The Sea Stallion Book 3: Red Cloud of Destruction
Chapter 1 - New Home
Six vans now out working and an additional two new families settling in ready for when the next van was ready to pick up. People working around the shop that Cal didn’t know the name of. He felt like a visitor in his own base. The women didn’t seem to bother, happy to gossip with everyone, and even Professor Frank was joining in as he explored his new home more fully. At least Agatha might have some interesting information he thought, as he made his way alone to the liner control room where her and her father were staring at screens.
“Back you being I seeing,” Mister Sline’s welcome cheering in a way. “New treasures you getting?”
“Only parts for the ship and a little information. Any changes I need to know?” Cal nodded toward Agatha.
“Landing site she renting. Time saving much now.”
“We’re getting the packing crew to send more packs out since the drivers have more time now,” Agatha said. “The extra will easily cover the land rent, so really we’ll lose nothing.”
“I’m struggling with the idea of us moving to another planet,” Cal said. “Is it really necessary?”
“I guess you were born here like I was.” Cal nodded. “My father wasn’t, and he has the experience to know, and I see your other people who weren’t born here aren’t keen to set up here fully either.” Cal had thought Orbis was waiting for The Professor to begin setting up the workshop, but as Agatha said, maybe he really didn’t want to stay here. Only those that had always lived here wanted to stay.
“Here good for business,” Mister Sline said. “But nice living you not doing here. Is truth. Only future plans...”
“We move before we get too settled here then? Find a new base away from the Imperial.”
“Every day we stay it becomes more difficult to move. Resettling fifty people is easier than a thousand.”
“The business?”
“We could keep the shop here. Swap staff when the ships come with the vans. The only difference is we live and make things somewhere else.”
“We’ll need another freighter for the vans,” Cal said.
“Or make do, or find another place to run the other six. Maybe another time zone so there’s no conflict.”
“That’s good thinking. Spread our risk too. Let me think on it some more.”
Away from the control room he looked to find Orbis to get his thoughts, but now, he knew he would say the same as Agatha. The proof was in the untouched freighters full of maintenance equipment. Orbis was in one of those freighters, looking for some pipe. “Still haven’t got the juice bar set up,” he mumbled, still bent looking into a carton of what looked like junk.
“Some true talking while we’re alone,” Cal said. “Moving to another planet. Your real thoughts?”
Orbis straightened and faced Cal. “The sooner the better is my true answer, even though you don’t want to hear it.”
“Part of me wants to stay, and part wants to go. Every time I find a reason to go, I find a way of staying. Move to be able to grow fruit. Stay and make a growing shed to grow here. Move to have more space. Stay and buy more cheap land here.”
“Your heart is in this planet, I see that lad. I was once the same. When I first moved away, all I could think about was getting back home. Two years I was like that. Then I came back home and I couldn’t wait to get away.”
“What changed?”
“I did. When I was away, my imagination had built my old home up into a paradise, and then when the truth was right before my eyes, all I could do was shake my head and decide that my true home was wherever I was. No one place was home. When that lesson fully sunk in, I was free. Free to explore the Galaxy and enjoy whatever things there were around me. But this planet here is not one that has much to enjoy. And that’s the truth lad.”
“Do we keep the business and shop here, or close everything?”
“Stay with business here as long as you can. You’ve done magic business here you know. Just look. In six weeks you have built a business employing twelve families, and you are already turning in a profit. Six weeks! Most businesses take years to get to that point. What will another six weeks bring?”
“Should we keep adding vans here if we plan to move?”
“Why not. Keep the credits coming while they’re there to get. No business ever went broke making profit.”
“And finding a new home?”
“It will come. With your luck, something will fall in your lap, and all you’ll need to do is run with it.”
By dinner, the juice bar was finally connected and well tested by every kid in the place, and later Cal stood to give a very edited report of their trip. Mainly, he was asking people’s ideas on moving, and he was surprised to find every single person was keen to try some new place, even the new families that had only just arrived.
Later, the family together in the ship, Cal had a suggestion. “I think those black crystals we have are only memory crystals, so I’m going to ask those crystals about places to make as our base and see what they suggest.”
He was surprised when Mia said, “We’ll need to say what we need exactly, so the database can choose.”
“We’ll get ready to write the answer,” Kira said, and Cal hadn’t even got ready to get the crystal box. When he did, again it was only one crystal that wanted to respond.
“It’s so pretty when it glows,” Kyra said.
“We’re looking for a planet to make as our base. Must have good soil and fresh water and a climate that is good for growing fruit and vegetables,” Cal said holding the crystal.
“Must be private and no Imperial people,” Kira said.
“And no monsters and dangerous things,” Kyra added.
“I think it wants the maps,” Cal said when nothing came into his head. “Move it around.”
As the map display moved, he felt some degree of guidance in his mind, enough to say up and down and left and right until a thought said to magnify. Then it was more movement and even more magnifying until only one system was on the screen, and the crystal almost hummed in Cal’s hand. “It likes that system.”
