Chapter 16

The small party tele-ported down to the planet's surface, a mere ten yards away from where the emergency shuttle was still sitting. While two took up positions to provide security (scans had shown no life forms, but plenty of wild animals) the other two entered the ship to carry out their task.

Both of them carried small vacuum suction units and they quickly began to move through the ship in a systematic way, sucking up samples as they went.

The fact that other members of the WS Scout's crew had already been inside the ship meant that the DNA residue was already somewhat contaminated. The computers on the Scout already had all of the crew's DNA logged however and it would be a simple matter to separate out what they were really looking for.

The fact that Kadesh had used the cot to sleep off the last of his hangover meant that the sheets were a rich source of fragments of dried skin and they in turn would provide the pilot's DNA signature.

Ten minutes after they had landed, the party used their comms units to contact the WS Scout and request that they be tele-ported back aboard.

The little vacuum sealed bags were removed from inside the suction units and their contents processed carefully so that the computer could begin running the various processes that would identify all of the different DNA material.

"How long before the computer spits out something that we can use to scan the planet?" asked Marlon.

"Well there were possibly as many as ten men who entered the shuttle on the first landing and we have an overall crew of over [three hundred — check]. The computer will have to match each different DNA sample it finds and rule it out if it's from one of the crew. That shouldn't take long — maybe about half an hour," answered Lieutenant Beegs.

The computer proved him wrong, taking only twenty minutes to finish its testing and confirm that it had isolated one DNA signature that didn't match any of the records held for the crew.

"Captain, we have the DNA for the pilot. I'm initiating a scan of the planet now," advised Beegs.

The crew on the bridge carried out their normal duties, but with part of their attention on the Science Officer and what he was doing. Less than ten minutes later, Beegs spoke again.

"No match to any of the life forms on the planet, Captain. I'm going to run the scan again just to be on the safe side."

The crew members glanced at each other. They knew what Beegs' report suggested. The pilot of the harvester appeared to have escaped the missile attack on his ship by using the emergency shuttle, but only it seemed to meet his death once he reached the planet's surface. None of them knew that it had actually been one of their own crew who had shot and killed Kadesh.

"Negative again, Captain. The pilot of the WS Reaper is either not on the planet or he's dead," reported Beegs.

"Very well Lieutenant, prepare an estimate of how long it will take to remove the savages from the planet using our tractor beam please," ordered Marlon.

The preparations for Hannah's funeral were almost finished. Thomas had advised Ben that the missile was ready to launch at a moment's notice, but he had decided that it wouldn't be right to do that before Hannah was laid to rest.

A small cemetery had already been established following the death of Adam and his squad of men. Drones had prepared a fresh grave — well away from Adam's at the twins' insistence — and flowers were set out at various points in an effort to lift the mood a little.

Ben and Sarah had discussed how to move Hannah's body from Aetherkraal and had agreed that they would claim to be using their tele-port technology. In reality, Ben would use the power of the nuggets to help him lift Hannah and transport her to the graveside.

The cemetery was situated at the foot of a small hill and that gave a natural vantage point for the many people who had come down from the caves. Around half of the Stellarites were directly descended from Hannah, but all of the others — even David and his people — were also caught up in the sombre occasion.

Ben had also transported Simeone to the caves, now sure that he would be safe and recognising that Hannah was after all his daughter.

Elizabeth had elected herself as being the one who would say a few words as Hannah's body was lowered into the grave, but as the time drew near she sought out Ben and told him she didn't feel she would be able to hold herself together.

"I just know I will break down and spoil the whole thing. Look at me; I'm shaking like a leaf already. Would you do it Ben? She deserves something dignified, something that celebrates her life, not me sobbing and stammering all over the place."

Ben nodded to show that he was willing to step in and then the small group of them — Ben, Sarah, Simeone, Elizabeth, Thomas, David, Beckie and Isaac — walked slowly down from the caves and through the crowds that had gathered.

"What is he doing here?" David asked, nodding towards Simeone.

"He's her father, if anyone has a right to be here it's him. And just in case you've forgotten — he's our father too," answered Ben curtly.

Isaac looked puzzled by Ben's response, unaware still of how the original twins had come to be on the planet in the first place. He remained quiet, promising himself he would get to the bottom of things later.

