CHAPTER FOUR
“Well come on Farra, open it up.” Lomas was skipping around like an excited child. “I want to see it, come on, open it up.” Farra couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the King skipping around like a schoolboy with a new toy.
“Okay okay, hold your horses. Give me time to draw breath. I’ve spent the past six hours trying to avoid being eating alive by the Uvees or captured and murdered by Rangers for this little package. Its opening should be done with reverence.” She tried to give Lomas a serious look but she couldn’t control herself. She burst out laughing and he pretended to scold her.
“Now young lady, just you do as you’re told. I’m the King around here and you have to do as I want.”
“Ha ha ha yes Your Majesty, anything you say yYour Majesty, your wish is my command Your Majesty.” Farra was laughing so much she could hardly speak.
“Right then, get on with it!” Lomas said, exasperated.
She took the small package from inside her jacket where she stowed it as soon as she retrieved it down in the tunnel. It was indeed small as Leon told her; a little larger than a pack of cigarettes, wrapped in soft leather of some kind and covered in dust. She brushed off the accumulated dust and dirt. The leather wrapping was the softest she could imagine and it glowed like polished walnut.
“What beautiful leather this is, I wonder where it came from,” she remarked.
Doctor Jam was very interested in this too and he brushed his fingers over it. “I could find out where the leather came from, I mean which creature it came from,” he said.
“You could?” she replied.
“Yes quite easily, if you would let me take it for an hour or two. It won’t be damaged and you’ll get it back of course.”
“Okay, yes, I’d really like to know.” She was genuinely interested. She unwrapped the leather gently and handed it to the Doctor who took it and smiled. Inside was a small cube of what looked like glass but wasn’t.
“So this must be the data cube Leon was talking about?” she said as she held it up to the light and turned it around and around in her fingers.
“Wow I haven’t seen one of those for ages," Commander Byron exclaimed. "It’s a data cube from quite a few years ago. Very old fashioned nowadays but a very reliable piece of hardware these were.” The group looked at him wide eyed.
“Really?” asked Lomas.
“Yes sir, indeed” he replied.
“So how do we get the information off it?” Farra asked him.
“Oh that’s easy, even I know that,” said Doctor Jam looking up from the leather he was still running his hands over. “We put it into the streamer and wait.” There were nods of agreement from the other Drycenians present.
Farra looked bemused. “What’s a streamer?”
“Well,” began Doctor Jam, “it’s a sort of super computer that can read anything from any piece of hardware from any technology in the known galaxy. It doesn’t matter where the hardware comes from or how old or new it is. If it’s technology and data based, we can decipher it.”
“My god, is there anything you can’t do?” Farra asked, genuinely impressed. The Drycenians laughed amongst themselves and Lomas looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Well, we can’t swim,” he replied.
“Can’t you?” she asked. “Why ever not?”
“Our bone density is all wrong and water cannot support our bodies. We sink like stones in water and to us it feels like falling through air would feel to you. Most unpleasant so we avoid it. Now, the data cube problem is solved easily. What’s in the book, anything?”
Farra looked down at the little book she held in her hands. “It’s got something printed on the front cover,” she said as she leaned over to get more light. “Oh it’s three initials, must be who it belonged to originally.”
“Well what are they then?” Lomas asked as he tried not to sound impatient.
“Oh, sorry err let’s see. It says V.R.D.”
“I wonder who or what VRD was?” said Lomas
“Maybe we’ll find out inside,” Farra said and began to open the little book. They got their answer on the very first page. “This looks like someone’s work record,” she said as she read from the first page.
‘Moxal 3 Mining Corporation Work Record for Vincent R Domenico.’
"That’s VRD, that’s who this belongs to,” she said as she looked up at her friends and smiled “Vincent R Domenico. Sounds kinda nice don’t you think?”
Doctor Jam nodded. “Continue, please. What else does it say about him?”
‘Assigned - Cleaner grade 1 – Level 5.’
“Level five?” Farra exclaimed in surprise. “There are five levels of tunnels down there. We found this in level five so that means he was down there in the deepest levels when he first joined the company. Talk about jumping in at the deep end!”
