established to enforce this. Rakhabi was one bough below in the public meeting hall and was bubbling with excitement since he’d already shared the Mwene’s decision with her. By the time he made it to her, she was already waiting for him. Together they strode arm in arm already planning their journey.
“The floaters haven’t left yet. I already checked with them,” Rakhabi said. “If we hurry, we can still catch a ride with them today. I would rather go with a group like them than attempt the journey on our own. There is more safety in numbers and since we haven’t been to Kipero before I thought it would be best to have their support.”
“As always, you are well prepared,” said Yakobe. “I think that is a great idea. His Excellency has agreed to allow us up to one turn away. I have a few more arrangements to make, and then we’ll be ready. The exchange can link our credits with the central exchange in Kipero, but I need to pick up some to pay the floaters and for miscellaneous expenses. A couple of thousand credits ought to be enough don’t you think? It should only be a couple of days.”
“Yes, but make sure that it’s in at least two slates so we can each carry some. It’s safer that way.”
“You will need to come with me to do that then, Rakhabi, because I was going to have the slate tuned to me. You have to be there to encrypt it, so it will be tuned just to you.”
By this time, they had reached the bottom of the Kwila not even daring to think of how much their lives were about to change.
Aboard the F.L.E.N. COMET, Radar Specialist Leon Otto leaned back on his stool and rubbed his eyes stretching his arms and legs out like a circus performer on a stool balancing on a high wire. He disconnected the displays’ remote and strode over to the commander’s control station. As fast as things were moving after engaging their reverse thrusters in preparation for orbit around the two M-5 twin planets, he could not wait any longer to present his findings to the commander.
Commander Savage, AKA Wild Bill throughout the fleet (but never to his face), was not only the COMET commander but fleet commander as well. Though unorthodox in his methodology, he was well-liked and could get the job done, no matter what. There was an outstanding joke on his vessel that if the commander wants something done right, you’d better do it or who knows how the commander will rig it to get it done. He was easy to talk to, however, which made Leon a lot more relaxed than he would normally have been.
“Commander, I’ve got something here you really should see,” Leon said.
Commander Savage’s sky-blue eyes turned intently to Leon. His eyes stood out in stark contrast to his deeply tanned skin. Even here on the COMET, he managed to spend enough time in the tanners to keep up his healthy skin color. No one else on the bridge was able to maintain it; most had even stopped trying. The exception was Leon, of course, who was naturally as dark as their black regulation boots they were required to wear while on board. “Well, let’s see it then,” the commander said. “Go ahead and put it up on the main console.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t want me to put it on your personal display, sir?”
“We are all on the same team here Leon. Let’s see it.”
Wild Bill tried not to grimace along with his response. In his opinion (and his was the one that counted), Leon took his position a little too seriously. “At least he does a thorough job,” he thought.
“What you see here sir, is an overlay of the M-5 to the port side and the frequency analysis of the energies emanating from its surface combined with the visual telescopic terrain map we took last night.”
“The infrared spectrum seems to show that the planet is inhabited. You can see here and here what can only be large population centers. These heat signatures would be similar to controlled fires.” He was quite animated in his overview and thorough besides. The eyes of all in the control room took in everything while attempting to look like they were minding their own business. “Though this is all important,” he continued, “the following anomaly is what has me concerned.” He fast forwarded to another clip and continued, “You can see here on this mountain ridge across from the probable population center, this unexpected peak is extremely high-frequency gamma radiation. It is not reflected at all by its surroundings but seems to be focused directly towards us. It is so high, that it almost did not appear on our charts. We have no known technology capable of duplicating a gamma ray as is seen here. This is not natural and speaks of an extremely high level of technological advancement.” There it was; it was out. In the brief time it had taken him to relate those few facts, he had broken out into a full sweat and was already reaching for the supply closet to get a towel to dry himself off.
The others were no longer pretending to do their jobs. They were taking turns staring first at Leon then at Wild Bill waiting for his response.
“And what of the starboard planet Leon?” the commander asked. “Have you seen any sign of life or anything there similar to what you’ve discovered here?”
“There seems to be the normal activity that would indicate plant and animal life, but no civilization as of yet. But obviously, my equipment is incapable of determining that at this great distance unless the species is technologically advanced enough. Nothing I have seen to date compares with the readings I am getting back from the port side planet.”
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Leon,” the commander said and dismissed him with a comment that he may ask him to reiterate his findings with the other ships’ captains. The commander surveyed the rest of his crew in attendance. “Let’s not have any of you spreading this around until I’ve had a chance to discuss the situation with the other captains.” He looked at each of them in
turn as he said this to make sure they understood his command. He then turned his attention to his wife, Dorothy, the communication tech.
Though middle-aged like him, her life had been much easier than his and her youthfulness was reflected in her face. She wasn’t a looker, but was pleasant enough to look at, and did enjoy life. They yelled plenty behind their personal hatch but managed to keep their business and personal lives from interfering with one another. Actually, she would say it was one-sided and the personal was the side that lost out. He could see the concern in her eyes. They all knew that they were not to interfere in the lives of any alien sentient beings and this discovery could botch the whole expedition. He waved her over and keeping strictly to business said, “Dorothy, I need you to contact Captain McNally with the F.L.E.N. Outpost and Captain Gaston with the F.L.E.N. Windfall. Tell them to meet me in the COMET’s conference room in 30 ticks. Leon, I want you to accompany me to the conference room. Bring along anything you need to brief the captains on what you have found.” He watched as Leon began to download the additional information and organize it for the briefing. “Robert, you have the con while I’m away from the bridge. Does anyone else have any pertinent information for the briefing?”
Pilot Robert Zordel looked around at the rest of the crew. “I guess not, commander,” he replied. “We’ll let you know should anything beam up while you’re away. How much longer to our next course change, Issur?” Issur barely had to glance at his panel before replying. “We have a full eight earth hours before we will need to begin our pre-orbit course adjustments.” Issur was one of the best navigators in the F.L.E.N. Space Force and was well respected by his colleagues.
“O.K., then,” said the captain, “Let’s go Leon.” Without waiting to see if he was following or not, he strode off, the self-sealing doors barely opening in time for him to stride through. Leon scrambled to catch up as he juggled equipment and the notes he had scribbled for himself.
Solar Twins Page 1
