Prisoner on Kasteesh Read online

  There was a long silence, as five brains desperately sought a solution to their predicament. Suddenly, Oddball gave a ‘Yes!’, sprang to his feet and turned to stare eagerly at the line of cargo pods behind them.

  ‘Of course!’

  The others looked at him expectantly.

  ‘Look! These three pods must have been shunted onto this siding-track because their tags tell the system that they’re not needed yet, right?’ he gabbled. ‘They’re being held here until whatever ship is meant to carry them is ready to load.’

  He moved to the pod at the head of the line, flapped open a panel in his shoulder-guard and withdrew a flat-bladed screwdriver. Clutching the limpet-like tag device on the pod’s side with one hand, he used the other to prise it off with the screwdriver.

  He held out the tag to show the others.

  ‘With a bit of luck, I should be able to tweak this thing’s setting so that it tells the track scanners that this pod is meant to be loaded on the craft waiting in Bay Nine. That should mean it’ll get pulled back online for immediate loading.’

  Hoax was looking puzzled.

  ‘How does getting this pod loaded on the Chairman’s ship help us?’

  But Rake’s face suddenly lit up.

  ‘Because we’re going to be hiding inside it! Right, Oddball?’

  ‘Exactly!’ beamed Oddball. ‘And we should be safe from detection,’ he rambled on, ‘because, like Tea-Leaf said just now, the pod’s contents will already have been security scanned back there.’

  He twisted off the cover of the tag device, then converted his screwdriver into a tweezer-like tool and began poking around inside it.

  ‘I’ll get this set up. It might take a little while. You lot see if you can get the pod open and cleared out a bit, so that there’s room for us inside.’

  Tea-Leaf looked at the cargo pod doubtfully. ‘The magna-seals on these things are really strong,’ she said. ‘To stand any chance of breaking them open, we’ll need something pretty rock solid and to hit them pretty hard.’

  There was a series of quiet crunch-click sounds, rather like someone cracking their knuckles. Rake raised his right hand. His armoured gauntlet was scrunched in a formidable fist. Its tough plastallic parts had locked together to give it complete rigidity. He gave Tea-Leaf a broad grin.

  ‘You called, madam?’

  Chapter 7

  The Shattered City

  SNOW’S MIND HAD more or less recovered from the effects of her collision with the invisible barrier. But now she had a different reason to feel dizzy. She was dangling precariously fifty metres above the rocky landscape below her, clutched in the massive claws of the flying alien creature.

  When the beast had first snatched her up, as she tried desperately to crawl away, she had been surprised that it had grasped her so carefully. From its appearance and the ferocity of its attack on the White Knights, she had fully expected it to slice her into ribbons there and then. Instead, as it loomed over her, it had taken hold of her almost gently. Then, with a series of powerful wing-beats, it had launched itself into the air, carrying her high into the sky.

  By now, they had flown quite some distance from the research compound. Once Snow had got over her initial brain-numbing panic, she had tried to take in some of the awesome view. The terrain that stretched out below her was rocky, lifeless and hostile. The further the creature flew, the more mountainous the landscape became.

  What is this place? thought Snow. And how in the world did I get here?

  Since coming round from being unconscious, she hadn’t had time to try and figure out what had happened to her. The last familiar thing she remembered was the Academy garage. Everything since – the chase, the invisible wall, this bizarre creature – made no sense to her.

  The giant beast suddenly banked steeply to the right. They swooped low over the crest of a ridge that joined the summits of a range of tall, steep-sided peaks. What lay beyond the ridge took Snow’s breath away.

  A vast city covered the opposite face of the mountain. But it was a city unlike any on Earth. Instead of buildings of concrete, glass and metal, it was constructed from stone, the natural material of the mountainside. The rocky terrain had been carved and shaped into hundreds of giant spheres. There was a circular opening in the upper face of each. Snow could see as they flew over them that the spheres were hollow inside. They reminded her of the galls created by insects from the bark of trees. But here, the galls were of rock and truly massive.

