Sons of Taldra

TALDRA: SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURES

Sons of Taldra: A Science Fiction Adventure

By Duane Simolke

Copyright 2018 Duane Simolke.

Without express written permission from the author, no one may copy, reproduce, distribute, or share this book in any way, other than short quotes. Such action is illegal.

Valchondria

In another dimension, Valchondria (Earth) developed a one-world government, consisting of Leader, the Maintainers, and the Supreme Science Council. A millennium ago, the Valchondrians sent two ships of colonists into deep space, with the idea that humanity would one day outgrow the home world. The first ship became radicalized by a violent religious cult that founded the planet Degranon. The second ship was attacked by alien creatures. Valchondria banned contact outside its atmosphere and shut down the space program. Over the centuries, freedom and progress decayed. A year ago, a new Leader and her twin sons helped stop an invasion. Degran spies had implemented a long-term plan that involved drug addiction and a deadly virus.

Chapter 1

What’s the emergency? Captain Laaron asked as the elevator opened.

He stepped onto the bridge of the Equestar and nodded at two women, the only crew members not off ship or in engineering. Laaron and his lieutenants wore the red and black uniforms of Degranon’s tenth circle, with no differences that would tell enemies their rank. Red boots stretched above the knees, with ribbed tops curved outward to allow room for daggers or laser pistols.

Lieutenant Em pointed at the starboard image of Wah-edge, the rocky, pock-marked planet they orbited. Sensors were detecting movement near…. Her eyes grew wide. Captain, unknown vessels are attacking our miners planet-side, and the replacement shuttle. Over the past two years, the tall woman with a clean-shaven head had remained calm during a meteor shower, a mine shaft collapse, and a case of oxygen line congestion. Yet, her brown hands shook twice while she spoke.

Lieutenant Kee’s face went even paler than usual while she pushed her long golden hair behind her ears, a nervous habit Laaron often noticed. Her green eyes remained fixed on the center of the bridge, where the hologram in front of Laaron’s chair also showed Wah-edge.

Flashes of light dotted the planet’s surface.

Laaron squinted and sat down. Alert everyone else, and raise shields. A glossy, elongated ship rose from Wah-edge. A series of small, golden spikes pointed outward near its front, and a single crystalline spike penetrated both sides of its black metallic middle, near its guns. The design bore little resemblance to the spherical or triangular builds that all of Degranon’s circles preferred. It disappeared into the planet’s protective shadows. Who is in those ships, and what makes them think they have the right to slaughter us?

Kee shrugged. Whoever they are, I’m ready to take them from the sky.

We’ll give them a chance to explain, he told Kee, and then we start shooting. We just have to hope they’ll pick up a broadcast somehow, and understand it. He leaned forward into his console. "Computer, transmit the following in all formats. Unidentified space vessels, this is Captain Laaron of the Equestar. We’re Degrans. Stop firing on my people immediately and identify yourselves, or we will retaliate. Out."

Static filled the com.

A single broadcast came through from one of their crew members on Wah-edge’s surface, from a commander. I think I’m the only survivor on base, he said. Please, captain, don’t let the day team land. You need to— The static returned.

Neither attackers nor crew answered the repeated hails of Laaron and his lieutenants.

Laaron hadn’t heard from Degranon since leaving its broadcast range on their mining mission, but he had never lost contact with his crew.

Nothing, shouted Kee. Someone has to be alive.

Laaron clenched his fists. If they’re not, we shouldn’t risk a fight where we’re outnumbered. We need to pull away from orbit, and be ready to leave. He glanced at the bridge’s five empty stations and winced. I can’t lose anyone else.

Still no word, Kee said, except for their emergency message on auto repeat. Wait. The bio scan is almost done.

The broadcast from the surface returned. "Equestar, they shot day team from the sky! The shuttles burned up completely!"

Commander, what in God’s name do you see there? Laaron demanded.

The site is on fire! His voice cut out. … swarms of them, dipping in and out of the atmosphere and killing us with some kind of ray. The young man’s image came through on Laaron’s screen, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes mad with fear. A bolt of lightning enveloped him before the connection ended.

Laaron stared at the hologram of Wah-edge’s dark visage for a moment before turning to Kee for an update.

Captain, I can’t get through! Kee shuddered and caught her breath. The bio scans. She touched her chin. They’re all dead. All of them.

Em shouted, Captain, look!

The glossy ship outside their starboard window matched the Equestar’s size. It fired two simultaneous missiles at them. Even with the force field active, the explosions rocked the hull. Equestar’s stabilizers protected the bridge. The computer sounded a shrill warning, along with a simple message in its cold, mechanical voice: Engineering damaged. Emergency containment.

Laaron tried to contact the crew members there, but his sensors now showed just three humans, the ones on bridge. His gut tightened, and his throat went dry. Adrenaline rushed through his body. They’ve killed the rest of our crew! He pulled in his breath and turned toward Em. Target their weapons! Shoot them from the sky before they get any closer!

Em fired, but the massive spacecraft jerked back as if in anticipation. Equestar’s missile exploded with no detectable damage, not even to a single golden spike.

Again, he said. A second missile lodged between the guns and what resembled a patch of moss around the man-sized crystalline spike. The crystal spun away from the exploding ship and rammed into Equestar’s hull.

The computer sounded a shrill alarm, followed by its mechanical voice. Battery room impaled by debris. Emergency containment. Shields holding, other than that one breech.

Holo-images of the exploded ship showed pieces of black metal that burned when they hit Wah-edge’s atmosphere.