“Unnamed,” Mia said. “Only a catalogue number – Z911519. Seven planets, also unnamed. Try the Web.” The Twins had that screen and were searching while Mia said, “About fifteen minutes away in aether space.”
“Nothing on the Web,” Kira reported.
“As though it doesn’t exist,” Kyra added.
“Even the holo-map only has a blank sphere for the planets,” Mia said, the featureless worlds on the screen in front of them.
“Thank you,” Cal said to the crystal, putting it back into the box. “I think we’ve just been shown a hidden system.”
“Hidden by who?” Mia asked.
“We’ll have to find out tomorrow.”
- - -
“We should take the Professor,” Kyra said, Kira nodding.
“You know Orbis would like to see too,” Mia said.
“And Agatha suggested it,” Cal said. “We might as well take everyone.”
He hadn't meant it for real, but the women… At least it was only Professor Frank, Orbis and his new woman Lu, and Agatha. And then it was only planned as a half day trip, although when everyone was finally settled, a good part of that day was gone.
Mia set the third planet as her target, and The Sea Stallion was in orbit around that planet a little less than an hour from leaving base. First impressions were good. Blue water patches, the edges fringed with bands of deep green. Further inland the land was more brown and yellow, and both poles were white. From this distance, it looked good, but the maps still showed only a uniform surface, free of all details.
“Atmosphere readings good,” Kyra reported. “Safe to land.”
“I’ll go down low and we’ll look around the coast,” Mia said, beginning a descent, the others by the front window.
Hard for Cal to see through the heads, but the planet looked better and better the further down they went. There was a feeling of great happiness in his head, and he knew it wasn’t his. As he turned his heads toward where the two crystals were hidden, the feeling increased, but behind that feeling he had a thought of his own. I’m nothing but a puppet he thought. Have been all the time. Not that it’s brought me trouble, just the opposite, but my life hasn’t been mine for a time.
Now skimming over the ocean looking at lush vegetation on the beach, and not a sign of anyone or any sign of habitation of any sort. He knew now there would be none. He’d been given the perfect place for them to set up. “Show me inland over some of those barren places,” he said aloud.
“But we like the water,” Kira called out.
At least Mia followed his instructions, and after they passed quite a long area of slowly decreasing vegetation, they were skimming over bare dirt like Grand Bazaar.
“Land if you like,” Cal said.
They did like, the ship quickly to the ground and everyone keen to stand on the new land.
“We should name this land,” Kira said. “I call this land Kira-land.”
“Kyra-land,” Kyra yelled.
“What about me?” Mia said.
“Freedom Prime,” Cal said deliberately. Everyone heard. “Planet Freedom Prime. Third planet in the Stallion System.”
Silence. No arguments at all. They all knew what he was saying. The first and central planet of a Galaxy-wide empire.
Cal looked around, and Agatha was grinning. “I think you have it lad,” Orbis said. “No one can complain about a name like that.”
“Looking around, this land looks a little like home, with very little rain. The fertile land all near the water, meaning we have the best of all worlds.”
“We should slowly cover all this land with the scanners and look for anything that’s not natural,” Mia said.
“We’ll have to find a place to set up our base,” Orbis said. “Somewhere with the best temperatures.”
“You need to set up a camp first. A few to live here and explore.” All eyes were on Agatha now. “We need to find out if there are any strange things that only come out over time.”
“Monsters,” Kira said excitedly. “We’d be best with that.”
“Plenty of time for that,” Cal said. “Let’s go and fly over more of Freedom Prime.”
An hour of skimming over uninhabited land, and another landing close to the water to check, then Cal called a fly over of planet two and four. Planet two was completely bare, like home. No water and a high, but bearable temperature. They didn’t bother landing. Planet four was better. Water and an amount of green too, but ice extending a long way from the poles, and the sensors showing cold winds on most of the surface. Their first pick was certainly the best.
“Back to Freedom Prime,” Cal said, a feeling in his mind that wouldn’t go away. “Orbit to try to divine the site for a base.”
“Like that mine,” Professor Frank said quietly. Cal nodded, but he wasn’t going to get the crystals out, only feel the amount of excitement they were sending to him.
Once in orbit he focused on the crystals and then the desire to find the best place for a base, and he felt his eyes being drawn. As he scanned the land in the front view-port he had to turn in certain ways. His head hurt a little if he turned away. “Manual control,” he called to Mia. “Left and slowly down.”
His guidance was not perfect, but the lower they got, the more precise he could be, until it was directly ahead. Close alongside the green belt, and flat and smooth and great for a spaceport and shop, and a small ridge beyond. “Right ahead. Our new home.”
Stopped, and all on the ground again, everyone looking with fresh eyes. “Good site lad,” Orbis said. “Bit of everything, and the water is close-by.”
“I’ll mark the co-ordinates on the map for next time,” Mia said.
“Time to go back home and plan our next move,” Cal said.
...o O o...
