Star Blaze (9 page)

Johnny ignored the double-headed commentator, who looked out of place with the rest of the scene. Instead, unbelievably, he found himself staring at his mum. She was standing right in front of him, dressed in a one-piece silver outfit that flowed like liquid over her body, and smiling, her pale blond hair glinting in the soft red glow of both Arros and Deynar. He reached out to touch her but his hand simply passed through the projection, causing her image to blink out of existence until he withdrew. It was torture—he wanted more than anything for her to take him in her arms and hold him. The voiceover continued.

“After millennia of chaos following the death of Ophion, the people demanded a new Emperor. Khari seemed eager (
some would say too eager
) for the top job and had soon set up home in the Imperial Palace.

“It would be churlish not to acknowledge the prosperity that followed.
The peace dividend from the next few thousands of years saw the Empire restored, perhaps surpassing its former glories
. The entire civilized galaxy (
and plenty of parts that weren't
) seemed under the spell of the fresh-faced Emperor, who made little effort to justify his claims to be descended from a Lysentian.”

As the commentary continued, the bubble of illusion within which Johnny stood changed, the only constant being the hovering narrators. Numerous scenes depicted the young Bram's travels around the galaxy, often with Johnny's mum smiling in the background—whenever Johnny glimpsed her, he had eyes for nothing else.

“Here on Melania, a new outer layer of the capital was built—
both the Imperial Palace and Senate were raised to the new level and restored
. Later—
much later
—came the Great Tower of Themissa, which reached from the surface into orbit. All seemed well,
but appearances can be deceptive
.”

The scene shifted again, returning to Melania to show the entire surface covered over by gigantic machines, sometimes
operated by cheery aliens, enabling yet more building to take place on the new top layer. The twin narrators' tone became more serious.

“The cares of running an empire weighed heavily on the once-youthful Senator's broad shoulders.
Following an unscheduled visit to the Large Magellanic Cloud, he aged visibly.
Perhaps increasingly obsessed with threats to his leadership,
he created the elite Imperial Guard
.”

Fearsome soldiers being drilled now stood before Johnny, who was glad they weren't real. That didn't stop him putting his hand through the nearest just to be sure.

“His Divine Imperial Majesty withdrew further and further from public life—
day-to-day control of the Empire passed to the First Senator
. While everyone knew who was really in charge, the whispering campaign grew louder—
who would follow when, dare it be said, the Emperor was no longer with us?
With no heir, who would lead the galaxy in future aeons? Then,
as every citizen of the Empire knows
, His Divine Imperial Majesty disappeared altogether.
The first of what have now been five regents was installed
, and rumors of Khari's actual—
or at least imminent
—death swept all the way from the hub to the outer rim. Despite assertions from the Regency Civil Service that they maintained constant links with the Emperor, he remained incommunicado for almost a century.
War broke out, the Andromedans somehow folding the vast emptiness of intergalactic space, to bring terror to the very heart of the galaxy
.”

Now the view before Johnny was of giant, terrifying space battles, with whole planets disintegrating, as though burning from the inside out. Lines of vessels from opposing sides passed each other, firing bright bolts of energy, but it was the white ships of the Imperial Navy that seemed to suffer the most, while dark, prickly spheres appeared nearly undamaged.

“If ever there was a time a people needed their Emperor, this
had to be it.
The galaxy waited
, but the Emperor they hoped for did not appear.
Surely, we thought, he must have passed beyond?
Then—
only months ago
—the Imperial Guard finally set forth from their island base, arriving at the Senate Platform.”

Johnny couldn't believe it—he was within the scene that had greeted him the very first time he arrived on Melania. He could see himself in the distance, supported by a strange, four-winged alien and holding a barely conscious Clara. The Regent, and then Captain Valdour, made speeches, but their words were drowned by the continuing commentary.