Kee turned to her monitor then back to Laaron. The secondary solar battery is shattered!

Can we get close enough to Degranon to at least contact them? Laaron asked. Get us out of orbit.

We can fly a bit further, but Degranon would still be out of contact range. Kee’s eyes narrowed as though she looked into Wah-edge’s sun.

Is there something else?

Just a brief sensor glitch. I had an organic reading for an instant, almost like a life form. But the battery room was exposed to space. Nothing could have survived in there.

The reading’s gone now? Em asked.

Like it never happened, Kee replied. It had to be a malfunction.

Laaron looked over Kee’s shoulders at the image of the crystal shard embedded in the metal grates of the solar panels. Its contours reflected a rainbow spectrum from the flashing lights that signaled damaged batteries.

She turned to Laaron. We’re almost out of Wah-edge’s gravity well. We’ve got to land somewhere to shut down and attempt repairs, but not in this neighborhood.

We can reach Valchondria, said Laaron, leaning over Kee’s monitor. Its green lights reflected on his dark brown hands.

Kee stared up at him and smirked. Yes, because home-worlders love us so much more than these creatures do.

At least we know the Valchondrians are human, and might answer our hails.

Em interrupted. Another of the enemy ships is leaving the surface. Long-range sensors detect a fleet of them approaching the solar system.

There’s no one left to save, said Laaron. We’ve failed them all. Just get us out of here.

They took their seats and strapped on their restraints. Equestar jumped to full speed. Their attackers disappeared from their window and holo-projection, replaced by the more welcome sight of dark space.

Kee’s gaze settled upon Laaron. Captain, forgiveness for my tone when you suggested landing on Valchondria. There’s no place else nearby with a breathable atmosphere.

We are all shaken, Lieutenants. We’ll take breaks, one at a time.

Em wiped tears from her eyes. We just left them there, without a proper ceremony. I can’t even stand the thought of closing my eyes, possibly thinking about them.

I know, but—

That isn’t all. Captain, we have to assume we were just attacked by the Naadloosh.

Laaron waved downward. I always heard that the Valchondrians made up the Naadloosh, to justify abandoning our ancestors.

Kee also wiped away tears. Laaron had never seen either of them cry before and wondered how long he could suppress his own emotions. All their companions, their friends, dead!

Well, I suppose we can ask the Valchondrians what they know about the Naadloosh, Kee said, if they don’t shoot us from their sky.

***

Taldra looked outside, past the long list of proposed legislations the Maintainers had forwarded to her palm machine. She pocketed the small glass device. As the new Leader of Valchondria’s one-world government, the Iroquois woman kept overturning its excessive rules, while the Maintainers often wanted to expand them. At least the Supreme Science Council usually sided with her.

Her view from the second story of Valcine Plaza only afforded her a small glimpse of Valchondria’s capital city, but enough to give her hope for its future. The reconstruction efforts of the past eleven months not only returned Valcine to its pre-quake glory but also gave it an impressive shine, in place of old, decayed buildings with layers of mold, vines, and rust. The only hoverlane that intersected with Valcine Plaza reached just past her window and twisted around to the roof of the building, twenty stories above. Taldra watched the hovercrafts zipping by and thought about how life had returned to normal, at least for her fellow Valcini. The silver and gray metal buildings reached toward the sky, with windows that reflected the light of dawn. The morning breeze tugged away wisps of hover-fumes that tried to cling to the balconies.

Taldra turned around as her door’s two sides split into the wall’s green swirls, revealing her twin sons, Argen and Telius. The athletic nineteen-year-olds entered. Identical smiles showed matching dimples.

After Telius grew up on the other side of a temporal doorway, they had finally met, during Valchondria’s battle with the Degrans. Argen’s messiness set him apart from Telius, and the fact that his black hair kept getting shorter, while his brother’s now hung shoulder-length. With the unavoidable approach of adulthood, their nose bridges now looked more flattened, and their high cheekbones gave more definition to their handsome faces. They looked so much like their Iroquois ancestors, especially their departed father.

Telius embraced her. We had to come see you, Taldra. You’ve been in too many meetings lately! He pulled away, and Argen took his place.

I know. The world is changing too fast for the Maintainers. She looked down at a colorful bouquet of plastic flowers on the conference table. But let’s not talk about them. How is Jase-Dawn?

He’s fine. Telius’s eyes gleamed. His students love him!

Who doesn’t?

The smile faded from Telius’s face, and he folded his arms. Apparently quite a few people, if you watch wallscreen.

In reference to what?

To Jase-Dawn being the only Degran spy you and the Maintainers pardoned, while the rest are imprisoned at Urloan Control. Some of the news commentators suggest you only made that exception because he’s my boyfriend.

Argen waved outward. The gossip masters are rusted. Don’t worry about them.

He sighed. I’m not worried.

Argen stumbled. His hands shook, and then his arms, chest, and everything else.

Argen, Taldra shouted. The seizures had become more frequent over the past few weeks, happening with no provocation.

Telius and Taldra reached for him, but he fell to the floor. His eyes rolled back in his head. He mumbled and trembled. Telius also shouted Argen’s name, sweat pouring down his face as he used all the phrases that usually provided comfort. It’s all right, Argen. We’re right here.

They held him until the shaking stopped and he grew quiet.

Come back to us, Taldra said, stroking his sweating face. Come back to us. She helped him into the chair and poured him a cup of water from a nearby pitcher. I’ll never forgive the Degrans for getting you addicted to their pills. Please, fight the effects. Come back to us.

I’m trying, he whispered, as the ability to speak returned to him. "The confidence pills made