Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life (24 page)

‘I’m amazed Zoren managed to persuade you. He’s always been someone who wants to have fun and is happy for others to make decisions for him.’

Kalrea nodded her head slowly. ‘Yes, that may have been the case a week ago, but he’s changed. I think he’s quite a lovable character.’

‘I know! But you may not think that if he plays a prank on you.’

‘Well actually, he has already,’ Kalrea said, thinking back to when Zoren was learning to fly the shuttle, ‘but I have to say it was me who played a trick on him first.’

‘You played a trick on Zoren! I would have liked to have seen that. Is Sabri with him?’

‘No, she was taken with thirty-two others to a planet called Trafth. The
Aurora
will arrive there tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll find all of them safe.’

The following morning, Zoren and Gulco returned to the bridge of the
Aurora
. Kalrea had informed them that they were nearing their destination, the planet Trafth and the plan was to locate the
De’fego
.

The view from the front of the
Aurora
was displayed on the monitor. A large planet predominantly covered by yellow water, which gave it the appearance of a ripe fruit ready to be picked, came into view. Looking like blue blemishes on its surface, the planet was dotted will millions of miniscule islands. In orbit around Trafth was a space station, which was a mixture of different styles of construction making it look like a piece of abstract art.

While the
Aurora
approached the planet, Kalrea scanned the area.

‘The ship we’re looking for, the
De’fego
, is currently docked onto that space station, which you can see on the monitor,’ she informed them.

Kalrea turned the
Aurora
towards the station. As it neared, a very sleek and new-looking white ship came into view, which stood instantly out from the chaos of the structure behind it. It was about the same size as the
Aurora
and had the name
De’fego
embossed in bright red letters on its side.

‘Scanners indicate no other ships in this area of space,’ Kalrea said.

Zoren was feeling trepidation about what might happen next, so asked. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘Well, I’m going to dock the
Aurora
there. I need to access their computer system and I can’t do it from this distance.’

‘I thought you wanted to keep the
Aurora
out of sight?’ Zoren said.

‘I want to make them feel uneasy. After all, the
Aurora
is far more advanced than other ships in this galaxy and it’s a complete mystery to everyone, so I’m hoping that will make them sit up and take note,’ Kalrea said, before adding, ‘We’re being hailed.’

‘…to unidentified ship. Please respond,’ a woman said, over the
Aurora’s
communications system.

‘Ok, which one of you wants to be the captain of the
Aurora
?’ Kalrea said. ‘Zoren?’

‘What… No, not me! Gulco, he’ll do it. He’s used to this sort of thing.’

Gulco glanced at Zoren and then asked Kalrea. ‘What... What do I say?’

‘Say who you are. They’re expecting us anyway, so we may as well make ourselves known. And see if you can get a docking port.’

Kalrea opened an audio-visual link. The monitor showed a dark-skinned woman who had a number of piercing on her head.

She looks like a Gullin or maybe even a Xangol, but what are those metal things in her eye balls?
How disgusting!
He frowned at the thought of them.

‘Welcome to Trafth, Satellite two. How can I assist you?’ the woman said in a strong manly voice.

‘Oh. Er… This is Captain Gulco. This is the
Aurora
requesting… requesting a docking port… Er, please.’

‘We should be coming into visual range, just about now!’ Kalrea said quietly in the background.

Why is she telling us that?
Zoren thought.

‘I know that ship!’ the woman said with surprise. ‘Captain, have you been here before?’

‘Er… No, I… I don’t think so,’ Gulco said. ‘How do you mute this?’ he added quietly.

‘It’s now on mute,’ Kalrea said.

‘Kalrea, have you been to Trafth before?’ Gulco asked.

‘No,’ Kalrea replied, ‘and Gulco, say mute when you don’t want them to hear you.’

‘Oh, ok.’

‘What did you say the name of your ship was, Captain?’ the woman said.

‘The
Aurora
,’ Gulco replied.

‘Commander, take a look at the ship on approach,’ the woman said to someone out of view to her left. ‘Have you seen that ship before?’

