The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1) (28 page)

The lid of the seatra rose up slowly, revealing a dimly lit bridge. Kira sat upright and sniffed the air. James smelt a strange odour.

What’s that
, he thought.
Smells like plastic and rubber.

He sat up and looked outside the seatra. The blue band around the walls was flashing, and its light was softened by a haze of smoke.

The air’s very humid.

He heard the sound of distant pumps starting and watched as the smoke was drawn from the bridge through air ducts in the ceiling.

James stepped out from the seatra.

‘Where are we, Kalrea?’ he asked, but there was no reply. ‘Kalrea!’ James repeated.

He looked down at Londuo, who appeared very peaceful inside the seatra.

‘I hope you’re all right, Londuo,’ he said, feeling worried.

Kalrea! I need you!

James could hear the sound of debris rolling off the hull and soil settling outside the ship. The
Aurora
suddenly jerked sideways, making him grab the edge of the seatra to steady himself. He felt the ship shudder, until it finally nestled on the surface.

Gulino’s head moved slightly in the light. He moaned and raised his arms to his head. James rushed over to him.

‘My head,’ Gulino said, looking dazed.

‘How are you?’ James asked.

Gulino opened his eyes.

‘My head, it feels like it’s been hit by a Fopl. I think these seats need a re-design,’ he said, managing a slight smile. ‘It’s quiet. What happened?’

‘We made it. We’ve… er… made a kind of landing,’ James said sheepishly.

‘Where are we?’

‘I’ve no idea. Kalrea’s not answering,’ James said.

He tried again to contact her.

‘Most of the ship’s systems aren’t functioning.’

He paused and concentrated. The monitor lit up, and the image flickered before it formed.

‘At least we can have a look around outside.’

There was an eerie scream from outside the ship that made James shiver.

‘I wonder what that was,’ Gulino said, still trying to focus.

‘I’m not sure I want to find out,’ James replied.

The front two-thirds of the
Aurora
were buried. From the monitor, James looked back along the furrow cut behind the ship, where the dust was settling. The furrow was littered with the debris of crystals and remnants of plants. Yellow and grey roots, which would normally be underground, were now exposed in the surface and were producing a mustard-coloured sap, which dripped onto the soil. Some severed roots were also strewn behind the ship.

Gulino looked at the dark-green sky, which made the landscape look dull.

‘What a depressing planet,’ he commented.

‘I tend to agree. The sooner we can leave, the better,’ James said
.

Kalrea, can you hear me?

Yes… I’m trying… to…
Kalrea’s voice was weak.

‘I’ve managed to get a response out of Kalrea,’ James said.

Gulino didn’t answer. He was staring at the monitor.

‘I thought I saw one of those weird roots move,’ he said.

‘What do you mean ‘weird’? I’ve seen those before, on Qintaino,’ James replied.

The monitor zoomed in closer.

‘Don’t be daft,’ Gulino said. ‘There’s never been anything like that growing on Qintaino.’

‘Are you sure? I tripped over one of them; nearly broke my neck on one of those roots. There must be!’

Gulino looked at James strangely and said,

‘I thought I was the one who blacked out. I’m telling you, there’s no plant like that on Qintaino!’

‘But—’ James got distracted by some movement outside. ‘Look, Gulino, over there!’

Some of the exposed roots at the top of the furrow retracted into the bank.

‘There’s something familiar about them,’ James said nervously. ‘But they couldn’t be…’

He paused, just as the blue band around the room stopped flashing, and the bridge brightened.

‘That’s better,’ Kalrea said. ‘We’re still in one piece, I’m glad to report.’

‘It’s good to have you back, Kalrea,’ James said anxiously. ‘Is Londuo all right?’

‘Yes, she’s stable,’ Kalrea replied calmly. ‘James, Londuo will be safe in the seatra, I promise you; there’s no need to worry.’

‘I’m sorry, Kalrea. I just wish I could speak to her.’

‘What damage has the ship sustained?’ Gulino asked.

‘I’ve only had minimal success in checking the systems,’ James added.

‘Not good, I’m afraid. There’s severe damage to the inside of the ship, but the Plyane hull integrity has been maintained. The two remaining event horizon drives are being repaired. Long range scanners are online. Front defence system is online. Front reactor at forty-three percent. The rear laser is repairable.’

‘Time to repair drives?’ James asked.

‘It will take twenty hours to repair the two remaining drives.’

James sat down.

‘Oh well, looks like we’re stuck here for a while. Anyhow, where are we, Kalrea?’ James enquired.

‘We’ve landed on Ghuno. It’s on the edge of a system called Paskio.’

‘The Treitans destroyed Ghuno over twenty sykals ago,’ Gulino said.

He exercised his neck muscles by rotating his head.

‘From what I remember, they put up a lot of resistance.’

‘More like they invaded,’ Kalrea added.

‘Invaded?’ Gulino said and stopped his exercises. ‘What have you found out, Kalrea?’

‘It’s in the data from Dagnamk. James was right when he said these roots looked familiar.’

The monitor changed to show a picture of a Treitan.

Gulino’s mouth dropped.

‘You mean those things out there are Treitans?’

‘I was hoping, I wasn’t right,’ James said. ‘The coloration is the same as the tentacles of the Treitan I saw on the
Lonori
.’

He looked across at Gulino.

‘And I saw the same on Qintaino.’

Gulino gulped.

The monitor changed once more to show an infrared image of the surface of Ghuno.

‘Like Qintaino, every continent on this planet has small areas covered in a network of tentacles,’ Kalrea said.

The image tried to penetrate the surface of the planet.

