Too Far Gone, page 14
part #3 of The Jaxon Grey Chronicles Series
The adolescent still pounded on the ice, with redoubled effort now. It was scared senseless, acting only off the instinct to protect the younger part of the herd. All of a sudden, the adolescent and newborn primadons were gone, lost, as the ice crumbled beneath them. The adolescent's beating on the lake had finished what its parents had accidentally started.
Crispin and Thristin, standing close by on some yet unbroken ice, inched toward the hole, and I could see one of them activating his mattertron. They looked almost identical, as do most Dotarans, and the fact that they were twin siblings made them even more indistinguishable, but I digress.
The water inside the hole began to churn and bubble, and then the young primadons rose from the water, lifted by the invisible force of the mattertrons. They were still trapped within a large sphere of water, but Crispin, or Thristin, quickly moved them over to the sturdier ice and dropped them to the ground. The water splashed away from the three primadons, showing us they were still alive and kicking. That only lasted a moment, however, and then they were captured in the invisible grasp of the mattertron once again.
The mission was a success; no doubt, the first of many accomplishments that would be made by the newly appointed Captain Demtrius.
It took some time for Crispin and Thristin to navigate their way back around the frozen lake. During that time, Demtrius, Delfwig, and I moved back to the crest of the slope, grateful to be off the unstable ice. Once we were all together again, the five of us returned to our flyer, the Pothos, and began our short journey back to the refugee camp. We flew low to the ground, but our spirits were high. We had just contributed to the survival of the Dotaran race here on Tatora. All in a day's work.
Chapter Eighteen
The Conundrum
Dozens of Dotarans greeted us upon our return to the refugee camp, clapping and cheering as we came in for our landing. They could see the primadons suspended just below our flyer, held there by the ship's mattertron, and everyone knew we would not go hungry or have to risk mercury poisoning, at least not in our immediate future.
We dropped off our cargo in a newly-built primadon enclosure, and then Delfwig maneuvered our flyer into the nearby river, where the Iccaryn lay hidden under the water. The ship only surfaced a few times per day, and otherwise was constantly moving throughout the intertwining river channels, just in case the Scynthians managed to find the land camp. We entered the submerged flight deck and the outer door closed behind us. Then we waited for the room to be emptied of the water.
Shortly thereafter, I made my way to my new cramped sleeping quarters aboard the Iccaryn, which I shared with the brothers, Crispin and Thristin, and their cousin, Gilpin. We didn't spend much time in the room, though, other than to sleep. Now that we were confined to the smaller ship, and constantly mobile, the entire crew was required to work on one of the three daily shifts. While two-thirds of the crew performed the various duties, a third of the crew was ordered to rest, and then we would switch. This way we would have fresh, alert crew members, and the ship wouldn't seem so crowded. I, however, was in no mood to sleep at this time. I was busy contemplating a terribly puzzling conundrum.
My second journal, just like the first, had mysteriously vanished from my compartment several days before our hunt. I still hadn't recovered the first leather-bound journal given to me by Jotus, lost at the edge of the great Aanthoran jungle, and now this second journal was gone too. The story I'm transcribing to you now is written in yet another journal, and this one will not leave my person for any reason.
I told Demtrius of the journal's mysterious disappearance, thinking perhaps it had been stolen from my sleeping quarters, but the ship's computer showed that no one had accessed the compartment since I was last there. The journal was just inexplicably missing, and I was very concerned that it was the work of the Scynthians.
After the first journal had disappeared, Demtrius and I had speculated that it must have somehow been the Scynthians, or someone working in league with them. Neither of us knew how they could have done it, but the apparent thievery reeked of Scynthian mischief. At the time, though, we weren't really worried, as we had no real reason to believe that we were in any danger from the Scynthians. Now, however, the fate of the stranded Dotarans hung in the balance.
With my suspicions already attuned to the Scynthians, I went to Demtrius for advice, and together we came up with a plan to deal with the potential threat. We knew the journal would lead the Scynthians to our general location, so the other captains were apprised of the situation.
“By the hand of Carnyle,” Alexitus had said. “Why would you write down our whereabouts? Are you daft?”
“I thought the journal would be safe aboard the Iccaryn,” I told him.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Demtrius interjected. “We need to discuss what to do about it.”
“With the new cloaking device on our ship almost finished, perhaps the Scynthians won’t be able to find us,” Dolvin suggested.
“Pharon created those devices,” Alexitus said. “We shouldn’t trust them.”
“They have been tested,” Nepalen put in, “and they work effectively.”
“Still,” Alexitus continued, “if they were to find us, we’d be finished.”
Demtrius spoke up again, “I think I have a plan.”
Demtrius’ plan was simple, albeit laborsome: move the camp, yet make it seem like we still resided at the original camp. We would lure the Scynthians into a trap, and then offer some payback. So that same day, we began preparations to move our recently established refugee camp to a new, undisclosed location.
