CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lomas escorted Vincent from the still applauding courtroom. Once outside they were greeted by a very agitated Byron. “Congratulations Vincent, I’m delighted that right has been done at last,” he offered his hand which Vincent shook. He then turned to Lomas and his smile vanished. “Your Majesty, forgive me for dampening the happiness of this wonderful day but something very grave has happened,” he was clearly very worried and both Lomas and Vincent looked at each other.
“Whatever is the matter?” Lomas asked.
Byron was almost in tears as he continued. “It’s Farra Sir, I just knew something was wrong, I just knew it. It’s her Biomed, it’s stopped.” The smile fell from Lomas’ face. He turned to Vincent and took both his hands in his own.
“Vincent, it has been an honour to know you and a privilege to give you aid. If you should ever need our help you have only to call and we will be at your side. We must help Farra. Without her none of this could have ever come to pass and she needs our aid now and we cannot forsake her. Forgive me for rushing away like this, please.” He squeezed Vincent’s hands and went to turn away but Vincent held on.
“Sir, do you really believe I’m just going to take all this help and walk away? She put her life on the line for me and that means something. I intend to go with you.”
Lomas let out a breath of relief and squeezed Vincent’s hands again. “Come on everyone, back to the ship.”
“Doctor, when did Farra’s Biomed stop working? When was her last signal?” Lomas asked.
“Fourteen hours ago Your Majesty.” Doctor Jam turned to Vincent and explained how the Biomed worked. “It sends us a signal every six hours. If two signals are missed then our computer flags up an emergency warning to us, which happened two hours ago.”
“And what did the last signal show us of her condition?” Lomas continued.
“Very high activity in the sympathetic nervous system, accelerated levels of adrenaline and noradrenalin Sir,” he explained without preamble.
Vincent looked at him. “Meaning?”
“Oh, sorry,” he replied. “It’s a clear sign that her body was experiencing what is colloquially termed the fight or flight response. She was either fighting for her life or she was terrified for it. Either one is not good, not good at all.”
Lomas put his head in his hands. “Oh no, please God no.”
The doctor then produced a light at the end of what seemed a very dark tunnel. “We did also get a very precise location of her last signal. We can at least go and look for her. Even if we can’t rescue her we can at least umm, retrieve her.”
Lomas looked up at him. “Where did the signal come from?” he asked.
“Well that is odd Sir. You see her signals for the last seven whole days originate from the same place, the very same spot to be exact. She seems to have spent her last seven days in the exact same spot and up until the Biomed’s solar cells ran down, she was alive. Twelve hours ago she was alive. And she is on Lilea Sir.” Vincent and Lomas looked up in surprise, and then looked at each other.
“Lilea? She’s on Lilea? But why?" Lomas asked. She was supposed to wait for us here.”
“We have to go there, now,” Vincent urged.
Lomas looked up at Byron. “Set course for Lilea, we must travel with all haste.”
“How long will it take to get there?” Vincent asked.
“At full speed, nine hours seventeen minutes,” Byron called over this shoulder. Both Vincent and Lomas knew that the next nine hours and seventeen minutes would be amongst the longest of their lives.
Vincent got up, rubbing his backside.
“It’s all in the balance. Don’t lean too far, just go with it,” the Trooper explained patiently to Vincent as he fell from the battle board for the umpteenth time. He got up and tried again. He was determined to get the hang of this thing. “It’s because of your size Vincent,” the Trooper explained. “The boards aren’t technically designed for someone of Lilean proportions so you will have to find the right balance by trial and error.”
Vincent looked at the trooper. “Thanks buddy, that’s real helpful.”
Three hours later Vincent could be found racing the Troopers around the cargo bay and winning sometimes too. They weren’t having fun with him but were teaching him to fine tune his control of the board so that he could do more than just go in a straight line. He would need to be able to weave and slalom with lightening fast reaction times. They set up a course of poles and watched him weave in and out. He was getting good at it and even though the situation was grave, he was rather enjoying this gadget.
