Chapter 23: Home

(Checked by Glenn)

Martha watched as Cherubim once again entered the main lounge of the small ship. “Cherubim, you say we are on our way back to Green Hell?”

“No, Martha, we are not, your son is. Official Union authorities, as well as several very dangerous groups, are after the three of you.”

Martha waved towards the viewport. “I thought we were going to Green Hell, so my son can find that guardian and a way for us to find that Techno Mage?”

“Your son is about to reach Green Hell, and he is hopefully doing exactly what needs to be done, he is closely watched.”

Martha realized that the mysterious woman was quite correct. She wanted to argue that she had not broken any laws, but that was, of course, not true. Sister was, despite all circumstances, a murderer. She was aware of that, ever since she had left Sam behind. There was a defiant voice in her, saying that there was no proof of her guilt, but as a citizen, she was required to seek out a Court Clerk, present her side and then let a Union court decide. Martha was convinced that she would not pass a Poly-analyzer test, and no matter how much emotional connection she had to Sister, she had long crossed the line and had turned into a criminal.

Cherubim, despite her unchanging masked face, appeared to read her mind and slowly nodded. “I see you understand. While we are working on a solution regarding your situation, there won’t be a path of return for you.”

Martha’s chin quivered. “What about Roy, what about my son?” She answered her own question. “I never considered him at all. Not while I had my scientific career and not after I returned.”

Sybil sat next to her and asked. “Was it not Sister that needed to be in Green Hell?”

Cherubim sat down across the three women. “Yes, that was my original plan. However, Green Hell is a small community, and ever since the Kermac invasion, the system is under close observation. While it might be possible for us to slip past the watchful eyes of the fleet, it would be almost impossible to remain undetected, dirtside. Recent information changed this necessity.”

Martha had to agree. “Green Hell is a small community; indeed, we don’t even have a spaceport. All traffic is handled via a shuttle service between Harper’s Junction and Green Hell.” The former scientist knew about these details and added. “You helped us so far; you even fixed Sybil’s mind. You explained why you are involved and why we need to find the Knorr-Magi, and we agreed to help, but I still do not understand it all. I still do not know exactly who you are or why you are involved.” Martha exposed her Wrist-Com. “I checked GalNet. There is nothing official on Cherubim. GalNet claims TSI ceased to exist when the Union was created, and there is nothing at all about a Cripple Tech.”

“You checked on more than that, right?”

“Yes, I found an entry regarding the Immortals and that Guardian of Earth. I could read up on Richard Stahl and him destroying that ancient and alien entity hiding in a cave underneath the Himalayas. Those elements I was able to check to seem to confirm what you told us.” She sighed. “We would not be here without you, and you have helped us immensely, but why have you not told us about the change of plans, and where we are going?”

“I am not acting as a TSI operative, Martha. I told you, I was made a surrogate guardian.”

Martha nodded while her two friends simply listened. To Sister, all this was abstract, and the explanations were based on elements she knew nothing about. Sybil had been told that she was only part of this because she had met the other two in the cages of a slave dealer, but the confusion regarding her person was no more. “So, what is the new plan?”

“Martha’s son will hopefully make contact with that entity on Green Hell and provide us with the key that unlocks the details inside Sister. Details that will lead us to the Knorr-Magi. We are currently traveling to a place called the World of Old.”

“Whatever there might be on Green Hell, I doubt Roy will listen to me.”

“Perhaps not, but there is someone he trusts very much.”

“What is the World of Old?”

“A place that was forgotten by most, but we hope it is a place where Sister can regain her true self and point the way.”

Ribenna Colony

Paul Masters had not wasted as much as a thought on his son Roy or his former wife. His ordeal as a slave now behind him, he had returned to the planet of his birth.

Ribenna was an old colony; humans settled this green garden world during the Second Exodus. The rich, moist soil of this world was perfect for agriculture after introducing Terran Soil bacteria, bees, deep plowing, and cultivating. The planet’s moderate climate zones became enormous farms. Ribenna produced mostly fruit and berries. The world became known as the Garden world. Several settlements grew into larger communities. There was a spaceport, a Union clinic, and Union Schools. A Union police precinct and a sector court elevated this world in importance, but nothing exciting ever happened. This was precisely how the people of this world liked things to be: quiet and orderly.

Paul was a Biologist and specialized in microbes. In retrospect, he called himself a fool, accepting a research assignment on Green Hell.

At first, he had to admit he loved Martha, and their first and only child, a son they named Roy, was not an accident. However, it turned out the child was a distraction from his work.