‘Yes, I’ve seen a ship exactly like that… now where was it. It was… Yes it was on the Polnozoo. That’s where I’ve seen that ship before. What’s it doing here?’

‘Captain, identify yourself,’ the woman ordered.

‘My name is Gulco. I am an Agonian.’

The woman placed her microphone on mute. She talked to the person to her left.

‘Mute! What should I say now?’ Gulco said.

‘Don’t worry, Gulco, you’re doing fine,’ Kalrea said reassuringly.

The woman turned back to Gulco, ‘You are cleared for docking port six.’

The monitor went blank.

‘Is that it?’ Gulco said, looking bemused.

‘As I said, Gulco, they were expecting us.’

Kalrea rotated the
Aurora
and then slowly closed on a large tower which extended into space from the station. There was a slight jolt as the ship came into contact.

‘We’re docked,’ Kalrea reported. ‘Time for me to access their systems.’

Zoren waited patiently.

‘I hope our people are here,’ Gulco said.

‘This is too easy, Gulco. I don’t like this,’ Zoren commented.

‘Zoren’s right, Gulco. It was too easy. Your people are not here and there are no records of where they’ve been taken.’

‘That’s it then!’ Zoren said. ‘We’ll never find them now.’

‘Looks like you’ve received an invite, Gulco,’ Kalrea said. ‘Lady Sathodee is onboard the space station. She wants to meet you.’

‘But, once I’m over there, they’ll capture me,’ Gulco said.

I wish Kalrea had her drone here,
Zoren thought and then said, ‘Kalrea, is that the Lady Sathodee who tried to buy one of my people from the Polnozoo, before enlisting the services of those mercenaries to take all of us?’

‘Yes, that’s her.’

‘Kalrea, without you we’re defenceless,’ Zoren said nervously. ‘Gulco can’t put his life in danger.’

‘I agree. That’s why you must go.’

‘Eh?’

‘You have the telementor. With that, I can protect you,’ Kalrea said.

‘Why don’t I give it to him then? He can wear it.’

‘I chose you as my pilot. I don’t just give it to anyone, you know!’

‘But you won’t be with me, so how will you know when I’m in danger?’

‘That’s going to be a bit of a problem. For a Qinant I’d know by reading their mind, with you we’ll have to rely solely on the telementor. It detects fright, so if you’re frightened, then it will automatically activate to create the shield.’

‘Great! Then it’s going to be on all the time. I’m already scared, Kalrea.’

‘I’ll try to keep an eye on you from the security cameras.’

‘That’s fine, but what if there are none where I am?’ Zoren replied, and then thought,
I’m not sure I want to go.

‘Then only get frightened, when you are!’ Kalrea added.

‘That’s easy for you to say,’ he said and then thought,
I suppose I have no choice.

‘A Xangol representative of Lady Sathodee will meet you at the docking port in ten minutes,’ Kalrea said.

‘Ten minutes! That’s not much time. Can we try out the telementor?’

‘I’d step back, Gulco,’ Kalrea said. ‘I could do without any accidents.’

Kalrea disabled her interface with the telementor. It instantly turned white and a halo of light surrounded Zoren.

‘See! I’m shitting myself.’

‘Calm down, Zoren. Please!’ Kalrea said. ‘You can’t go over there looking like a light.’

‘And kill anyone who wants to shake your hand,’ Gulco added.

‘Thanks for the reassuring comment, Gulco!’ Zoren replied cheerfully.

‘This is hopeless! I’m going to have to change the setting on the telementor,’ Kalrea said.

The telementor returned to black and the halo of light disappeared.

‘It’s working. What did you do?’ Zoren asked.

‘Turned it off!’ Kalrea replied.

‘Oh!’

‘I’m going to have to do something that’s not recommended. Ok, the telementor is now in manual. I’ve never had to enable this mode before. Press the face to activate and deactivate it, but don’t turn it on if someone’s touching you.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you’ll kill them, that’s why! There’s a good reason why I don’t use that mode, it’s far too easy to kill a friend without realising what you’re doing.’

Zoren tried it. The halo of light appeared when he pressed the face and disappeared when he pressed it a second time.

Ok, that’s better!
Zoren thought.