‘Assigned - Cleaner grade 2 – level 4’
‘Assigned – Cleaner grade 3 – level 3’
‘Assigned – Cleaner grade 4 – level 2’
“It seems that as he got promoted, he got to work higher and higher up in the tunnel complex,” she said. “Obviously as he ingratiated himself with the company, his workload got easier.” She was about to continue when Byron cut in.
“It’s typical of this type of company. A sort of institutionalised bullying tactic used to sort out who is with them and who isn’t. You’d think they’d start new recruits off gently and gradually increase their workload and responsibilities and danger levels as their experience increased. This company does things the other way around. They send them straight into the heaviest danger and they either get killed off or they learn to work with the system. Obviously this, err what’s his name?”
“Vincent R Domenico,” Farra reminded him.
He nodded and continued. “Obviously this Domenico learned to go with it and was rewarded with promotion.”
“Must’ve been horrendous working down there all the time,” she remarked. “I only worked there for two weeks and I never got down below level two and that was bad enough.” She continued reading.
‘Promoted to Tactical Combat Centre – Assigned Moxal 3 Moon.’
‘Graduated Tactical Combat Centre – grade – honours.’
‘Assigned Moxal 3 Mining Corporation – grade – Security Enforcement, Head of Dept.’
“Wow he really made his way up didn’t he?” she said and everyone nodded.
“He must’ve been one hell of a soldier,” Lomas remarked and decided he was beginning to like this Domenico character. “What’s next?” he asked as she turned over to page two.
“My god,” she looked up at him wide eyed with astonishment. “I don’t believe this,” she said.
“What?” everyone spoke in unison.
“It says here, relieved of duties, employment terminated.”
“What?” Lomas couldn’t believe it either. “Does it say why?”
“Nope. It just says this, under the heading, Reasons for Dismissal, incarceration in Cryo Stasis.”
“My god,” exclaimed Byron. “What the heck did he do to deserve that I wonder?”
“Well that’s all there is as far as his work record goes,” she remarked as she turned another page. “Oh look here, there are handwritten notes.” She quickly leafed through the rest of the little book. “The whole thing is filled with handwritten notes. It must be Vincent’s writing, his own notes. Don’t you think?”
“One can assume so,” Lomas agreed. “Read it for us.”
Farra read from Vincent’s notebook and throughout everything her Drycenian companions listened, nodding from time to time; the occasional “my god” or “wow” the only interruptions. There were dates and names, details of conversations overheard, observations, security code numbers, together with Vincent’s own deductions and thought processes. It became clear to Farra and the Drycenians that the Moxal 3 Corporation was, at least at that time, very
corrupt in the way they operated. One entry read;
New recruit named Lazer arrived and asked to work higher levels first due to danger. Request was denied. Lazer assigned to level five tunnel complex and given triple shift working alone as punishment. Body parts discovered three days later.
“Jesus,” Farra exclaimed, “he must’ve been terrified down there all alone. I don’t know what the rules were then but now you have to work in groups of three, no one is ever allowed to work alone.”
There were precise detailed notes about what seemed to be some kind of company politics going on at the time. Vincent didn’t seem to understand what it was all about, but he knew something wasn’t quite right so he listed names, dates and times of secret meetings held, snatches of conversations he overheard and one name kept coming up time and time again. James McGreedle, Facility Warden.
“What do you suppose these numbers are?” she said as she pointed to short strings of numbers in the margins that accompanied all his entries that applied to conversations, meetings and money.
Byron smiled. “Oh that’s easy,” he said. “They apply to the data cube. They tell us where on the data string there is something that illustrates this entry in the book. See here, where he talks about hearing a snatch of conversation?” Farra nodded. “That number in the margin tells us where on the data cube we can find something that will back up this entry; further evidence if you like.”
“Oh I see,” she said. “Mr Domenico, I think I like you.” Lomas and the doctor laughed. Further along in the notebook Vincent entered details of money going missing from the company accounts. Some of the amounts were small but as time went along the sums got bigger and bigger. Again these entries were accompanied by a code number string. Throughout everything the name of the facility warden kept coming up time after time.