He never had the same ambitions as Martha. He was perfectly fine with the research work. Green Hell had a fascinating variety of microbic life forms, of which he found the tiny Buzz Saws, a kind of very aggressive nanite-sized mite, to be fascinating. He accepted the truly insane posting aboard a science cruiser because Martha wanted it. It was clear that her ambition was to become a member of the Hive of Minds after completing a science command mission or two.

No, he never had such ambitions, and sure enough, these ambitions of hers got him captured by pirates and sold to a Slave dealer.

Now he had been rescued and was back in Union space. Martha asked for a divorce, and he gladly accepted. His son, divorced from his biological parents and was the ward of a crazy former marine.

Now, he was free of all these things. He accepted a job offer by the Ribenna Agro Council as an expert on soil bacteria and local microbes.

It was a quiet job; he was left alone for the most part. The most exciting thing was his soil sampling excursions.

It was an Eight-Day afternoon, and Paul looked forward to a three-day weekend. He planned to spend some of it at Red-Berry, a coastal settlement about 800 kilometers east and right at the coast of the only ocean of this planet. Green Hell did not have real oceans, just large lakes full of Razor Fish and the truly dangerous Water Snakes. Ribenna had nothing perilous.

This is why he was quite surprised to see a Thauran wearing an expensive-looking business suit and a cold smile on his face.

Paul was in the process of closing the lab; the two assistants that worked with him had already left.

He greeted the Thauran. “I am sorry, Sir. We are closed until First Day. Do you have soil samples to be tested?”

“Oh no, Mr. Masters. I do not have any soil samples. I am not a Ribennian. I am here to see you.”

While there were a few Thaurans on Ribenna growing grapes, this man certainly did not look like a farmer. “You wanted to see me?”

“Indeed, I have a proposal for you, something that can make you very rich.”

Paul did miss the great wealth he had access to while he was married to Martha. Unlike his family, she was loaded. Now that he was on his own once more, he lived on the salary he received from the RAC.

While he knew he was a very self-centered person, he was not exactly stupid. The Thauran was standing right there outside the RAC lab facility and approached him like that. “I do not think you came for advice on soil bacteria, right?”

“I think you can trust your feelings. There is a nice and quiet bar not far from here. Why don’t we go there and I will fill you in? It will be beneficial to you.”

“Alright, I am intrigued.”

Green Hell

There were no words that could describe the feelings he experienced as he stepped off the shuttle. With his left hand holding to Tanya’s slender one, he walked across the landing platform installed at the apex of Ant Hill, the only city on Green Hell.

It was as if the entire planet sang his name, just outside his conscious thought. Tanya’s gorgeous mane of golden blond hair shone like spun gold in the warm light of Maxwell.

Roy had to revise his recent observation. Oh, sure Earth might indeed be that ultimate cradle of humankind, and if he was honest, he had felt a particular connection to that world, but this was Green Hell, this was home.

Sam, followed by Charles, stepped out next, and much like Roy, the big black man nodded more to himself than anyone. “I was born on that on that dirtball we just left behind, but I got to say it is good to be home.”

Charles, the robot, agreed. “I became aware of myself on this world, though I still contemplate the exact definition of home.”

Roy tapped his wrist com. “I guess she is back to her old ways. I didn’t expect her to be there in Virginia, even though her parents and even Grandfather made it, but she still ignores my calls.”

Sam’s good mood evaporated in an instant. He had neglected to tell Roy about his mother. “Roy, your mother is not on Green Hell. She left to help her friends.”

This news had a similar dampening effect on his mood. “That should not surprise me. Her friends seem more important than me.” Then his good mood returned as he grinned. “My real father is right here.”

Sam said. “Well, Charles and I were gone for a spell, why don’t you go to Margit and Clarion. I am sure they will be happy to see you.

Roy found the Flyer ring quickly. Not much had changed at Ant Hill. To him, it felt as if he had been gone for years, but actually, it wasn’t even a year when he left for boot camp. To Tanya, he said. “It isn’t much, this world of ours.” While he was deeply in love with the girl, he had seen just how rich she was. Her family had a super luxury apartment on Sares One, and she had her own Space Train module. He saw the villa they had on Earth. The luxury yacht her father gifted to him was a present worth many million credits. While he loved to be home, he also suddenly felt worried.”

As if she could read his mind, she squeezed his hand a little harder and said. “I am excited to see Sam’s farm and everything about this world. I did not choose you for material reasons but in spite. No one in the entire known universe would come close to my father’s wealth, Roy. I love you, and nothing else matters. Dad approves of you, remember that.”

Roy sighed with a deep sound. “I love you so much.”

Her smile changed into an impish expression. “We don’t need to take a flyer. Partner knows this world almost as good as you.”