  The creature began a spiralling descent. As it flew lower, Snow noticed that much of the strange city was in a state of dereliction. Many of the hollow rock spheres were badly fractured, or partly collapsed. Whole clusters had been reduced to crumbling ruins by some destructive force. Only the very central area, comprising half a dozen of the biggest spheres, appeared undamaged.

  Snow’s heart missed a beat as the creature suddenly plummeted towards the roof-opening of the largest of this cluster. Moments later, she found herself circling its interior – a cavernous rock-walled chamber.

  The winged alien flew towards a narrow ledge that jutted out from the cavern’s concave wall. It deposited Snow carefully on this ledge, then swooped away, to alight on a high stone pillar that rose from the cavern’s floor.

  Snow got to her feet, still giddy from her stomach-churning flight. Her mind turned instantly to escape. But it was clear why the creature had dropped her where it had. There was no way off the ledge. It was a long drop to the floor below and there was a wall of solid rock behind her.

  The creature was watching her from its rock perch – one of several columns grouped in a horseshoe shape around the cavern. Snow was alarmed to see several more creatures, much the same as the first in appearance, settled on the other columns.

  The stone columns and parts of the cavern walls, Snow noticed, were heavily engraved with elaborate carvings – strange geometric patterns, whorls and motifs.

  A low, booming voice suddenly echoed inside Snow’s head.

  Why have you brought one of the Wingless to our council hall, Ko’Drall? They are our enemies, as you well know!

  Snow shook her head to clear it. She was sick of hearing voices. Somehow, though, she could sense that this one belonged to one of the bizarre alien gathering before her.

  Not all the Wingless have been our foes, my brother.

  This second voice was calmer, less hostile.

  This creature is an enemy of the Void Ones, it continued. I witnessed several of the metal monsters chasing her. An enemy of theirs may perhaps be a friend of ours. And look at the fashion of her head covering. It reminds me strongly of the device worn by the last Wingless One who was welcome among us.

  Snow was finding it utterly bizarre listening to a conversation in her head, while the creatures sat silently in front of her. It was pretty clear that the voice defending her belonged to the creature who had carried her here. She wondered which one of the others was the owner of the more suspicious voice.

  As her eyes moved from one giant beast to the next, her heart suddenly jumped. Among the stone carvings on one of the columns, she noticed a familiar pattern. There it was again, on the wall! In fact, as her eyes eagerly scanned the cavern, she could make out the recognizable peak-shaped motif engraved in any number of places.

  The Armouron insignia! cried her bewildered mind. Why is the order’s symbol carved on their walls?!

  As one, the creatures turned their yellow eyes on Snow. Despite the inhuman nature of their faces, their searching stares were clearly ones of intrigued astonishment. Snow sensed instinctively that they had overheard her last thoughts.

  The creature she believed to be Ko’Drall suddenly leaped from its plinth and swooped towards her, alighting on the brink of her ledge. Snow took an involuntary step backwards and bumped into the rock wall immediately behind her.

  As the creature’s eyes met hers, a voice filled her head. It was far stronger and louder than before. Snow had no doubt that, for the first time, K
o’Drall was ‘speaking’ directly to her.

  Can you hear us, stranger?

  Snow pressed herself against the rock, uncertain how to react. Were they angry that she had been eavesdropping? The creature leaned closer, so that its peculiar mouthless face was only a metre from hers.

  If you can hear my thoughts, Wingless One, then answer them!

  Pulse pounding, Snow looked into the creature’s deep, searching gaze. She nodded her head.

  Then, sensing that this was not the method of response the creature desired, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her shallow breathing. With a sensation she had never felt before and drawing on an instinct she didn’t understand, she let her answer form in her mind, then released it, like a bird.

  Yes, her mind-message announced. Yes. I can hear you.

  Chapter 8

  The Riders of Kasteesh

  ‘I JUST HOPE you rigged that tag-gadget right, Oddball,’ said Hoax. ‘You can’t tell what ship we got ourselves loaded on from inside here. We could be heading for the wrong side of the galaxy, for all we know.’