The Trooper called him over. “Hey Vincent, take a break buddy, have something to eat. Come back in an hour and see if your body remembers huh?”
Vincent jumped off and clapped the Trooper on the shoulder. “You’re just sore cos I’m faster than you,” he smiled as he walked off.
The Trooper laughed and called after him. “We’ll see about that buddy. Gonna get some egg on that face of yours.”
Vincent turned and laughed heartily for the first time in ages. “Horse shit.” He turned and ran out of the room and went to get some food. He found Lomas, Toma, Byron and the doctor already there.
“Ahh Vincent, how’s it going? Nothing broken I hope,” Doctor Jam enquired.
Vincent shook his head. “No Doc, nothing broken, except Trooper Caman’s pride that is cos he can’t catch me.” He sat down and helped himself to some food from the fabulous choice that was laid out before him on the table. Lomas and the others watched as he piled his plate high before placing it on the table before him and smiling. He was just about to sample some when he caught the others looking at him. “What?” he asked the laughing Drycenians.
Byron was the first to stop laughing enough to answer. “That would feed one of us for a whole day,” he gasped between guffaws.
Vincent shook his head sadly at them. He then stood up, took off his shirt and raised his arms to the sides and braced all of the muscles in his arms and chest and showed them the most magnificent eight pack they’d ever seen.
“My god,” Byron’s jaw dropped in awe.
Lomas looked up and smiled. “Byron, close your mouth my friend,” and everyone laughed as he got up and helped himself to more food.
Over the meal they discussed what they knew of the situation, which was painfully little and explored several possible scenarios that might account for what happened.
“Maybe she got the chance of a lift to Lilea and took it on impulse,” suggested Toma. “She did seem to have a kind of,” he looked at Vincent briefly, “some kind of growing connection with the idea of going there.” Vincent caught the look and didn’t know quite how to respond. He felt a little awkward and didn’t want to admit that he understood because he was feeling it too.
Lomas shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t have done that. She knew we were going to be arriving on Terramora with Vincent for the re trial and she’d not have missed it willingly.” Everyone thought about that and had to agree that it was true; she wouldn’t have wanted to miss meeting Vincent at the earliest opportunity.
Doctor Jam was deep in thought, but now he spoke up. “We all agree that she wouldn’t have willingly missed meeting us on Terramora. She would have wanted to meet Vincent and she wouldn’t just go swanning off to Lilea to see the countryside and miss meeting us, yes?” Everyone nodded. “So we have to assume that she went, err, unwillingly then, don’t we?” he looked around at the others.
“Yes,” Lomas agreed sadly, “unfortunately I think we do.”
“It has to be connected to the shooting. The attempt on Donaldson, it just has to be. It’s the only plausible explanation for it,” Byron said. “Whoever tried to shoot Donaldson must’ve got to Farra and taken her against her will.” Everyone nodded.
“But why take her to Lilea?” Toma asked out loud. “Why kidnap someone and take them there?”
&n
bsp; Vincent remained silent during this discourse but now he looked up. “When I was in the military I did a lot of rescue missions and without exception, every single time, the kidnappers take their victims to where they feel comfortable, where they know the land and the resources well. Where they feel at home.”
Lomas looked up at him, eyes wide. “You mean her kidnapper’s home is Lilea? Her kidnapper is a Lilean?”
Vincent shrugged. “I’m not saying definitely anything, just that it’s always been that way every time I’ve seen it. My money’s on the kidnapper being a Lilean.”
“And that would also infer that her kidnap has something to do with you Vincent,” Doctor Jam said. “After all, Lilea is not a centre of any political disharmony at the moment. In fact the only reason it’s in the news at all right now is because of you.”
Lomas heard all this and was puzzled. “If we can assume that it had some connection with the attempt to kill Donaldson, then we can also assume that it was an attempt to get at you. Someone wanted to sabotage your re trial and prevent you from being cleared and gaining your freedom.”
Byron was nodding but then frowned. “Yes but why? Why would someone want to stop Vincent getting proper justice?” he asked.
