Legend Beyond The Stars (22 page)

“Really? Now that is interesting. Do you know why?” Alana turned to look at Elise.

“Sure.” Her eyes rounded with surprise. “I would have thought Commander Tarak would have told you.” When Jessamine whacked her on her back, she stopped abruptly and cleared her throat. “Err sorry. I mean, anyway, this is their last strong hold. The last land or planet they control. If they lose this place, then they are stuffed.”

”Stuffed?” Norman pricked up his ears, cocked his head to one side. His three orange eyes swivelled in Elise’s direction as he jostled the bundle under his arm. “I do not see how this could happen … To stuff a Darkon warrior would be very difficult. One would first have to render them unconscious and then … no I do not see how we could do this at all. But if you wish this to be done Alana, perhaps if we used a roll of ithian—”

“Not literally, Norman, but figuratively. You know.” Elise waved a vague hand while the women giggled and bewilderment creased Norman’s eyes into squinty slits.

They broke into loud laughter but sobered as soon as they saw the hurt expression on his face.

“Sorry, Norman, we’re not laughing at you just at the vision of one of us actually stuffing one of these blokes like a Christmas turkey. I know exactly who I’d choose to go first,” Alana muttered as she reached the Commander’s side.

Jessamine and Elise giggled again. Even Norman was cheerful. Alana met the Commander’s keen eyes. His lids lowered and his gaze lingered over her body, the impact burning through her skin as surely as if he’d touched her. The now familiar spike of energy sizzled through her veins. Her stomach muscles squeezed and somersaulted.

Why does he have to be my enemy?

Her enemy he would remain, for as long as he withheld secrets from her and until he learned to respect her as an equal.

She straightened her shoulders and met his searching gaze with a cool nonchalance. Irritation settled over his face. Her spirits rose. His grip closed over her arm and he hauled her
inside one of the chutes. As the door closed she heard Jessamine yell a cheerful, “See ya on the other side, girlfriend.”

Alana kept her eyes shut as they hurtled towards the core of the planet. It was a long way down and by the time the door opened, sickness churned in her stomach. Tarak took one look at her clammy face, which she was sure must have been a nice green colour, and almost carried her out of the lift. He hustled her over to the side, where a dispenser was in-built into the rock wall, captured the liquid in the cup of his hands and splashed her face.

“Enough,” she gasped as droplets trickled under the neck of her flight suit. “I’m okay.”

The Commander tilted her face towards his and scanned her intently. “I will check you for damage.” He searched amongst the items from his belt.

Alana twisted out of his grasp, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, it’s not necessary. I’m fine. Is this liquid drinkable like water?

“If you are certain?”

“Yes. Could I have a drink?” she said, frowning. One minute he ignored her and the next he was clucking over her like a mother hen and the next, either ridding her of her clothes or treating her with a cool detachment. The man was a complete enigma to her. In silence he handed her a mug and watched while she guzzled.

“That’s heaps better. Thanks.”

Tarak, keeping his eyes on her face, switched on his communicator attached to the compu banding his lower arm and barked instructions into it. He sure was keen on ensuring
their welfare, ordering his men to lower the speed of the chutes and warning them of the women’s possible reactions.

“We must not linger. My father will be growing impatient for my report.” He slipped his arm around her waist, his actions conflicting with his words as he slowed his normal long strides to suit her shorter ones.

Ever so careful where her needs were concerned. Alana smiled and leaned into his protective embrace. They turned a sharp corner of the narrow rock corridor and her eyes widened at the enormous cavern which lay before them. It enclosed a town carved out of rock and stone with streets winding into the distance. The buildings all had metal doors and the windows were paned with multi-coloured glass or whatever was their equivalent.

A city built inside a mountain.

High above she saw a ball of fire and she held her fingers up in wonder to feel the warmth spread over the bare skin of her hands and face.

“An energy sphere,” Tarak said close to her ear.

She turned, to find him monitoring her closely.

“It provides many things, but here it is used for heat and light.”

“Amazing,” Alana murmured, examining her surroundings.