  He, Rake, Oddball, Tea-Leaf and Salt were huddled together inside the cargo pod, most of which was still crammed with its original contents – stacked crates of canned soya meat. It wasn’t overly comfortable. At Salt’s request, Oddball had crushed a couple of glo-caps, to provide a little light. Unlike the youngsters, the old armourer had no night-vision visor to rely on.

  ‘Don’t you worry,’ smiled Oddball. ‘I’m certain we’re heading to Kasteesh right now. Well – almost certain.’

  ‘Fantastic,’ said Hoax sarcastically. He plucked a can from the stack beside him. ‘Oh well, at least we won’t starve . . .’

  Rake turned to Salt, who was hunched bear-like in silence.

  ‘Master, we’re going to be stuck inside here for quite a while. Why don’t you explain what’s so significant about Kasteesh, while we’ve got time on our hands. We all saw how you reacted when you found out that’s where Snow was heading.’

  Salt gave a grunt and shuffled awkwardly.

  ‘Rake’s right, master,’ pressed Tea-Leaf. ‘Why were you so shocked?’

  Salt let out a sigh of resignation. ‘We do have something of a trip ahead of us, I suppose,’ he growled. ‘And I see no real reason for further secrecy.’

  There was a moment’s silence, then he continued.

  ‘Very well, Templer, Balista, Sappar and False-Light – I will tell you the story of Kasteesh. And of why, I fear, it has drawn our young friend into danger.’

  The glo-caps’ weak yellow gleam cast an eerie light over the faces of Salt’s four young listeners as he began his tale.

  ‘The connection between the Armouron and the planet of Kasteesh goes back many years,’ rumbled the old armourer. ‘Their destinies first became entangled a very long time ago.’

  ‘What, when you were young?’ blurted Rake. He realized a moment too late how that sounded. Salt gave him a hard stare.

  ‘Even further back than that, Templer – if your imagination can grasp such a time-scale,’ he growled dryly. ‘Over five centuries ago, in fact. Back in the early days of star travel, before the Corporation Wars. When the Armouron were still the dominant force for order across the galaxy.

  ‘One of the foremost Armouron at that time was a knight named Ocell.’

  It was Hoax who interrupted this time.

  ‘I knew an Ocell once. He played pro-league speedball with my dad. I remember when they won the . . .’

  His voice trailed off, as he sensed the four withering stares aimed his way.

  Salt tried again.

  ‘Ocell was a great warrior, but something of a loner. He was happiest when undertaking solo missions for the order, however arduous or perilous. As starship technology developed, he took on the lonely role of exploring the galactic fringe – the outreaches of known space. One such voyage took him to the small, rocky fringe-world of Kasteesh.

  ‘In those days, entering a planet’s atmosphere was still a risky business. Ocell’s ship crash-landed and he was badly injured. He would have died – but for a tremendous stroke of good fortune. Not only was Kasteesh a world where the atmosphere was fine for him to breathe, but it also proved to be one of the handful of fringe worlds that was populated. Ocell’s wrecked ship was discovered by one of the planet’s natives. His body was recovered and over the coming months he was nursed back to full health.’

  ‘You’re right – he was lucky,’ said Oddball. ‘Not all people would be so caring.’

  ‘Not people, Sappar,’ said Salt. ‘The natives of Kasteesh, as Ocell was the first to discover, are a race of large winged creatures. We know a lot more about them now than was known then – there has been a Corporation research station on Kasteesh for over a decade. One of its scientists – a man from the Hotlands – was the first to give the creatures a name: the mashetani-anga, from the Afrik for “sky-demons”. Most people call them the “Mshanga”.

  ‘But for Ocell, they were a nameless unknown, unlike any beings he had previously encountered. Even their means of communicating was alien.’

  ‘A different language, you mean?’ said Rake.

  Salt shook his head. ‘No. The Mshanga have no use for language. They have no vocal apparatus whatsoever. Instead, they speak to one another by transferring mind-waves. They’re telepaths.’

  ‘So how did they communicate with Ocell?’ asked Tea-Leaf.

  ‘With difficulty, at first. But this is the most astonishing part of his tale: with time and the creatures’ help, Ocell developed the ability to transmit and receive basic mind-messages himself. He was far from being a full telepath, but he forged the beginnings of a link with their thought-based community.’