“Well just think about it,” Doctor Jam said. “He single handedly defeats the Transmortals, becoming an inter galactic hero over night and ensuring that he never has to pay for another drink as long as he lives. Someone’s jealous. The oldest sin in the book and the worst.”
“No no no,” Byron said, “it can’t be. The attempt on Donaldson happened before word of the Transmortal defeat got out. That took planning, it wasn’t some spontaneous impulse thing, it was cold and calculated and planned.”
Lomas thumped the table in frustration. “So we’re no nearer,” he began but an alarm sounded and everyone jumped. He leapt up and went to the intercom. “Yes, what is it?”
“A Unicom transmission Your Majesty, it must be from Farra,” a voice reported.
“Play it, play it,” Lomas ordered. Everyone fell silent and waited. Beeps and clicks and then static. Then suddenly a voice Vincent recognised from his journey through time with Syra. It was Farra.
“Guys, it’s me, Farra. I’m on Lilea. It’s Wesley, it’s Wesley, he’s behind everything. Warn Vincent, it’s been Wesley all along, he’s the boss man.” Static returned and the message ended. Vincent was shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief and horror.
“Wesley? Who the hell is Wesley?” Lomas asked, looking around at his companions.
“Wesley?” Vincent said aloud. “My god, Wesley?” He closed his eyes, the emotional pain visible on his face as he took in what he just heard. He remembered how his older brother taunted him throughout their childhood, how he bullied him and how he tore up his real parents’ photograph. At the memory of the photograph he couldn’t stop a tear from falling, which he angrily wiped away.
Lomas saw his new friend’s obvious pain. “Tell us Vincent, tell us,” he urged as he sat down and waited for Vincent to speak.
“Wesley is my older brother,” Vincent said and waited for the group to finish expressing their shock. “I don’t know how much you know about me, but the Transmortals, when they came to Lilea they killed most of the Lileans and err, me too.” He looked at the group expecting to see disbelief on their faces and was surprised when he didn’t find it.
“We know,” Lomas said. “We know you were killed at birth and revived by the Lilean ancient spirits to fulfil the prophecy and we know your father died too and your mother died giving birth to you. That’s about it in a nutshell.”
“Well err, I was found by a group of survivors, some neighbours of my parents and they adopted me and brought me up as their own. They already had a son, Wesley. He hated me. He tormented me throughout my childhood and made his parents’ lives hell because of it. And mine too. That’s why I left to join the military as soon as I could. I’m actually not surprised that he’s behind all this. It all makes sense now.” He sighed deeply and hung his head.
“I can sort of understand his position,” Doctor Jam said, “from a strictly professional point of view you understand,” he added hastily as everyone glared at him in surprise, “Until Vincent came along, he was his parent’s sole focus of attention, and then suddenly he found himself with not only a sibling, but one who by virtue of the strange circumstances surrounding his arrival into the family was unique. He must’ve felt terrible jealousy and didn’t know how to handle those feelings appropriately so he turned them towards the obvious, the source of those feelings. Vincent. If you add into that mix the defiant nature of the average Lilean, the habit of not letting go once they get their teeth into something and the almost warrior like mentality, it was a foregone conclusion that he wasn’t going to get over it very quickly.” The group nodded in understanding.
Lomas began to wonder if this would affect the way Vincent could help them deal with this situation now that they knew it was a personal vendetta. He hoped not but he knew he had to ask. “Vincent, this news not only brings clarity and understanding of all that has gone on, but it also has the potential to make any further choices in bringing this matter to a satisfactory close, difficult. You must think and decide how you wish to proceed with regards to Wesley. We will be at your side in whatever decision you make but one thing will not be compromised, we are going to retrieve Farra. Is that going to be difficult for you?” He looked into Vincent’s eyes and waited for him to answer. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Your Majesty, it doesn’t make my decisions difficult. In fact it helps me finally to realise that there can be no bridge building with Wesley. There have been times when I’ve wondered whether it was time to try to get along with him, but now at least I don’t have to waste my time on something that’s doomed to failure. I just want the right thing to be done now so everything that happened, everything that I remember can be put away. Wesley did his best to make me hate my life and took every opportunity to fuck me up and he almost got what he wanted. You know he once tore up the only photograph I had of my real parents? Right in front of my eyes he stood there and tore it into little pieces. That nearly killed me that day and I’ve never forgotten how that made me feel and he is not getting away with any of this now. Yeah this is personal, it’s always been personal, but there’s others involved now. Others who put themselves on the line for me even without knowing anything about me and made me feel like I deserved to be heard and have a life worth living. Others like you people and Farra. That means more.” The look in his eyes told Lomas that he need not worry about his loyalties being torn. He wished he could make things less emotionally difficult but he knew that all he could do would be to give Vincent better memories for the future and he fully intended to do just that.