Tarak apparently having dismissed his earlier words, now strolled with her along the smooth rock surface as if they had all the time in the world, his arm linked in hers.

“Norman has mentioned energy spheres. He said they’re used in space travel.”

”That is so. They are a renewable energy fuel. Once converted, they provide a force field strong enough to withstand the immense pressures which exist within the vacuums of the anti matter holes which I believe you call black holes. Our ships can safely enter, traverse and exit such holes, and also travel to the far reaches of intergalactic space.”

“Are the Darkon people the only race that has access to these spheres?”

“That is correct, my Alana. It has long been our source of power and wealth. In our time-honoured tradition it has never been denied to other races. We have always shared this gift.”

“But there would have been a price?” Alana gazed at the Commander. She shivered as a smile she could only call ‘
predatory’
stretched his lips.

“There is always a price.”

“And I guess this didn’t sit so well with a lot of people, huh? Someone else wanted not just a piece of the pie but the whole damn lot. Hence, your war.”

He remained silent for a moment, and she assumed working through the import of her words. Wryly he continued, “There was more to it than space travel.”

Alana’s footsteps slowed. She planted her hands on her hips and faced her companion. “Don’t tell me. They can also be used as some terrible weapon. Is that right?”

“Many things can be used as a weapon. But, yes, you are correct.” Tarak sighed. He increased his pressure on her arm and gently urged her forward again. “The Darkon race was powerful. We controlled intergalactic space travel and all exploratory missions, other races’ economies and prosperity. Weapons of destructive powers were prohibited, only hand held
stunners allowed by law. The Darkon Warlords patrolled the stars. We ensured peace reigned on all planets in many universes. For many cycles, almost since our time began, The Darkon Warlords have done so. But never did we subject any race.” He gave a wry smile. “There has always been the Ruling Council to find universally approved solutions to problems which affect all the peoples of the Seven Galaxies. The Darkon people did not rule the known universes.”

“But now someone does.”

“Correct. Lord Liama, or Supreme Leader as he has called himself.” Tarak snarled. “He appeared several cycles after the war between that rabble the Relics and the Darkons erupted. His image was of a holy man who preached peace and unity to a troubled council. A council too afraid to take sides and so decided to give him absolute power.”

“Bad move, I take it.”

“Liama imprisoned any members of the Ruling Council who dared to object, rose up his military, the Elite Forces and made an alliance with the Relics. His one and only desire: to eliminate the Darkon race. Without the Darkon Warlords he will be the ultimate ruler. To achieve this end, he will do everything and anything.”

“How terrible,” murmured Alana. “It sounds as if it’s personal. I mean, as if he has a particular grudge against your race.”

Tarak shrugged as if he considered Liama’s motives to be of no import and stared ahead, the outline of his features grim.

She recalled their first meeting. The harrowing flight through a volley of enemy fire.
Who had the Elite Forces really been trying to kill?
Tarak had a lot of explaining to do, she thought huffily then sighed. No, that wasn’t fair. She really didn’t blame him for being unable to tell her the women and children were hidden.
Why should he trust her with this secret?

In his eyes, she would be an alien. There was no reason he would know why the Elite Forces wanted to kill her and the other women. If they were … no they must have been after the Darkon warriors. It made no sense otherwise.

In the quiet that ensued, their footsteps sounded far too loud as they walked along the winding street. Alana turned and glimpsed the group of women and Darkon warriors behind her. Even from that distance, she could see the wary expressions on the women’s faces, the grim visages of the warriors, while they patrolled the outer edge of the small crowd. She noted how even here they remained vigilant and alert. They appeared aloof. No one was speaking.

Interesting
.

Alana tilted her head to look at her companion. He wore the same expression as his men—distant, lost in memories and poignant thoughts. She thought about what he had told her and wondered how she would feel if she had had to live through so many years of battle and hardship. To have lost so much, even their home planet, to be reduced to living as exiles, constantly in hiding. No wonder they were grim.