Sure enough, not long after, our prey was baited and the trap was sprung. It was an ingeniously simple trap, yet the Scynthians, so sure of themselves and their information, had failed to detect it. There were about two dozen of them, and they came raining down from the sky, firing their plasma blasts right into the heart of the false camp, destroying everything they hit. The firestorm continued for several minutes until the camp was nothing more than a smoldering patch of scorched earth. When they finally concluded the aerial assault, the fleet landed on the outskirts of the camp. Surrounding each of their orb-like ships was a greenish-blue glow, but the glow instantly diminished as they exited their crafts, revealing a gyroscopic frame around a single seat. The Scynthians were looking to finish off any surviving Dotarans. Then the tables were turned.
All around the camp, buried just beneath the surface of the snow, were dozens of remotely-controlled mattertrons, and hidden among the trees were several cameras that gave us a good view of the false camp. So, from the safety of the Iccaryn in our real camp, we watched as the Scynthians gathered.
My eyes suddenly went wide, and I cursed. Thuric, the Scynthian that had banished me to Tatora and who had presumably led the assault on the Aramis, was first among them. I thought he might have perished in the escape tunnel under the ice when the explosive charges were detonated, but here he was, all well and good, and leading a new group of attackers.
Thuric was a crafty individual, and he was the only one to surmise that something was amiss, but a split second after he realized that they had fired on an empty camp, every last one of them was stuck, frozen in place.
Demtrius had given the order as soon as the Scynthians were in range, and Delfwig had activated the mattertrons. The Scynthians were locked in the vacuum created by the powerful device, eliciting a grand cheer from the crew aboard the Iccaryn.
We used our newly-developed cloaking devices, courtesy of Pharon, may he rest in peace, to conceal our ships as we approached the camp, making sure no other Scynthians could see us. Thuric and his warriors were then immediately stripped of their belongings and taken back to the ship's brig, but not before being scanned for any tracking implants. As an extra precautionary measure, their cells were configured to block out any signals from the outside, so there was little chance our location could be traced. The prisoners were then interrogated by the captains for any useful information, but Demtrius told me they hadn't provided them with anything of value.
"If only we knew where to find some carnatora," I remarked. "Then we could get them talking."
I was referring to the disinhibiting effects of the plant’s alluring aroma, which, when concentrated into a specific dosage, acted like a truth serum. Of course, the only place we knew that it grew was in hostile Emerald clan territory thousands of miles to the southeast.
The question that still lingered in my mind, however, was how the Scynthians had obtained the journal in the first place. They were obviously still ignorant of the actual location of the refugee camp, but that didn't stop them from retrieving the book and leaving no traces behind. It was just another mystery that I feared would never be solved.
As I lay there in bed, I couldn't ignore the considerable amount of pain I was still in from my fall on the ice. A large bruise covered much of my lower backside. The Scynthian serum didn't seem to be quite as effective as it once was. I was usually filled with more energy, and the bruise I had normally would have already healed. Perhaps its effects aren’t permanent, I thought. The more I pondered the thought, the more stressed and anxious I became, and I had begun to feel a growing void inside myself, as if something were missing.
The serum wasn't something I could control, so I tried to push these distressing thoughts and feelings from my mind. There was no point in worrying about it, but my efforts to ignore my feelings met with little success.
I did eventually sleep, but with my sleep came little rest or relief. Instead, I was forced into a terrifying dream. I found myself strapped to a chair with a hood pulled over my head. Someone was tilting my head backwards, and then pouring water over my face, like some kind of water-boarding. The torture continued until, finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the water stopped and the hood was removed. That was when I saw my torturer for the first time; a Scynthian. I looked at my surroundings and discovered I was inside one of the all-white rooms I had seen on Scynthia. My Scynthian torturer suddenly grabbed me by the hair. That was when I realized how long my hair was, and when strands of it fell over my eyes I could see it was thick, dark, curly hair.
I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe, and awoke gulping lungsful of air. I was covered in a sheen of sweat, mouth completely dry, with my heart beating out of my chest. I recognized that hair. I had wanted to run my hands through it for so long. It may sound strange, but I think I was dreaming that I was you, and that somehow you were being tortured on Scynthia. The dream felt so vivid and real, and the fear was overwhelming.
I was not looking forward to closing my eyes again, but I did, because I needed to rest, and for the first time since that fateful night so long ago, the distance between us reassured me that at least you were safe.
Chapter Nineteen
The Captains’ Address
I awoke the next morning to an unfamiliar Dotaran voice speaking over the ship's loud speaker, which was placed just above the compartment's entryway. Every day, twice a day, a new crew member would read the daily reports, so eventually everyone aboard the ship would get a turn. Mya and I, however, were excluded from this task since we could not read Dotaran, and I was grateful for that ineptitude. It must sound funny, but I am absolutely petrified of public speaking. Put me up against the dreaded osolisque, that giant arachnid with a rock-like exoskeleton, demoralizing stinger, and two separate mouths, and I'll be able to keep my nerves relatively in check, but stick me in front of a large crowd with a microphone and I fall to pieces instantly.
I went to roll out of my alcove bed and was jolted by a sudden pain in my backside; the wound left over from my fall on the ice. It was hurting even more now. I got up, gingerly, and looked at the contusion in the reflective wall of the compartment. Normally my body would have healed already due to the enhancement serum, but a bruise remained, yellowish-purple in hue, complete with pain and all. The injury must have been more severe than I had originally assumed.
