The Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) (8 page)

There was more to the massive tree trunks than Darek had expected. Apparently, the bark of the tree was so thick that engineers were able to build a vast network of tunnels within the outer layer. Hundreds of elevators ran up and down the sides of the trees and served to provide residents with expeditious access to the bustling social centers at the lower part of the stem, just above the clouds.

The elevator doors opened up, and a long walkway appeared before them. Darek and the others crossed over to the other side, to the entrance of the building. The building was one giant ring around the tree; beams ran through the heart of the tree, giving it support.

Inside the ring they were met with a large crowd that rushed across the circular corridor. Darek wondered what all the fuss was about until he discovered that this area was a shopping center. Busy shoppers raced from store to store, hastily snatching up any good sales they could find. It was almost like a horde of screeching vermin that swallowed up every good thing.

“Watch yourself,” said Kyrie. “People get trampled.”

She wasn’t kidding. Darek was almost swept away by the throng the moment he entered. His agile reflexes allowed him to dodge the pandemonium in the nick of time and escape with his life intact.

Their first stop was the diner.

Darek was comforted by the sound of trays, forks and spoons clattering. Even the sound of people chatting, chewing and gulping was a delight to his ears. He had been stuck in the loneliness of Lacuna for so long that he had forgotten how nice it was to be back in a more urban setting. Then he breathed deeply through his nostrils and exhaled with extreme joy. The sounds and smells of the diner really opened up his appetite. Licking his lips, he impatiently sat down at the table with Slade, waiting for Kyrie to bring some food.

She placed a full tray in front of him.

Darek squinted his eyes at the tray. “What's this?”

“On our world we call this food,” replied Kyrie.

Darek frowned. “In my world, I call this disappointing.” He took his fork, plunged it into the meatloaf and lifted it up. He scrutinized and sniffed it, looking disgusted. “Just great.” Then he used the meatloaf to play around with his soggy vegetables. “Okay...this might be food. But we're at a diner. Come on, at least serve something fresh! This looks like it was either canned or frozen.”

“Don't be picky,” said Kyrie. “This is all we've got. The only source of food on Grehelm is the Under Sky and nobody is allowed to go there. That's why we have to ship in preserved foods from other planets.”

Darek took a bite of the meatloaf and chewed unpleasantly. “You have to eat this everyday? Do I feel bad for you. I'm starting to miss Lacuna already. At least the food was
real
.”

“Oh, hush. It's still real food.”

Darek swallowed, then put down his fork defiantly. “My stomach doesn't think so.”

Kyrie snapped, “Well your stomach's wrong. Besides, you'd be surprised how creative the cooks are on this planet. That meatloaf alone comes in a hundred different varieties.”

After gulping down some water, he said. “And I bet they all taste like crap.”

Scowling at him, Kyrie folded her arms.

“Darek.” Cutting a piece of the meatloaf, Slade glanced at him.

“What?”

“You're being rude,” said Slade.

“What? I'm just saying—”

“This is the meal she brought to you. You should be grateful you got anything.”

Darek scoffed, “Why? It's her duty, isn't it? Vespars are supposed to serve the Judges.”

“We Judges still consider the service of the Vespars a great privilige,” said Slade. “They are not slaves. Think of your mother. She sacrificed so much for us. Vespars help us because they want to. Even if it is their duty, it is a duty that must be respected.”

Darek lowered his head and picked up his fork. Darek sighed and started eating again. They ate quietly. Both of them said nothing at all for a long time.

Kyrie finally spoke up. “So Darek, how's life?”

Darek shrugged while he carved out a piece of meatloaf.

“What does that mean, hmm?” asked Kyrie.

“It means life's okay.”

“Oh. But surely there's more to life than just...okay.”

“I guess.”

“What have you been doing?”

Darek raised a brow. “Like for Judge stuff?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“You know how it is,” said Darek. “Except...I've only been training. This will be my first real mission. And probably my last...with the way things are going.”

“Training?” Kyrie smiled. “That's sounds interesting. Tell me about it. What do you do? How hard is it?”

“Uh...erm.” Darek put a morsel in his mouth and chewed with great difficulty. “That's kind of confidential, isn't it? I mean, we're in a public place. I don't think Slade would appreciate it if I talked about that here.”

Kyrie nodded. “That's true. Then...what about before you became a Judge? What have you been doing the last three years?”

“Nothing really.”

Kyrie said, “Three years. You couldn't have been doing nothing.”

“Okay, okay! I was doing
something
.” Darek slammed his fork on the table. “But that's really none of your business. I didn't come here to be interrogated.”

“I'm not—It's not an interrogation, Darek.”

Darek gave her a dirty look. “Then what's with all the questions all of a sudden?”

“All of a sudden? It's been three years since I last heard about you. I'm your sister. I just want to know how you've been.”

Darek said quickly, “Well, I've been fine. Just fine. And that's all you need to know.”

Darek reached for his glass and began drinking water.

Kyrie thought for a moment. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

PFFFT! Darek spit out a mouthful of water across the table.

Dripping wet, Slade scowled, but said nothing. He continued to eat even though some words of fury were right on the tip of his tongue.

Wiping his chin with a napkin, Darek spat, “Why are you even asking that?”

Kyrie grinned at Darek's reaction. “You are at that age. It's not unusual. You don't need to keep it a secret from me.”

“I don't have time for that,” Darek snapped. “Not to mention, it's not like we can go to the universe whenever we want. It's strictly for business. There's no point in having a girlfriend you can't even see.”