“Crowds the like of which had not been seen for decades filled the Senate Platform to welcome back the courageous Dauphin—
offspring and heir apparent of the mighty Regent
—who had bravely tried to sue for piece with the merciless Andromedan General Nymac.”

It was hard to fathom how the commentator had got things so wrong—the Dauphin was about the most annoying, pompous alien Johnny'd had the misfortune to encounter on all his travels. For “courageous,” he thought, substitute “idiotic.”

“Maverick,
and frankly batty
, Imperial Captain Valdour—
a relic from some imagined bygone age of heroic deeds
—did his best to deflect attention away from the worthy Dauphin, but was himself trumped when the Imperial Guard came to arrest these beings,
later discovered to come from the faraway Sol system
.”

The view was now a close-up of the Johnny from six months ago, holding his sister. He was amazed how young he looked, and wanted to strangle the ridiculous, double-headed reporter. He had most definitely not been arrested—he and Clara had been guests of the Emperor. He watched as his past self was finally able to relax his grip on his sister, allowing an invisible, floating platform to ferry them into the distance toward the great tower on the horizon.

“It was presumed the two criminals had been imprisoned
indefinitely within the Imperial Palace, yet this very morning they arrived at Talamine Spaceport in one of the ugliest Imperial Starships ever seen.
Not best pleased at the presence of MWNN cameras
[Johnny could be seen lashing out at whatever was creating the projection—to his amazement he realized it must have been the ‘insects' he'd tried to swat], we filmed their visit to the Senate,
accompanied by an alien of unknown origin
[Bentley came into close-up] and a robot thought to have once served in the Imperial Household.”

The scene on the travelator froze and disappeared, leaving only the flying alien buzzing in front of Johnny on its two pairs of wings. The long, twisted neck began to unwind as it continued speaking.

“As if this story weren't strange enough, we can now exclusively reveal for the Milky Way News Network—
first for all the most important galactic gossip
—that the planet these beings call home,
a world known as Terra
, is the world of Atlantis—
the very same world from which our glorious and noble monarch returned more than thirty millennia ago
. His victory over the Atlanteans was already shrouded in mystery. Now these products of that defeated civilization walk freely among us,
appearing to hold the Emperor and even our dynamic Regent in their thrall
. Who are they,
and what is their sinister purpose for visiting Melania?
”

By this point the alien's twin heads had fully unwound and were smiling together toward Johnny. They finished off with, “This is Z'habar
Z'habar
Estagog with another special report for the Milky Way News Network. And always remember—
two heads are better than one
.”

For a moment, Johnny found himself alone inside the clear bubble with the twinkling stars of the chamber's ceiling shining down on him. Then the original music and smug background voice returned, saying:

“Viewers of this Vermalcast have also chosen to experience:

“Noble Dauphin
—secret journey of a brave young Phasmeer;

“Melania Uncovered
—the historic capital beneath the upper levels;

“An Audience with the Regent
—citizens pose the questions while special guests The Quasars perform live;

“Disappearing Diaquant
—a special report from Z'habar Z'habar Estagog on what really became of the secret power behind the Imperial throne. ‘Select next story.'”

Again, Johnny's heart leapt at the sight of his mum and he moved toward the final screen hoping to discover more about her. Outside of the sphere, a single, crystal clear chime sounded and the walls changed color from gold to olive green. Before the program could play, the bubble lifted into the air, passing through Johnny's body and over his head with a faint plop, leaving him standing alone on the springy floor. For the first time he realized that the few aliens scattered around the
chamber must have been inside their own Vermalcasts which, too, had terminated. Now they were moving, using all sorts of different methods, toward the giant doors. Alf returned, a blur of arms and legs approaching at lightning speed, but stopping instantly just before Johnny.

“Master Johnny,” said the android. “The Senate has finished sitting.” As he spoke, a shadow fell across both of them. A massive six-meter tall Phasmeer with black robes, followed by the Chancellor and surrounded by several little bow-legged Mannigles, had just entered the chamber. It was the Regent.