‘They won’t want to harm you Zoren, remember you’re valuable,’ Kalrea said.

‘So what do you think she wants then?’

‘I’m sure you’ll soon find out,’ and then she added, ‘It’s time for you to leave.’

Zoren felt very nervous. His hearts were pounding as he stepped into the Pojin lift.

‘Be careful, Zoren,’ Gulco said.

‘Be careful! Right,’ he replied raising his hand in acknowledgement.

When the Pojin lift door opened, Zoren was greeted by an old grey-haired woman who was dressed in a drab frock.

‘My Lady wants me to escort you to her room,’ she said calmly.

‘Z… Zoren,’ he stuttered. ‘My name’s Zoren.’

She’ll get to know I’m nervous if I don’t relax.
Zoren took a deep breath.
I wonder if she’s a Xangol. She looks very old.

‘This way,’ the old woman gestured with her shaky twig-like hand.

He was lead along a dimly lit corridor. As they reached a junction, he glanced back to the docking port in the distance. His rational mind was telling him to stop and go back, but his hearts wanted to find Sabri and were urging him to continue.

They were now joined by two male Xangols, who said nothing and marched just behind them. Zoren could not help but to occasionally glance back at them; they made him feel like a prisoner being escorted to his cell. After three minutes of meandering through the network of corridors, which seemed much longer to Zoren, they arrived at Lady Sathodee’s room.

Zoren’s hearts raced, as the old woman knocked on the door and it slid open. He was agog as he gazed down a long narrow room. The walls, floor and arched ceiling of the room were completely transparent except for a light metallic frame. He felt very uneasy as he dawdled in. Through the transparent floor below him, he could see large sections of the space station and in the distance was the rear corner of the
Aurora
. Trafth dominated the view above and to the left of him, and the intense light from a nearby star was mellowed by the slight tint in the transparent material.

Sitting behind a crystal desk, at the far end of the room, was an elegantly dressed young woman. As soon as Zoren caught sight of her, he got struck by her beauty. Her long blond hair glinted in the star-light streaming in and her young complexion lit up the room. She was wearing a long thick coat and the pattern on its surface was constantly changing, with yellows, reds and purples forming small spirals and wavy lines, like it was alive and reacting to what was happening around it.

The old woman approached her and whispered in her ear.

That coat looks impressive. I wonder if that’s Lady Sathodee. She’s beautiful!
Zoren thought.

The coat was very distracting, and he kept glancing at it. His eyes widened as he realised that the surface of the coat was see-through and beneath it were hundreds of colourful insects moving around. He felt a shiver run down his spine.

Not something I’d want to wear,
he thought.

‘Please, take a seat, Zoren,’ she said, pointing to a crystal chair that matched the desk. ‘You’re very young. I was expecting someone older, one of your seniors.’

I would have preferred that as well,
he thought as he sat down, and then said, ‘Oh… Well, I was also expecting someone older.’

The woman smiled. ‘I’m older than I look, Zoren. Nice name by the way. You can call me Lady Sathodee.’

‘Where are my people?’ Zoren asked without thinking.

‘Well, that’s straight to the point,’ Lady Sathodee remarked. She turned to the old woman. ‘You can go,’ she said, then glancing at the two men she added, ‘You too.’

They all left the room, leaving Zoren and Lady Sathodee alone.

‘I know my people are not on this space station,’ Zoren added.

‘Oh, you know they’re not here. Well, well, we do underestimate your new allies. Have they been accessing our computer systems again? Didn’t find anything though, did they?’

Zoren shook his head slowly.

‘Yes, we know they can do that, so we made sure there was nothing to help them this time. Tell me more about these allies of yours and in particular this Kalrea.’

‘Why would I want to do that?’ Zoren replied.

The woman got up and ambled around the desk to Zoren. Feeling venerable, he placed his hand over the telementor ready to activate it.

‘Don’t worry, Zoren. I know that thing on your wrist has unusual powers. It can protect you, but I’m immortal, so let’s be careful, hay!’ She placed her hand gently on his shoulder. ‘See, I just want to talk to you, that’s all.’