She would feel pretty grim too if she had to live underground with what remained of her people. A fate that soon the people on Earth might well share.

Speaking of which …
Alana squeezed Tarak’s arm and stopped. She listened.

”It’s so quiet. Where is everyone?” She found herself whispering in the deep silence and turned towards him. Her throat tightened as her imagination took flight.

Bleak lines were etched into the Commander’s face. “The Darkon warriors will be either training, performing their duties in ensuring the life support system continues to function or absent on space patrols,” he growled.

The Darkon warriors, he said
. The niggling chill of foreboding which had been teasing her subconsciousness since she had woken caused goosebumps to shiver over her body. “And the women? The children … where are they?”

“There are no women or children,” the Commander admitted harshly.

“I don’t understand—” Alana began, but Tarak interrupted her coldly.

“It does not concern you. We have wasted enough time.” He dropped her arm and marched off. “Follow me.”

He was absolutely impossible!
Alana ground her teeth at his peremptory tone, saluted him behind his back and stomped along. They wound their way through streets so quiet it made her think they walked through a graveyard.

Now she was over her first astonishment, the sight of the town had engendered, her military training took over. Senses on full alert, she sniffed the air. It was heavy and oppressive. To Alana it reeked of sorrow and desolation. She shivered as another chill coiled around her spine.

This place was the pits, or worse, a cemetery of ghosts
.

She wondered what had happened to the Darkon women and their children. Surely he hadn’t meant they had all perished?

If that was the case, how awful to be the only ones to survive.

She could only imagine how terrible the warriors must feel, especially knowing they’d not been able to protect them. So much at odds with their innate sense of honour and belief.

She gnawed at her lower lip.

She knew all about failure. For one split second, she was back there—a child of ten clinging to the side of the rock face; the sound of her father’s voice echoing in her ears. She could almost feel the crisp winter wind, smell the hint of rain sweetening the mountain air. Hear remnants of a child’s shrill scream.

She passed a shaky hand over her hair. Let the memory fade.

No he must have meant they had been removed to another planet or star system for their safety for she found it had to imagine any scenario where only women and children would die. And this explanation also explained why the Darkon men were so sexually starved if the women had left a long time ago. The warriors’ over-protective attitude could emanate from a desire to ensure Alana and her friends came to no harm from a war they had no part in. A war that had lasted for a terribly long time.

She gazed at the warrior marching ahead, wondered how many people had perished. Had Tarak lost anyone close to him? Had he been married?

She clutched her stomach. Had he lost a child? She gasped. Immediately he bounded to her side.

”What is it?” He patted her body before settling his hand warm and large over hers where it rested on her belly. “Are you ill?”

Alana dropped her holdall onto the ground. Knocking his hands aside, Alana flung her arms about his neck, stood on tiptoe and kissed him, her mouth both tender and desperate with her need to offer and receive consolation. The reassurance of his immediate response was a balm to her troubled thoughts.

He grasped her shoulders and pulled her away to gaze into her upturned face. Her eyes stung as she peeped into his concerned face. He slid his hands over her skin to gently cradle either side of her cheeks.

“I will not deny your action is most pleasing but it is surprising. You are troubled by something. Tell me what causes you this pain, my Alana,” he ordered. His voice so deep and quiet rumbled through her.

She trembled. “Nothing. Everything,” she whispered.

His brows were raised in confusion but his examination of her face was sharp as she stepped away from him.

“Sorry about that, it’s been a pretty intense few days.” She scrubbed at her face, squeezed her eyes shut before blinking away the betraying wetness. Smoothing her ruffled hair, she finally straightened to stand stiff within his grasp.

Baffled, he reluctantly released his hold. “Very well. We will speak of this later. Come.” He held out his hand. When she reached out and took it, he smiled and pulled her closer. “We will walk together.” He picked up her holdall.

Along the deserted streets they strolled, hand in hand in companionable silence. Despite the aura of sadness which hung a heavy pall over the town, a sense of peace cloaked her. With wonder she realised that here and now, in this far-flung alien planet many light years from her home, she was actually happy.