Byron took a quick look around to make sure nobody was coming, before slipping inside Vincent’s quarters. He laid what he was carrying on the bed and slipped out and returned to his post and hoped no one questioned him as to why he spent four hours on the streamer looking up Lilean history. Lomas was standing at the navigation post with Vincent, discussing tactics. They would be arriving at Lilea any moment now and had pinpointed the position of Farra’s last Biomed signal. The scanner showed a largely forested area where a couple of small rescue vessels could land without drawing attention.
“There are a few buildings around but they are scattered fairly widely so we shouldn’t have any problems,” the Navigation Officer assured them both. “Farra’s last signal came from inside one particular building, here’s a digital chart showing the layout.” He flipped a switch and a digital diagram flashed up showing a building surrounded by forest. “The nearest other building is three miles away Sir,” he informed them.
Lomas was pleased that at least there was one problem they wouldn’t have to deal with. “Good, that’s a relief. I see that forested area is pretty thick. How are you coming along with the battle bo
ard Vincent? Will you be able to cope in such a thickly forested area do you think?” he looked at him hopefully.
Vincent nodded without hesitation. “No problem at all. Now when do we get there?”
“Right about now,” the Navigation Officer reported. “Switching to a holding orbit. The landing site is right below us Your Majesty.”
Lomas wasted no time. “It’s time gentlemen. Let us be on our way and pray we find our friend safe.”
Vincent returned to his quarters to collect what he needed for the rescue mission. He saw the tiny package on his bed and wandered over to see what it was. A small box about the size of a pack of cigarettes with a card attached.
“Vincent, it has been a privilege serving with you. I am proud to call you friend.”
He was stunned and wondered what on earth this was all about. Inside he found a small photograph of a man and a woman standing side by side, arm in arm. The woman was obviously pregnant and both were beaming with pride as the man laid a hand lovingly on the woman’s swollen belly. At the bottom of the photograph were some words that Vincent found hard to read through his tears.
Leon Domenico, sector 184 governor. Cecily Domenico & unborn son Vincent Richard.
He was overwhelmed at the gift and sat down on the bed and just looked at it for long moments as the realisation of how much he missed them came flooding back. He knew that his spirits lived on in the land of the dead; the Sylvanas instilled in him the Lilean belief system right from day one but he missed having their physical presence and guidance and he often wondered how his life would be different if they lived. Something caught his eye in the corner of his vision and he turned to see Syra standing beside him.
“Your mother lives in the land of the dead Vincent. You know this. She was strong and determined to remain long enough to bring you into the world and she remained by your side until you were found and nurtured safely. She loves you with all of her being.”
Vincent cried out as he heard the truth that he’d waited so long to hear. “And my father?” he asked through his tears.
Syra smiled. “He walks beside someone, as I walk beside you. He is both guide and friend to a soul making their own special journey to their destiny. He sees you on your own journey and is so proud to call you son.”
“Why doesn’t he walk with me?” Vincent asked, a stab of jealousy streaking through his mind. He was instantly sorry. “I’m sorry for my words Syra, forgive me.”
She moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder. “Do not ask for forgiveness when what is said comes from love. He cannot walk beside you because of that very love that you both have for each other. That bond would prevent him from allowing you to receive the gifts of pain, loss, sorrow and trial. His love would prevent you from growing fully.”