“I wonder what part in all this James McGreedle had to play,” she said. “I never met him personally. I only ever saw him once when he passed by me in the rec room.”
Byron offered her a way to find out something more about him. “It should be easy enough to find out about him," he said. "We can access data banks from many planetary systems. As well as looking for Moxal 3 records, if he ever lived, worked or spent a night on any of the planets in this whole sector, we’ll be able to find details about it.” She and her companions were very pleased to hear that.
“Good, I think it would be a very good idea to follow that name up,” Lomas replied and told Byron to go and work on it right away.
“Yes Sir,” he said as he turned and left the room.
“Oh look here,” Farra said. “He’s written something personal.”
Why won’t Donaldson do something? Thought he was a friend. How wrong, no such word as friend.
“He must’ve tried to confide in someone; this Donaldson,” she remarked. Lomas looked thoughtful and exchanged a knowing glance with the doctor. Farra saw something pass between them, a moment of understanding and her curiosity was piqued. “What?” she looked from one to the other and back. “You know something don’t you? Well what is it?” A moment of silence ensued during which Lomas and Doctor Jam exchanged another of those looks.
“We may know who Donaldson is," Doctor Jam replied. "If we’re correct then the ramifications of this little book extend further than we could have anticipated. It seems that your friend Leon has given us the opportunity to really put the cat amongst the pigeons.”
“How? In what way?” she asked.
“You remember Toma telling you that he was kidnapped while acting as my envoy on a mission of goodwill nearby here?” Lomas asked.
“Yeah I remember,” she nodded.
“And you remember us telling you about a ridiculous plot to take over control of this sector of the galaxy and of a madman at the helm of a group of revolutionaries?”
“Yes.”
“Well, there’s one man who has dedicated years to trying to undo the many convoluted threads of this plot and this group. A man who once had dealings with the Moxal System and who would’ve undoubtedly also had dealings with this mining company.”
“So?” she asked.
“So his name is Michael Donaldson,” Lomas replied flatly.
“Oh my.”
“Yes. The very same Michael Donaldson who is now the very well respected head of the ANA.”
“Oh, that Donaldson,” she said.
“Yes,” replied Lomas. “As you know they are a body of elected people from many planets who together form a totally neutral arbitration body. They oversee trials and sentencing and act as hosts at meetings where the need for neutrality is paramount. That way they can help ensure fairness and stamp out corruption. At the time Vincent was on Moxal 3, Donaldson was just a newly employed junior officer.”
“So why are they interested in what’s happening on Moxal 3 and Toma’s kidnapping?” she asked.
Doctor Jam looked up. “Because Donaldson wants one thing more than anything else in life; to end this take over plot and bring those responsible to justice. It was obviously the reason Toma was taken; to have a Drycenian Prince in your charge would ensure people from all over did whatever you asked them to. No one would dare make a stand against a group who control the Drycenians, even if that control is exercised by blackmail. The fact that Toma was held on Moxal 3 identifies it as having been part of the plot.”
“So the conversations Vincent talks about, the meetings, even probably the lost sums of money, were probably to do with this revolutionary group?” she was beginning to understand the wider implications now. Everything began to fall into place.
“Yes,” he replied. “He didn’t understand but he knew something wasn’t right. The murders he witnessed and heard about, the loss of money and secret meetings, it all fits.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, “Mr Domenico had great insight. He tried to do the right thing and must’ve suffered greatly for his trouble. I wonder what happened to him?”
“He obviously went to Donaldson with his observations but the man wouldn’t listen,” she offered. “Somehow this book and the data cube got into the hands of the wrong people, McGreedle and his lot who hid it away and got rid of Vincent and sent him to Cryo Stasis, whatever that is.”
