Kingdoms Away 1: Jorian Cluster Archives (6 page)

Captain Sorance Chen sat on a ferian looking
out at the stars. The small craft had been made available
immediately upon receipt of Amir Donaven’s command. A ship
attacked; it was unthinkable and highly unusual. It could only mean
one thing, and that was that the item taken was of the highest
priority. All ferians had the Metamorphic Shielding of a Weddell
Seal across the Cluster, which made them unmistakable as a
planet-to-ship transport. It made good speed across space. His
brown, almond-shaped eyes focused on the huge crate hanging in
space. The crate’s cube shape could not be seen to the physical eye
but he liked to guess the size based on the shield. The Pteraspis
Meta-Shield was huge.

Sorance knew the crew was relatively
inexperienced, which meant they needed the most senior staff on the
Pteraspis. He could hear from the clipped words of the recording
from Donaven that things weren’t going so well. The regular captain
of the Pteraspis was ill and Donaven had taken over to keep his
hours in space current by ousting aside a more junior captain. What
was obvious to Chen was that Donaven was trying to renew his
ratings as well as test the crew. Not a good combination. Sorance
sighed; he hated trying to sort through problems and maintain
diplomacy while smoothing rank issues.

He focused again on the vessel. He opened his
mini-comp casing and requested info on the craft. The crate was in
excess of five hundred feet in length and width, and it had fifty
levels. The shielding was over one thousand feet long. The long,
thick tail fanned out into a soft rounded V shape. Halfway up the
body, the head-plating began. Protruding from the back of the
head-plating, where the crate was situated, a horn-like bony
outgrowth stretched down to the back tail. On the front of the
head-plate was an extended snout, which was pinched out into a
bladelike rostrum. The Metamorphic Shielding on his crate wasn’t as
sleek but he preferred the flattened shape and wide, upturned
mouth. He always felt like his craft was greeting him with a smile,
not like this one that looked as if it was going to pierce your
innards.

An announcement was made that docking would
soon commence. He waited patiently for the procedure to be
completed and prepared himself mentally for the battle ahead. He
assumed his famous poker face and steeled himself for the
commotion. He could hear the difference in the engine as the
Meta-Shields were disengaged. The crate entered into the docking
port. As soon as the doors had moved smoothly aside a group stood
waiting for him with Amir Donaven floundering behind them. This
shocked him; the black-haired commander looked flustered but Chen’s
face didn’t show a single emotion as he made his way through the
ranks.

Captain Sorance found out quickly he was
called off Saxe to not only fix the problems on board the
Pteraspis, but to immediately begin preliminary investigations on
the attack, return to Saxe with a report and then return to his
ship the Drepanaspis to begin a search pattern coordinating with
the Pteraspis and two space ships from Behemoth. He was to draw up
the routes, coordinate all craft and report regularly to Saxe and
EO. No wonder Donaven looked annoyed most of the time during his
visit. His dark face glowered, his dark eyes showed anger. Amir
Donaven thankfully had been given one goal and that was to find the
girl and the samples, the top priority. He was to take the junior
captain with him, along with some scientists and other key staff.
Chen looked down at his to do list. It was growing by the second.
The Joiran Cluster had thirteen inhabited planets, hundreds of
uninhabited planets, three abandoned planets and numerous phenomena
that would need to be investigated. He estimated that a thorough
search could take over twenty years. He sent a coded message to EO
about the time restrictions since most kidnappings had a very small
time allotment in which to work. The reply was, “No time limit.
Utmost priority.”

Along with his duties he had to retrieve the
specifications on the two space ships, ACES, the name derived from
the words, space and vessel. They were based on the old Tunuen
design. Behemoth still produced similar models and, although the
crates and Meta-Shields were popular, many still loved flying,
working and traveling on a space vessel that look like a
traditional “space ship.” He was glad he had a crate; they didn’t
look very glamorous in the raw, just a cube, but they had plenty of
room and when the shields were engaged they beat the limited
designs of the SS. Nevertheless, he was impressed with their
capabilities and put them to good use. He leaned back in the
captain’s chair on the bridge.