“Pain is a gift? If that’s so then I’ve been blessed all my life,” he said bitterly.
“Yes you have indeed been blessed Vincent, for that pain has given you strength. That loss taught you to strive. That sorrow taught you to love and those trials taught you to endure. Without those qualities you would not be who you are now and could not be who you will be in the future.”
Vincent understood her wisdom and nodded through his tears. “I know what you say is right Syra, it’s just that I’m so alone?”
She took both his hands in her own. “You are not alone brave one. You have never been alone. I have been with you every step of your journey and will be for every step still to be taken. Now you have others who already recognise and acknowledge a growing bond of love for you. All they wait for is for you to open your heart and receive it.” She pointed to the photograph.
“Why did someone do that for me? I can’t believe it, I’m a stranger to them.”
“Because they love you Vincent,” she smiled.
As the little craft made its way silently down to the surface of Lilea, Vincent thought about what Syra said. Logically he knew it must be true but emotionally he found it incredible that someone could show such love to someone who is almost a perfect stranger. Then he remembered the creature on Vinbuk who saved his life by killing the Transmortal. All he did was give her some meat for her infants. It didn’t immediately occur to him that perhaps that meat saved them from starving to death but when it did, he began to realise for the first time that there are far more connections that we make with others than anger and naked survival. Love was never too big a part of his life. Throughout his childhood Wesley tried to ensure he knew that he wasn’t loved and although the Sylvanas were completely fair with them both, he always knew that he was the one who didn’t actually belong. He realised that they felt torn between him and Wesley and so he left to join the military at seventeen and hadn’t seen them since. They didn't part in anger and there wasn't any definite estrangement between himself and the Sylvanas, but he felt as if going back to visit would be awkward for them. He also knew that if he went to visit and found them distant with him, he would find that difficult to cope with emotionally. He suddenly regretted not keeping in touch with them and for the first time he realised what it meant that they took him in when he needed someone the most. He realised for the first time what prompted them to do it.
As he sat in the little ship on his way home to Lilea, he recognised love for the first time and his heart opened a little wider. He looked at his companions, all strangers until a short time ago but in that time they’d travelled around the galaxy to help him, putting their lives on the line and were still doing it now, and someone had cared enough about his feelings to give him a photograph of his real parents, just because they knew it meant the world to him. For the first time he felt like he was part of a family. He then acknowledged why they were here. Not just to bring Wesley to justice, but to find Farra. A woman he’d never met but who put her own safety on the line more than once for him. He realised he cared very much that they find her safe.
Dawn was breaking as the little craft landed almost silently near the building. As the group stepped out onto Lilean soil they noticed another craft nearby, a little planet hopper partially covered by brush as though someone wanted to hide its presence. After checking it and find it empty, they crept towards the building.
Lomas called Byron over. “Any bio signals?”
Byron took out the little scanner and pressed his thumb to the screen. “None Sir.”
“Come on then.” Lomas strode purposefully forward towards the building. A door was standing open on one side and they entered to find themselves in an entrance way with a door on either side of them. They took the left hand one and found a messy room that was obviously an office, bedroom and kitchen all in the one space. Empty boxes were strewn everywhere and dirty cooking utensils were piled high. Off in one corner was a filthy toilet and basin. Some dirty clothes lay in a heap on the end of the bed and Vincent went to examine them. In the pocket of a jacket he found a folded piece of paper. He opened it carefully to find a dishonourable discharge notification from a military academy. Wesley’s name was stamped across the top and under reasons for discharge it said simply, pre intake psyche evaluation found subject suffering from possible psychotic disorder. He showed it to the others.
Lomas sighed deeply. “This is a terrible business. Well we now know for sure that what Farra told us was true and that they were both here. Let’s see what’s next door.” The next room was much larger, easily three times the size of the previous one and contained a cell at one end, the door of which stood open. A shelving system went along one wall and everywhere there were boxes and cartons strewn about, as if someone was looking for something in a hurry. The cell contained a bed and a pail that stank very strongly.