Kyrie grinned mischievously. “Who said anything about a
normal
relationship? There are female Judges...”

Darek smacked himself on the forehead. “Yeah, like
three
. The one in the Conclave was old enough to be my grandmother. And the other one is at least twice my age! The only other girl is Elize.”

Still grinning like an idiot, Kyrie nudged Darek. “And? Anything going on there?”

Darek groaned, “Elize is.... She's...”

“Well?”

He hesitated to finish. “Elize is...more of a...”

“More of a what?” Kyrie paused and gasped. “Don't tell me she...doesn't like guys?”

“What? No!” Darek said angrily. “It's not like that at all.”

“Hmm? Then what?”

Darek sighed. “Elize is like a sister to me.”

“Oh...” Kyrie sounded shocked. “I see.... She's like a sister...”

And she said nothing more during their meal.

Once they finished eating, they stopped outside for a moment to look at the map of the floor.

Kyrie said, “We still have to get you guys some boards. You could rent some at the track, but those can’t compare to the boards they have at the
Hover Stop
.”

They made a quick trip to the
Hover Stop
to pick up three boards. Slade chose the DynoTrek, a simple long black slab that housed an extremely powerful engine. Darek, after careful consideration, settled on the Inferno; it was a short red board with flames painted on.

When they were satisfied with their choices, Kyrie guided them to a narrow tunnel. It was quiet until herds of shoppers stampeded all at once into the tunnel. During this time, while they elbowed and kneed their way through, Kyrie shouted over the ruckus, explaining that hover board races were the only major sporting events on Grehelm. There wasn’t much of anything else to do. It was difficult and costly to build special arenas for other sports, and so hover board racing became the most popular.

The rush of the crowd carried them along the winding passageways until they finally reached the main hall of the racing complex. The main hall was formed from a round glass, very much similar in design to the residences on the tree, although the hall was much larger and longer, making the bubble-shaped covering seem stretched. The glass covering for the hall was transparent, allowing everyone inside to get a glimpse of the starting point of the racecourse.

Filled with anticipation, Darek ran to the glass, pressed his face against it and gawked at the course, watching as several contestants were already starting their preliminaries. There was something exciting about this race that got his heart pumping.

He had never entered any competitions in his life. Darek had always been training to become a Judge. The only competitions he had were the rivalries between himself, Slade and Rex when they played their games. While it was fun competing in their own little circle, he had always wondered what it would be like to compete against people he didn’t know. The galaxy was vast. There were sure to be prodigies in everything. There were also people who trained day and night for one moment of glory. Here he was, about to enter a competition, but he knew the competition would be fierce.

As he continued to watch the preliminaries, his initial excitement was snuffed out. He was not here to have fun. He was here to win. If they could not get that ITD, they’d be stuck here for a few weeks. There was no telling what kind of trouble the other Judges were facing at this very moment. They needed to regroup as soon as possible.

But watching these trained athletes only served to crush his optimism. These riders were good—unbelievably good. Several riders began performing advanced tricks and spins; they sped down the practice course with utmost confidence and blazing speed. They cut through corners with ease and cruised down ramps flawlessly.

Standing beside Darek, Slade said, “Nervous?”

“I just started hover boarding today,” Darek replied. “Of course I’m nervous.”

Kyrie said, “Why not go down and practice? Tomorrow is the competition.”

Darek turned to Slade. “Are you coming? We could practice together.”

Slade thought about it. “No, you can go alone. I want some time to search around town for info on Lyonil. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“So I’ve got a day of practice. One day.” Darek looked once more at the riders. “I wonder if it’ll be enough.”

CHAPTER 5

Ship’s Rest

There was a soft hissing noise as the cabin depressurized. The hissing grew louder as each lock on the hatch was disabled.

“Unghh! Erghh! ARGH! It’s stuck! There’s no way to open this, Captain.”

Captain Kite Ruthers snapped, “Stop whining, Berik. You’re acting like a little kid. Just kick it open.”

“I tried. I really did. Even kicking won’t help now.” With a hint of excitement in his voice, Berik said, “Looks like we don’t have a choice. It’s time to pull out the sonic charge…”

“Are you crazy? Wasting it on something like this?”

“What? It’s okay. I’ve got more.”

Kite groaned. “Move, you idiot! Out of the way! I’ll handle this!”

Bang—Bang—Bang!
The hatch flew open.

Two men in spacesuits cautiously entered the dark cabin with their rifles armed and ready. As they examined the area, they saw that the Federation starship, the
Seeker
, had suffered more damage than they had expected. Much to their surprise, the hull of the ship actually looked like it fared better than the interior. The damage looked extensive. The walls and cables were torn apart, gushing out small flames and sparks of electricity.

“Clear.”

Kite said, “Switch to visor and lights.”

“Switching.”

Kite and Berik simultaneously lifted up the protective covers from the visors, disabling their night-vision, and turned on the flashlights of their rifles. Doing so allowed them to conserve the energy of the Crionium power cells in their suits.

While Kite continued to inspect the room, he motioned with his gun for Berik to take the controls. Berik hastily rushed to the control panel, propped his rifle against the wall and entered in some commands. The blue screen flashed on and rapidly began displaying text.

Kite asked, “Can you get the power back online?”

“Power is still on,” replied Berik. “Only the lights are dead.”

“Okay.” Kite walked back to the hatchway and slammed the door shut. “Pressurize the room.”

“Pressurizing…done.”