  ‘Wicked!’ said Hoax. ‘Imagine being able to get inside each other’s heads. How cool would that be?’

  ‘You’d hate it,’ said Tea-Leaf. ‘Whenever you claimed to have royal blood, or a pet prawlkon, or some other load of dunk, everyone would see right through you.’

  Hoax grinned.

  ‘You said “with time”, master,’ said Rake. ‘So did Ocell stay on Kasteesh for quite a while?’

  ‘He never left,’ replied Salt. ‘The company of the Mshanga suited him better than the bustle and noise of life among humans. After living in their colony for many years, he was granted the ultimate token of acceptance. The creature which had first rescued him and done most to care for him allowed him to ride it in flight.’

  Tea-Leaf looked at Salt a little awkwardly. ‘This is all fascinating stuff, master – but what has it got to do with Snow? You said there was a connection between her and Kasteesh. So far, I don’t see it.’

  ‘Be patient, Balista,’ growled Salt. ‘All will become clear.’ He cleared his throat, then frowned. ‘Where was I?’

  ‘Ocell riding one of the flying aliens,’ said Oddball.

  ‘Ah, yes. Ocell had little sense of it at the time, but in riding one of the Mshanga, he was becoming the first of a select group of Armouron Knights who would do so. By the time of his death, the creatures’ relationship with Ocell had broadened into a wider one with the order as a whole. The knight selected to be his successor and bear his medallion chose like him to live among the Kasteesh colony. He too was granted the right to ride one of the creatures.

  ‘And so it continued. One knight from each generation of Armouron had the honour of becoming a Rider, paired to a mind-mate among the Mshanga. And with time, the creatures began to assist the order with their work enforcing peace and justice. It was a powerful union. The Riders and their flying mounts became one of the most feared and respected forces within the outer reaches of the galaxy.’

  Salt paused and looked meaningfully at Tea-Leaf.

  ‘And, now, Balista, we come to your question. What has all this to do with our young friend Snow? Well, if I tell you that she is unique among you in having a father who himself belonged to our order, can you perhaps hazard a guess?’

  ‘Snow’s dad was an Armouron?’ sai
d a bewildered Oddball.

  Salt nodded.

  ‘You mean . . . he wasn’t one of these Riders you’ve been talking about, was he?’ ventured Tea-Leaf.

  Another slow nod from Salt.

  ‘The last Rider, to be precise,’ said the old man gravely. ‘As you know, the Corporation has made it its business to bring down the Armouron. And since the Chairman established his scientific base on Kasteesh, the Mshanga colony has also come under threat. The ancient union between our order and the Mshanga has collapsed.’

  ‘But Snow doesn’t know any of this, does she?’ said Rake. ‘She thinks her mum and dad were Nu-Topians. She told me they both died in a blue flu outbreak!’

  Salt looked suddenly very weary. ‘I made a promise not to tell the child of her true ancestry when she first came into my care,’ he said. ‘Now it seems that somehow – somehow I don’t understand – she has discovered it for herself. I cannot see why she should otherwise choose to journey to Kasteesh.’

  ‘Well, she’ll be able to tell us exactly what she’s up to when we catch up with her, won’t she?’ said Rake, putting on an air of cheery determination. ‘She can’t be that far ahead of us. I reckon we should just be grateful that the executive shuttle happened to be heading out this way.’

  Salt gave Rake a rare smile. ‘I applaud your positive outlook, Templer,’ he said. But his expression quickly became more grave. ‘In truth, though, the Chairman’s presence gives me additional cause for concern. I’d like to know why he too feels the need to visit Kasteesh at this particular moment in time. In my experience, having that weasel around is only ever a bad thing.’

  His heavy brows knitted in a scowl.

  ‘A very bad thing.’

  Chapter 9

  A Welcome Break

  THE CHAIRMAN SAT back in his lounger chair, took a sip from the glass of multi-coloured cocktail he held in one chubby hand, and admired the view of the receding Earth through the viewport of his executive shuttle’s cabin.