Lomas closed his eyes and sighed deeply, covering his eyes with a hand as he fought to control his emotions. “Oh my poor dear child, what have you had to endure?”
“Your Majesty,” Byron called suddenly and everyone looked round.
“What is it?” Lomas rep
lied hopefully.
Byron looked upset. “It’s DNA sir, Lilean DNA.”
“Well we know Wesley has been here, it’s no surprise that there’ll be his DNA here. There’s probably Farra’s too,” he said as he looked round at the pail in the corner of the cell.
“I know that Sir, but this,” he faltered.
“What, Byron? Come on out with it,” Lomas said firmly.
“It’s semen Sir,” he informed them as he failed to prevent a tear from rolling down his cheek. The group fell silent in horror until Lomas expressed how they were all feeling.
“Oh my god no, not that please. Not Farra.” A crash made them all jump and turn around to see Vincent tearing the shelves from the wall. He hurled dusty boxes and broken machinery parts around and finally collapsed against the wall screaming with rage. No one told him to be quiet or to calm himself; everyone felt the same and waited for him to expel his anger.
Finally he called to Byron, who ran over. “Look for blood, her blood.”
“Blood, why?” Byron asked.
“Because if he, if he raped her, there’ll be blood, lots of it. If there’s no blood, he didn’t. Now go look, please.” Byron went to search the room and everyone stood quietly.
“I don’t entirely understand, educate me please,” Lomas said.
“Well Your Majesty," Doctor Jam began. "Farra is from earth, Wesley is Lilean.”
“Yes we’re all well aware of that doctor, get to the point please,” Lomas was getting impatient.
“Well it’s like this, Lilean men are, they are, well you saw Vincent in the tank.”
“Yes I did, so what?” Lomas still didn’t understand.
“Well umm, he’s a fine figure of a man wouldn’t you agree Your Majesty?” Jam blushed and Lomas got the point.
“Oh I see, yes I get your point. Oh poor Farra, how she must have suffered.” He was stricken with worry. Ten minutes later and Byron reported to a very relieved group that there wasn’t a drop of her blood to be found anywhere.
“Oh thank heavens,” gasped Lomas and everyone nodded.
“It doesn’t mean he didn’t try though,” Vincent reminded them, “just that he didn’t succeed.”
“We need to concentrate on tracking them,” Byron said. “If Farra was running from Wesley, which we can just about guarantee was exactly what happened, then there will probably be evidence of her flight. She may have left a pretty clear trail.”
“We can hope for that,” Lomas said before turning to Vincent. “Can’t your spirit friend help us find her? Could you ask?”
Vincent thought about it. “I’ll try but everyone will have to be quiet and give me time.” He looked at the group and everyone nodded. “Okay.” He got up and went into the cell and lay down on the bed. He closed his eyes and mentally called to Syra for help. He waited for what seemed like several long minutes, calling to Syra constantly to come to him. Just as he was about to give up, he heard her voice. It sounded a long way off but it was there. He fixed his attention on it and let his awareness of his physical surroundings drift into the background and as he did so, her voice became nearer and stronger.
“I am here Vincent, I am with you and I hear your plea. Go to where the angels soar atop the skull. There you will find them both.”
Byron tapped his comm device. A voice from the battle cruiser orbiting above them came back instantly. “Yes Sir.”
“Look up anything you can find on Lilean landscape around our current location, specifically anything connected with angels soaring and anything called the skull. And please be quick.”
“Yes Sir, immediately,” the voice replied and everyone waited. Minutes ticked by in silence, everyone deep in their own thoughts, all of Farra.
Suddenly Byron’s comm device beeped. “Sir, there’s a place called Skull Mountain five miles from your location. Local folklore says that it’s the place where angels soar because it’s home to a giant Lilean bird called the Malota. I’m sending you a location tracker now.” The comm device beeped again and Byron nodded.
“I have the signal, thank you. Ok gentlemen, mount up.” The group ran out of the building, climbed onto their battle boards and raced off towards the forest.
*****