“Yes,” Doctor Jam replied. “Cryo Stasis doesn’t exist anymore but it was a prison; a legendary prison that no one really knew much about. No one who went there ever came out until the day it ceased operation. It’s probable that Vincent died there. There should be records of his stay though, I’ll get Byron onto it,” he said as he turned and left the room. Lomas looked at Farra’s sad face. She looked worn out both physically and mentally.
“You should get some sleep, you look all in.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Yes I am. I feel sort of, redundant now though.”
“Why?” he asked as he took her hand in his.
“Well now that I’ve done what Leon asked me to do, what next? Where do I go and what do I do with my life?” she asked.
“It’s far from over yet my dear," he replied. "We have to get to Donaldson and give him the cube and the book so that he can use it to bring McGreedle and the revolutionaries to justice. There will be plenty for you to do before this is over and done with. You mark my words, you’re anything but redundant. Now go and sleep, that’s an order.”
“Yes Your Majesty.”
As she lay in her bed safe in the belly of the Drycenian battle cruiser, she skimmed through Vincent’s notes again, this time concentrating her focus on the more personal of his entries. She didn’t know why but she felt she wanted to know more about him.
I’ve landed in hell, was the first entry he made after joining the company. Gotta learn to cheat at dice, was another and there were quite a few entries concerning playing dice and more to the point, cheating at dice. She surmised from what she read that duties were handed out by the throw of dice. If you lost, you got the shit stick. So Vincent learne
d to cheat at dice.
“Yep, I think I like you Vincent R Domenico," she said as she continued reading. There were several entries about murders committed by the Rangers.
I told Henry to shut the fuck up.
She found out what happened to Henry in the very next entry.
Ranger Cribbens shut Henry up for good today with his SB 17. Blew his head right off his body.
Then just as she was about to put the little book down and sleep something caught her eye and made her sit bolt upright. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. She read it several times over to make sure she hadn’t misread it. One short sentence that shocked her rigid.
Voices. Voices in dreams. Am I going mad?
She looked up to find Leon sitting on the end of her bed. “Yes child, Vincent is Lilean. He battled with the voices too, for the whole of his life.”
She didn’t know what to say next. “Oh” was all she could manage. She looked up at him and waited for him to continue.
“He didn’t die in Cryo Stasis, he survived. He still survives today. I know you’re wondering,” he smiled kindly, reminding her that he could read her thoughts.
“I’m pleased, is he okay?”
“Physically? Of course, he’s Lilean,” he replied and she noticed a note of pride in his voice and she smiled.
“So what are you not telling me?” She looked at him with raised eyebrows as if to let him know that she could also read his thoughts.
“Do you remember the good doctor telling you about the legend of the Transmortals and how they went to Lilea to kill them all because of a prophecy that a Lilean would kill their leader?”
“Yes I remember, a horrible story. Is it all true?”
“Yes it all happened.”
“And?” she urged.
“Well, Vincent was the one who was prophesied to kill him and he is my son.”
Her mouth fell open. “Oh my god. Your son? Really? Shit, I mean wow. Really?”
“Yes my child, really. My name is Leon Domenico. The night they invaded our planet was the night I went to the land of the dead. My wife died giving him life as the invaders tore across our lands. I stood by in my new condition as a spirit shade and had to watch as the madman; the leader of the invaders took up my newborn son and smothered him with his own hands before throwing his body into a midden.” He passed the details to her without preamble. She was stunned and moved to tears as he relayed the story to her detail by detail.
“Luckily for him, I was there and called to the older spirits for aid who came and repaired his connection with his physical body so he didn’t have to join me in the land of the dead. A young Lilean shade spirit named Syra pledged to walk with him as his guide as I’m doing with you. He grew into a fine man but was much troubled in his mind by being able to remember the day of his birth. Syra tried to cover the memories but he thought her words of comfort and presence were signs of madness. He still struggles with it today but is making progress through the painful process of embracing his past in order to move into his future. Syra is beginning to awaken him; really awaken I mean. He is alone and struggling both physically and emotionally and I am powerless to help him. Syra assures me that all is well and that he is beginning to open the door to the past. It’s causing him much suffering.” The images filled Farra’s mind as clearly as if she’d been there herself. She felt such compassion for this man she’d never met.