Roy felt Partner’s mind and formed am image of the Boathouse. Partner sneezed, Roy felt that significant surge and the next moment they stood on the Duro Crete before the Ma Swanson’s Boathouse. Out here, despite the force field bubble, he could smell and feel the jungle. Everything was just right. Just beyond the bubble, a Pandora Swan was attacking Gladiator Eagle. In the shimmering water, he could see the back of a Water-Snake.

Tanya said. “We can always go to see inside and see Ma Swanson a little later. Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll have Partner take me to Sam’s farm. Maybe I can help a little to get things ready. I can see in your face just how strong this magnificent jungle calls you.”

He looked at her. “I don’t want to leave you just like that.”

“Maybe you can show me how to survive out there some time, but it has to be in little steps. I dragged you into my boring world, and you came with me, now your world is calling you. I can feel it. Come, Partner, take me to Sam. See you there, Roy.”

Partner sneezed. “Go, take her to Uncle Sam, and keep her safe.”

Roy kissed her, and then he ran to the shield control, activated a shield gap, and was outside. His senses once more at the peak, he felt alive. Yes, he would become a marine, and he was ready to learn and give his best, but here he felt as free, and all doubts, all the many thoughts that went through his mind ebbed away, and once more he was a Greenie. With an elegant swing, he climbed into the upper crown of a Trapper Palm, evaded an electrified Moolax net. A drop-shaped nest of Buzz Saws was no hurdle. He picked a green leaf of a Tantalus oak, spread the strong-smelling sap across his arms. Just to make sure.

Tanya watched him swing into the branches and disappear in the thicket as if he was part of it.

A tall older woman had stepped next to her. She wore a green Bio-Seal suit and a green work coat over it. “In all my time on this world, there is only one who is like this, Roy Masters,”

Tanya still looked into the thicket. “He is one of a kind, and somehow I knew that since I first saw him.”

“Since his huge black beast is so close to you, you must be Tanya.”

The richest girl in the known Galaxy turned. “And you must be Ma Swanson. I had no idea he told you about me.”

“He calls whenever he can and sends these beautiful image stills. I got twelve now. He even sent one from a place called Earth.”

The woman held out her hand. “Yes, he told us that he found the one he wants to share his life and said he found the prettiest one. I must say he did not exaggerate. Come, let us make a Greenie out of you. I have a few very nice Bioseal suits.”

Tanya laughed. “Yes, please.”

The Thauran scientist, who also was an ardent follower of the Thauran religion of the Blue Virgin, had received a call from the Blue Bishop himself. A young man named Roy Masters had returned to Green Hell. He knew little about the young man, and the Blue Bishop was not very forthcoming as to why he was to be followed. He had been right behind him after he arrived, but instead of finding a hotel, the young man in the company of a huge black beast and a beautiful blonde went to the Flyer ring. When he arrived at the main boarding chamber. There was no trace of them.

He went over to the Robot attendant and asked. “Two passengers and a black pet arrived to rent a flyer, but I don’t see any missing. Do you know where they went?”

“No flyer has been rented, Citizen. If you want to rent a flyer, you must have an operator’s license.”

Even after asking his question three times, he received the same answer. The robot had no knowledge he could use.

He stood there, wondering how the man and his girl could have past him without him noticing, and he was sure they had to go back by him since they did not rent a flyer, the local Police chief and former Union Ranger, Lieutenant Solomon, entered the flyer bay. He looked around, and like the Thauran, he could see that none of the rental flyers was gone.

The policeman came straight for the Thauran and said. “Citizen, have you seen a tall young man in the company of a huge black animal? I was informed Roy is back.”

“No, Sir. Is there a criminal loose?”

“No, not a criminal but a person of interest.”

The policeman left. The Thauran was sure there was more to this Roy than it seemed. The Blue Bishop wanted him followed, and now there was police asking for him. He went straight to the GalNet terminal to call the Blue Bishop. There was no way he would go after the young man if he were out there.

He had seen a few different planets. One with snow and forests, one with caves and tunnels and a few dry dust balls. He had seen Earth, at least a little of it, but it was here among all the living things of his jungles where he was indeed alive and where he was home. Just as he crouched in a thick branch of a Tantalus Oak carefully avoiding the inch-long thorns, he saw her, a strangely beautiful woman with greenish blonde hair and wearing a thin summer dress. She was barefoot, and upon seeing her, he remembered, “Qaroniel, I came back.”

“Time means little to me, but I rejoice with you, my child. You are the Warrior and Protector of Qaroniel, and it fills me with joy to feel your love for me.”

“Qaroniel, I did not come alone. I found a human girl. I want to marry her.”

“I know, and I have seen her. I approve of your choice; she truly loves you. Qaroniel knows, but the one you call Tanya is not entirely human.”