The bridge was rectangular in shape and in
its center sat a large, round table which could project 3D visions
of star systems, ships and planets but doubled as a work bench.
Around this was a double-size aisle edged with workstations facing
toward the center. Along the walls lay charts, work lists, clear
boards, space traffic information and all essential electronic
equipment. Only one wall was clear and displayed a large screen
that could project information ranging from outside to internal
views. To the right of this lay a large desk and chair where the
captain worked.

He waded his way through the problems on the
Pteraspis, never blaming, and never insinuating guilt. He worked
long hours until the goal was achieved. When he eventually left the
bridge for the final time the crew stood to attention and let out a
whoop in a mark of respect.

As Chen was leaving the Pteraspis to transfer
back over in a ferian, Amir Rere-Garde Tyler halted him. “Captain
Sorance, a moment please.”

The green eyes met the brown eyes. “I wanted
to thank you on behalf of Amir Donaven for your fine work. Both
Amir Avant-Garde Keri and I found it an honor to work with
you.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll be in touch with those
plans.”

Tyler nodded and smiled at the attitude of
the much older man. Chen was well in his fifth-hundreds but
displayed what could only be described as unsullied discipline. He
inspired people to remain unruffled and work hard in the face of
all kinds of emergencies. It was a rare combination, one that Tyler
wanted to achieve. But it wasn’t just the composed face; it was
years of experience in three other major fields that spoke out.
Tyler was senior in rank but knew when to appreciate maturity.

Chen stepped into a ferian, and as soon as
the doors closed his face relaxed. He had felt relief he was
finally getting off the Pteraspis and away from Amir Donaven. The
lack of actual thanks from Donaven rankled but he was heartened by
the younger man’s integrity. Chen’s one goal was to achieve the
rank of Amir so that he could get Donaven off the team. Jousting,
once an ancient sport on Earth, was now a tactical ploy used by
those in the Space Corpus to get rid of the undesirables. He could
challenge Donaven in the Conglomerate Games but there was no time
now. Now, he had to focus on Al’s descendant.

Tucked away in his handheld computer lay the
detailed information that would start the process of jousting. Chen
knew he wasn’t the only one to start such a file but now he
certainly had the most information on Donaven. Chen sincerely hoped
that it would not be Donaven who found the girl first. Donaven had
been made to feel as if he had sole rights over the girl but that
was only part of the joust. Few knew of the Reos Gate, and the girl
was a problem.

{[JOIRAN CLUSTER] [Cruise Ship Anamoth] [Duo Octant]
[Saxe, Port Saxe]

[Duo Octant] [Kreid, Port Kreid]
[914857/2577/22/space]}

“Feena,” screamed Robin, as she watched the heavy
partition lower to secure the blast area. Terrified, they both
banged on the door, desperately screaming at those around to gain
access. Robin and William were frantic. After the main explosion
they had both been flung down the passage and then to the ground.
As they struggled to get up they tried to reach Serafina. Unable to
reach her, they instead stared at a monitor before it went dead.
She had been gripping the metal piling with white, bloody
knuckles.

By the time it was released, the door slid
across and blast doors up, and the little girl was gone. The only
sign left of her was a wet patch of urine and blood. Robin sobbed
helplessly; the shielding had done its job in maintaining an
atmosphere in the craft but the door had been closed automatically
to contain the fire. Whoever did this knew what they were
doing.

William hung on to Robin as they staggered
back, collecting the team as they went. Only two were missing as
they grouped in a meeting room, hastily made into an emergency
room.

“Has an SOS gone out?” William barked at one
of the officers trying to determine the extent of the damage.

The officer paused and then recognized
William under the grime and blood. “Yes, it has been issued.”

“You must get a message to Saxe, to the
Genetic Alterations Council, G.A.C. It is to say, ‘Project Wolf
sabotaged. Request immediate aid. Girl kidnapped. Samples taken.’
Do you have that?”