“Johnny Mackintosh,” said the giant creature. Its voice was far deeper than any other Phasmeer Johnny had heard. “I would speak with you. Come …”

“Your Highness. I must protest,” squeaked the Chancellor, robes glowing bright pink. “You cannot treat this inferior as …”

“Silence!” boomed the Regent, brushing the Chancellor out of the way with a sweep of its long, spindly arm.

Johnny, Alf and Clara (dragging Bentley), started to move toward the huge doors, but the Regent raised an elongated limb commanding them to halt.

“I would speak with Johnny Mackintosh alone. Chancellor Karragon and my Mannigles will ensure your companions are … comfortable.”

Johnny didn't know who looked the more upset—Clara or the Chancellor. He shrugged at his sister, who stopped, while Johnny followed the Regent out into the central courtyard. The Phasmeer soared into the air, supported by some sort of antigrav generator, which enveloped Johnny too, lifting him far from the ground, level with the Regent's head. It felt quite like standing in the
Spirit of London
's lifts.

“We can talk freely,” boomed the Phasmeer. “Within this field, no one can hear us.” That was all very well, thought Johnny, but he didn't have anything to say. The Regent stopped walking and
turned to face Johnny, its bulbous eyes (set either side of its long, thin face) focused on him. “Tell me. Why will the Emperor not show himself? His people need him. His galaxy needs him.”

Johnny didn't answer at first, but the Regent refused to shift its gaze. When it became clear that he would stay floating in the middle of the Senate courtyard until he said something, Johnny forced himself to open his mouth. “I think that's for Bram, not me, to say. So if I knew, I probably wouldn't tell you, but I don't anyway.”

“Yet he welcomed you on your last visit,” continued the Regent, who began moving again with Johnny in tow, drifting toward the ancient Senate building in the center of the courtyard. As they approached, crumbling white stone doors opened before them and they continued inside. Dim lights floated unsupported at different heights throughout a huge chamber, but wherever Johnny and the Regent moved they brightened, illuminating fading murals depicting scenes from across the galaxy—Johnny thought he recognized the Horsehead Nebula. The Regent led him to the very center, where they settled softly atop a giant disc of black stone, like obsidian. Johnny looked around to see if he could identify any more space scenes, but he had less than a second before the black floor beneath his feet vanished and he began to fall. The Regent remained beside him, but its antigrav shield no longer extended to include Johnny, whose arms and legs windmilled helplessly as he picked up more and more speed.

Beneath the Senate House the underground world of the capital, seen earlier through the travelator, was revealed. Clara would have died of fright and Johnny wondered if he might too. It might be the best way—a lot less painful than splatting into the ground when he hit bottom. It could easily be over before then if something collided with him on the way down. All around, transports and aliens flew by at terrifying speeds,
sending him spinning one way then another. The wind whistled painfully around Johnny's ears and tore at his flapping tunic, shredding the sleeves as he fell faster and faster between the enormous, needle-like towers that rose from the original, inner surface, far taller than any skyscraper on Earth and lit by floating, miniature suns. Fighting hard, he somehow managed to hold his arms and legs out to right himself and then angled his fall toward the Regent's antigrav generator, but whenever he came close a force from the device repelled him.

They were plunging downward at exactly the same rate, but the Regent remained comfortably within its bubble. Johnny would hit that surface at any moment. He could see a growing black dot—a circular patch of ground—rushing upward to meet him. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact. Nothing happened. When he opened them he was still falling, but inside a tube, the black shiny mirrored walls matching the stone on the Senate House floor. It was a vertical bore hole leading deep into the planet's original surface. He looked down but could see no sign of the bottom.

The Regent turned its face to him. “How do you imagine the Emperor would feel if his chosen heir were to meet with an untimely end?”

It was just Johnny's luck to meet another mad Phasmeer. “I don't know what you're talking about.” Johnny had tried to shout, but the wind seemed to push the words back down his throat. He wasn't sure the Regent had heard.