“So this book and the data cube will prove him right, give him some vindication?”
“Yes but it’s more than that. Don’t think your job is finished Farra, there is much more work for you to do yet. Your task was not confined to bringing the political plot out into the light.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No. That was just an added bonus. One that will help millions across this sector of the galaxy. The main thing for you to focus on is Vincent himself. The reason he was sent to Cryo Stasis was because he knew of many murders within the Moxal 3 Corporation and their corruption because of the newly hatched revolution plot. When he tried to expose the murders the Corporation couldn’t risk the plot being found out so they framed him for the killings and hid the evidence he’d accumulated; this book and the data cube.”
“So not only will it end the plot but it will clear his name too?” she asked.
“Yes. You see, we Lileans are known as a defiant race. We don’t like to feel held down by anyone. Honour and integrity are very important to us. Free will to make our own choices is something we hold very dear. For my son to be accused of such crimes and imprisoned for them was very damaging to him, to his very sense of who he is. It was completely natural that a Lilean would never submit to being jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. He was bound to escape, and he did. The years of incarceration, the solitude, of running and hiding have taken their toll on him and his sense of self. I worry for him. If those original crimes are revisited and my son found to be innocent of them, then any stain upon him will automatically be wiped free. It is also necessary for him to fulfil the prophecy and end the evil that is the Transmortal Army. It was decided that there should be a choosing and right this wrong for him, for the great thing he will do for us, for Lilea and everyone whom the Transmortal evil has touched. You Farra are that choosing and that is why you’re here.” She took a deep breath and let all that she heard sink in.
“Okay so what do I do next?”
“Next, you sleep. You’ve earned it today,” he smiled.
“Okay,” she sighed.
He gave her a brief run down of what should happen next and what she must do. “The next thing is to find Donaldson and give him the cube and the book. He will be easy to find now that he’s an important man. He won’t be easy to get to though; due to the nature of his position he is always at risk of being a target and he is well guarded. You must put this book and cube into his hands personally. Don’t give it to anyone else not even his most trusted aides. He must receive it into his own hands.”
“Right, I understand,” she replied and was already formulating strategies in her mind as he continued.
“Then Vincent must be found and brought to where Donaldson is. He must be there in person before any judgements can be made about his supposed crimes. If he’s not in attendance, the stain upon his record cannot be removed by any judge in the galaxy.”
“Okay.” She thought that might be more than a little difficult to achieve given Vincent’s habit of disappearing into thin air and not trusting anyone.
Leon was reading her mind. “Yes it will be quite a task getting him there. Your friends the Drycenians will achieve this part of the task whilst you get to Donaldson.”
“How will they find him?” she asked without realising she already knew the answer.
“I will tell them where he is of course,” he laughed.
“Oh jeez yeah sorry I keep forgetting you can see far and wide.” She felt like a stupid kid all of a sudden.
“Once Donaldson does his job the other security bodies will deal with the McGreedle plot and the Moxal 3 Corporation side of things. You don’t have to worry about that side of things any more.”
“So what do I do then?” she asked, suddenly sad at the thought of her new Drycenian friends leaving her alone on some strange planet she’s probably never heard of, jobless, homeless and lonely.
“Then you go to Lilea and do another couple of more personal tasks for me and my son.”
“Go to Lilea? Really? Oh wow I’d love to see it.” This pleased her and she relaxed. She gave a big yawn and Leon bade her goodnight. She lay down and was fast asleep within five minutes.
In her dreams she was watching the sunrise over the Lilean landscape. White trees gently swayed in the light morning air as giant birds swooped and called overhead. She was at peace with everything and felt as though she were in paradise when all of a sudden something changed. Everything looked the same but she felt a chill deep
inside and fingers of fear crept up her spine to the nape of her neck. She didn’t know what it was but something was different and it made her frightened. The birds called overhead and as she looked up at them they changed from the benign peaceful creatures of grace that she was admiring just seconds before, into enormous sinister monsters. Their gentle calls became screams and they swooped down at her repeatedly, trying to unsteady her from the cliff edge where she was sitting and make her fall. Furiously she batted at them flailing her arms as they swooped and pecked at her. She tried to scream but no sound came, just a strangled gurgle was all she could produce. Just as she was about to fall from her lofty perch she awoke from her slumber and cried out. She was drenched in sweat and her breath came in deep heaves as if she had been running all day. She looked about her and was comforted by the familiar sights that greeted her in her quarters deep inside the Drycenian battle cruiser.