The Dotaran droned on monotonously over the loud speaker for a few more minutes before concluding the daily report.
"The primadons were recaptured, but their enclosure is in extreme disrepair. Work teams five and seven will attend to mending and strengthening the enclosure, while all other teams will continue with their normally assigned duties."
A loud tone then sounded, which always precipitated a direct order from the captains. "Special Attention," the Dotaran resumed. "There will be a ship-wide briefing outside of the Iccaryn immediately following the morning meal time. Attendance for all active personnel is mandatory. That is all."
I finished slipping on my black and blue uniform, the skin-tight one piece that had amazing insulating abilities. I also donned my Tatoran weapon’s harness, rather than the one issued by the Dotarans. The Dotarans used a simple belt to hold their weapons and devices, whereas the Tatorans used a harness with supportive shoulder straps, distributing the weight of my belongings equally across my body.
I left the compartment after dressing and headed toward the cafeteria. There were no colored lines on the floor of the Iccaryn, since the ship was much smaller than the Aramis and easier to traverse. Along the way, I stopped by the communal bathroom to wash my face and relieve myself. I had no need to brush my teeth, however, as a Dotaran foraging party had found a trove of droots growing in the nearby forest. The droot, I should remind you, is a carrot-shaped vegetable, but with the color of a turnip. It is highly nutritious, and famous for its ability to cleanse and protect the teeth while also restoring and strengthening the gums. Nature's medicine, and I would be eating it for breakfast.
The cafeteria wasn't far from my room, and, once there, I quickly found my bunk-mates and sat down next to them with my breakfast. I was becoming fast friends with the sibling Dotarans, Crispin and Thristin, and their cousin, Gilpin. We often gathered together during meal times and traded stories of our homes. They, like the majority of the crew, longed for nothing more than to see their home planet again; a sentiment I shared equally, if only so that I could be with you once more. I, however, had only been stranded here on Tatora a short time compared to them. I couldn't imagine being trapped here for nearly two hundred years, cut off from anyone I had ever known or loved. The thought was entirely depressing.
I learned a lot about their home world, Dotara, during our talks. Thristin and Crispin loved their planet, but, strangely enough, described it as a world vastly different from Tatora, lacking in both life and beauty. The oceans had apparently receded millions of years ago, the atmosphere was harsh and slowly becoming toxic, and the Dotarans had long since retreated to the deep valleys and canyons along the ancient ocean floor where some surface water still lingered.
"Dotara is a dying planet," one of them explained, I think Crispin. They were so close in appearance, as were most of the Dotarans, but their family resemblance made them almost indistinguishable from one another.
"Dying?" I asked. "I don't understand. I thought Dotara was a thriving civilization?"
"The civilization is thriving," said Thristin, I believe, "but the planet has been dying for thousands of years. It is an interminably slow process though, and our race has been able to change and adapt to the drastic climate shifts."
"That's...just incredible," I said, almost speechless from the magnitude of their statements.
"You must understand," said Crispin. "Our species dates back over five billion years, and Dotara is nearly double that age. We are not a young race, like the Tatorans, or you humans for that matter. Our home star has only another billion years or so left before it will begin to supernova, and then the planet will truly be doomed. That is one of the main reasons why we were sent out in the Aramis to begin with; to find new life and a new habitat for when our world is finally extinguished."
This new information was very compelling. I wondered why Demtrius had never told me so much about Dotara and the purpose of the Aramis' original mission. Then again, Demtrius was generally a very stoic person; a listener rather than a talker. Though we had conversed often enough, Demtrius still wasn't very forthcoming with his personal information, that is, if not directly asked about it. It was months before I even learned he had two offspring of his own back on Dotara, and he was both mother and father to them. Dotarans, if you remember, are asexual beings capable of producing two offspring in a lifetime. They can also live almost indefinitely, as they do not necessarily have limited lifetimes, so long as they remain safe and healthy. This being the case, and considering Demtrius' age, his children must already be full grown adults, and each of them probably have adult offspring with children of their own. Needless to say, Dotaran families can become incredibly large over one Dotaran lifespan.
It wasn’t much of a breakfast, leaving me still hungry and wanting more when I was done, but there were strict orders from the captains to maintain half-rations. When we finished our meals, we brought our trays to their depository window, and then made our way to the briefing. Most of the crew had already finished eating and were standing in formation outside of the ship, waiting for their captains to arrive. There were murmurs of discontent, and the food shortage, mixed with the recent attack by the Scynthians, was causing tensions to run high as of late. It was a good thing the crew was so disciplined, otherwise who knows what might have happened.
As I walked down the entrance ramp, I saw Mya standing in the crowd on my left. I hadn't seen much of her since the evacuation of the Aramis, now several weeks ago, since she was busy, along with many of the Dotarans, trying to create a new aquaponics facility. It was a slow-going process, however, and they were forced to start from scratch with a very limited amount of supplies.
Mya saw me coming down the ramp and signaled for me to join her, waving her arms vigorously. I quickly made my way over to her, and Mya greeted me with a warm hug.