The officer nodded, recorded it in his
handheld comp and repeated it back. On confirmation from William he
headed to the bridge. They had all been briefed at the start of the
voyage that the Wolf party was to be given top priority.

Paramedics entered, spread out and tended to
their wounds. They spoke amongst themselves and also shared water
and helped those in shock.

“Who would have made such a bold move?” one
of the scientists asked.

“Someone who found out about the project and
wanted control.” Robin regained some of her composure, calculating
it was the best way to help the little girl. Serafina needed them
to be in top form to save her.

“To what purpose? Serafina was to serve the
entire Cluster, not just us.” Frustration could be heard in the
words.

“We’ve had failures before. Maybe they felt
they had a better chance of bringing the project to fruition, or
they may have had another agenda entirely. There have been comments
on the secrecy of this project.”

“Too many failures have been resulting in
hopelessness, you know that, and doubt that the Genetics Council
has any answers has been growing ever since we found that package
on Forp.”

“There have never been any guarantees that
the project would succeed; that is why no one was told about this
one. Are we supposed to just give up trying to find a way to defend
ourselves against the Illudere?”

Someone’s fist banged on the table.

“Someone always thinks they can do a better
job. This attack was well planned.” William spoke from a console,
having received updated info on the attack.

Robin began to cry again and was comforted by
a companion. They had all grown attached to the girl but Robin had
taken the little thing right to her heart.

It was some days later that a message came
from the G.A.C. telling them that half of the team would have to
return to Saxe and wait for news. They would be rotated around so
that, in the event she was discovered, someone that she knew would
be there. Robin and William opted to go together aboard an
independent science vessel. On the Sordes they could avoid contact
with the pedantic Donaven, and the science team would be contacted
on the girl’s whereabouts before Saxe, EO or the Coalition. There
was nothing else they could do. When Robin returned to the cabin
and went into Feena’s empty room she saw Mr. Pollocks. She wept
again. Feena would miss her bear.

{[JOIRAN CLUSTER] [EuroWasp] [Unus Octant] [Mador,
Wasps Nest]

[Secret Location] [914857/2577/22/space]}

The raid went exactly to plan. Dressed in their
beast costumes and flying a crate with an unregistered Meta-Shield,
they were able to pounce on the cruise ship, taking it unawares. It
had helped that they were conducting the first raid in the Cluster,
but they were at a disadvantage over what might have gone wrong.
Still, they had consoled themselves with the fact that those on the
ship would be even less prepared than what they were.

The planted Trimador spy had kept close tabs
on the girl, noting the schedule and all regular comings and
goings. He had signaled the EuroWasp, had warped the shield and
waited for his compatriots to arrive in the fake Mixosaurus
shielded vessel.

Within minutes the attack began. They blew
their way through the ship’s side and inserted a temporary docking
tube. The shields automatically adjusted, combining with the
Mixosaurus’s shielding to create a seal. Once oxygen was flowing
adequately again, the Trimadorians charged through, grabbing the
girl. The spy had already broken into the laboratory and stolen the
samples.

Mardez strode through the weapons fire,
noting not many were very good shots on either side. Very shoddy.
He scowled at his second-in-command, who, being close on his heels,
shrugged back and nodded away from him. He looked down and saw the
petrified girl. She fit the description. He went over, grabbed her
and flung her over his shoulder.

They left; there was no reason to dawdle. A
fire that had erupted during the kidnapping was being contained by
automatic units. Once in their crate they flew off, and a few hours
later they disengaged the fake shield and replaced it with their
real shield, EuroWasp. There was no pursuit. They had counted on
it.

Mardez dumped the girl with a medical officer
and went to the bridge. “Send word to the commander that the parcel
is en route for destination one. Will wait for instructions at
destination two.” He sniffed at his outfit. It stunk of urine. “I’m
going to change.”

“Sir.” The sub went ahead with the
communication. “Away, sir.”