“Shit, shit,” she sighed as she wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged herself.
Leon watched her dreaming and became concerned when the imagery began to turn frightening. He was debating with himself whether to wake her but an ancient knowledge deep inside somewhere prevented him from doing so. He knew what was happening to her and he was all at once both immensely proud and terribly sorry. Her new connection with Lilea, via himself of course, and the great gift that was bestowed upon her and which was now a permanent mark upon her chest was the cause of these new nightmarish images. He understood the symbology of the images she saw of course but he knew he mustn’t yet interfere. He must let things take their natural course for a while longer and she would come to understand them herself before too long. He looked upon her like a father and he hated to see her troubled and frightened, especially as he was the cause, even if it was indirectly and very necessary. He stayed in the background and didn’t announce his presence to her, even though he knew she was looking for him with her mind as well as her eyes.
She got herself a drink of water and settled back down to sleep, hopeful that now the nightmare was over, she could sleep until it was time to wake up again. Her breathing slowed and deepened and sleep overcame her. When her eyes began to move again under her closed eyelids Leon stepped forward and connected with her mind in order to see what she was seeing. This time she again found herself in the Lilean landscape but this time she was walking down a lane lined with white trees that swayed gently in the afternoon breeze. She could see buildings on either side and she knew instinctively that she was on the outskirts of a village. A man came from one of the buildings and started walking a little in front of her. As they both walked, more and more people came out of the buildings and started walking towards the village. Then all at once everyone stopped dead in their tracks and she was forced to do the same to avoid bumping in to the people in front of her. She couldn’t see why they all stopped so she decided to ask someone.
“Excuse me, I’m new here, why has everyone stopped?” she asked but her question was ignored. She went over to a young woman just ahead and asked again. “Excuse me, I’m new here, why has everyone stopped?” but again it was as if she didn’t exist. She started to get annoyed and went over to the first man and shook his shoulder in an effort to get his attention but to no avail. Everyone stood rock still like statues while the white trees swayed. The white blossoms hung down and swayed in the slightest breeze. They were beautiful and she was captivated by them all of a sudden. It was as though they were calling to her to look at them as they swayed, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. The breeze began to pick up and the white trees swayed even more. Soon the breeze had become a ferocious wind and the trees now flailed their limbs menacingly at her. For a horrible moment she thought they were trying to grab her, but they are just trees, beautiful trees. As she fought to calm herself, still transfixed by the sight of the wildly flailing trees, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. One of the branches hit her and drew blood which now trickled down her shoulder. She reached up and touched a finger to the blood and looked at it and as she did so the trees changed. The flailing branches were now arms; men’s arms that reached to grab at her. She turned to run but as she did so, the arms grabbed her and she awoke fighting madly to get away from the foe who now faded into dreamland.
An hour passed since the first of the dreams woke her and once again she sat bolt upright in her bed, hugging her knees and sobbing quietly; frightened but angry at herself for being frightened. She hadn't experienced nightmares since she was a kid and she was ashamed that she could once again be so frightened by them. What were they all about and why was she having them? She could remember them vividly and she suspected that they were caused by having listened to Leon telling her about the day the Transmortals attacked Lilea. This made her feel better and although she guessed that they may continue for a while at least, she was pleased that she was obviously making a real connection with Lilea, a spiritual connection.
Forty five minutes later she allowed herself to succumb to sleep once again and fell into a peaceful and dreamless sleep. Leon looked at her and felt such pride at her courage and understanding that he was almost moved to tears. He never doubted the wisdom of the choice of this woman as the chosen one but now that conviction was even stronger.
*****