‘It’s difficult to pick them up on the scanners if you don’t know what to look for. There, the Treitans call them Dem-Fi-Larvay.’

The image cleared to show the lattice of tentacles just beneath the surface. Some were moving.

‘Amazing!’ James said.

‘What’s their purpose, Kalrea?’ Gulino asked inquisitively.

The monitor highlighted an area where a number of tentacles met.

‘There are some of their young forming,’ Kalrea said.

The image moved away.

‘There must be hundreds of them,’ James remarked.

‘I would estimate approximately one thousand, three hundred in this group,’ Kalrea said.

‘How long before they... erm… before they’re born?’ James asked.

‘These are very young; they’re not even half-formed.’ Kalrea said. ‘It takes eighty-three sykals before they spawn. The mother teaches them while they form. When the time is right they’ll emerge ready to start the cycle all over again.’

‘And move on to another unsuspecting planet, I imagine.’ Gulino added.

‘Kalrea, I thought that every planet the Treitans invade is drained of water, but if they’re plants, surely the one thing they would need to feed their young is water?’ James asked.

The infrared image penetrated further underground.

‘There,’ Kalrea said. ‘Colossal underground reservoirs under each spawning site. Even on planets which naturally contain no water they can still raise their young by creating vast caverns which they fill with water.’

‘Unbelievable. So each planet is used as a breeding ground for their young?’ James said in disbelief.

‘Remember the book of Qulain. We did some terrible things in our past, to other races,’ Gulino said.

‘The only difference is that we saw the light,’ Kalrea added.

‘Yes, I know, but there must be more to this?’ James said. ‘I mean, how many planets can they possible need?’

‘You’re right, James; there is more to this than just the need to raise their young. They have the need to survive,’ Kalrea said.

‘Go on, Kalrea,’ James said.

‘It’s hard to believe, but the Treitans were once a very peaceful race. They had no need for weapons and had never been at war, but 2345.62 sykals ago their race was almost wiped out. Their homeworld was attacked by a lone ship, which released a deadly virus into their atmosphere. Only a few Treitans survived. In their words, “
the black hand of Lzeop reached down from the stars and consumed our lives
.” The Treitans believed it was a sign from their God, a warning that only the strongest races would survive in the universe and so they started to build weapons. They spread slowly throughout their galaxy, ensuring the survival of their race, but at the cost of extinction of all other life-forms. Then water started to become an issue, so they needed to seek out worlds in other galaxies to sustain the ever-growing population—’

James interrupted, ‘And now they’re after ours.’

‘Incredible!’ Gulino said.

‘I have the information we need to stop them. I need to inform the Telqintre.’ Kalrea said.

‘Have you tried contacting any of the other ships?’ James asked.

‘My communications systems have been severely damaged. It will take twenty-eight hours to complete repairs,’ Kalrea said.

‘Won’t the creatures out there relay our position to the Treitan fleet?’ Gulino said.

James was concerned.

‘Kalrea?’

‘Each planet inhabited by the Treitans is self-sufficient. They have no contact with the outside.’

‘Thank goodness! For a moment there I thought we were in deep trouble,’ Gulino said, looking relieved.

‘We still are,’ Kalrea said. ‘It won’t take them long to locate the debris left from that cruiser we destroyed; then all they’ll have to do to find us is follow the plasma trail we left.’

‘Damn!’ James said. ‘Will we have the drives online before they arrive?’

‘No, I believe we have twelve hours at the most,’ Kalrea said calmly. ‘You must get away from here whilst there’s still time. I’ve downloaded all the data I have on the Treitans into the remaining shuttle.’

‘But Londuo... What about Londuo? Can she be moved?’ James asked anxiously.

‘She will die if she leaves the seatra,’ Kalrea said.

James impatiently rose from his seat.

‘I won’t leave Londuo.’

‘I’ll protect her as long as I can—’ Kalrea said.

‘No, Kalrea! I’m not leaving without Londuo.’

He looked over at Gulino.

‘We would double the chance of delivering the data if we split up,’ Gulino said. ‘I’ll take the shuttle and head for the emergency rendezvous for this mission.’

‘How far is the Youkl system, Kalrea?’ James asked.

‘Eighteen light years.’

‘It’s going to take you two days to get there,’ James said. ‘By then the fleet will be gone.’

‘Yes, I know, but I have an idea where they may stumble upon me,’ Gulino said.

‘That’s if the Treitans don’t find you first,’ Kalrea said.

‘Don’t worry, they won’t,’ Gulino replied.

‘All right, Gulino,’ James said. ‘But be careful.’

‘What are your chances here?’ Gulino asked.

‘Kalrea says the seatra is very strong. We may survive. Bring back help, Gulino.’

James took Gulino’s hand.

‘I know you can make it. The Telqintre must destroy the Treitans and free Qintaino.’

Gulino looked saddened.

‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘Say nothing. You must go now,’ James said. ‘Please take Kira with you. She’ll keep you company.’

Gulino picked up Kira from within the seatra. She hissed and then bit him on the hand.

‘Oww!’ he shouted, dropping her.

Kira ran behind the consoles.

‘I don’t think Kira wants to leave, James,’ he said, shaking his hand quickly in the air, before looking to see if she had drawn blood. ‘In fact, I know she does want to leave. That hurts.’

That seemed to break the tension. James smiled and then could not help laughing.

‘Sorry, Gulino, I honestly didn’t know she was going to do that.’

Gulino smiled back.

‘It must be my charm. I get that reaction from all the women!’

They both laughed.

‘I’d better go, James,’ Gulino said, still feeling his hand. ‘That’s going to hurt for a while.’