They gathered at the head of the grave and Ben glanced over the hundreds of men, women and children who were standing quietly to witness the sad occasion. He raised his hands high and spoke loudly so they could all hear him.

"My friends, we are gathered here today to lay to rest one of the original twins. You see before you the five of us that remain from that beginning and we join you today to express our grief and sorrow at Hannah's parting.

"Each of us has our memories of Hannah. She had a love of life that few others could match. I can still remember vividly how she made the very first clothes for us to wear from animal hides.

"Elizabeth recalls how they were so excited over the first bowls that we made and Sarah told me this morning about how she shared our first bar of soap with Hannah while washing in the river.

"What Thomas remembers most is the sound of Hannah's laughter. She laughed a lot and the sound of it was often enough to lift our spirits even when things were looking bleak.

"David — David has always loved Hannah I think. She was easy to love and no one can blame him for falling for her beauty, her sense of fun, her apparently boundless energy. It's fitting that David is mated to Hannah's first-born.

"So many wonderful memories we have and no doubt many of you will also have fond memories of your own. Many of you are directly descended from Hannah and Adam and it is all the more poignant that Hannah will be joining Adam here today.

"While it might be regarded as a sad day, I bet that Hannah herself would have it otherwise. Not for her a long period of mourning — no, she would be much more in favour of celebrating a life lived to the full rather than traipsing around with a long face.

"There could be no better way of honouring and marking her passing than to act as she would have done. Let us share a few moments of silence to remember her then, but afterwards let the party to celebrate her life begin!"

Ben dropped his arms to his sides and bowed his head. He closed his eyes and reached for the pouch at his waist, focussing on the shroud wrapped body that lay in one of the bedrooms of the great house at Aetherkraal.

Using his mental energy, Ben zoomed Hannah's body from Aetherkraal across the many miles to the caves. The crowd around him gasped as they saw the body descending from the skies and slowly, ever so slowly, drop towards the freshly dug grave.

Once Hannah was at rest at the bottom of the grave, Ben opened his eyes and glanced at those around him. He could see the dramatic entrance of Hannah's body had affected them all — even Sarah who knew beforehand what he planned to do.

"Hannah, may you forever rest in peace. May your love of life live on in the shape of the many children and grandchildren that you loved and nurtured. You will always be in our hearts and now we will celebrate the cherished memories we have of you. Goodbye sweet Hannah," said Ben, stepping forward to drop a single red rose down onto the shroud.

One by one, Simeone and the other twins stepped forward to drop their own flowers to join Ben's and then they turned and began walking back towards the caves.

"I'm glad I asked you to do that, your words were perfect Ben, thank you," whispered Elizabeth, tears already leaking from her eyes.

Sarah hugged his arm tightly to show how much she agreed with her friend. This was another occasion when she was immensely proud of her twin. Even David managed to refrain from saying anything poisonous for once and Ben could see that he was struggling to cope with the emotion of the moment. Beckie had one arm round her mate to comfort him and probably to draw some comfort for herself.

Inside the cave network, a vast chamber had been excavated. This was the new communal cave — replacing that very first cave that the twins had used. This one was much larger of course — big enough to fir the entire Stellarite community into it. Huge ornate pillars were studded around to shore up the roof of the cave and powerful lighting ensured that it was brightly lit.

Elizabeth and Sarah had ensured that there was plenty of food, drink and entertainment for everyone. When Ben and Sarah had discussed the funeral arrangements, they had both quickly agreed that it wouldn't be a sad affair. That would have been out of keeping with the way that Hannah had lived her life and they had agreed that a lively party was what was required.

Now music was played loudly and the drink began to flow. Ben and Sarah set the tone by quickly clearing a space. They wrapped their arms around each other and began dancing together. Elizabeth moved just as quickly to grab Thomas and they joined them. After that many others followed suit and a genuine party atmosphere began to spread around the cave.

"The scans show that there are three concentrations of life forms on the planet, Captain. There is a small group here to the East of this river, a much larger group here and finally a group on this other continent that straddles the equator," reported Beegs.

"Let's start with the smaller group then to make sure this works. AI, engage the tractor beam and target the smallest group on the planet. I want you to lift them from the planet until they are beyond its gravitational pull. Cut the beam well before they get close to the ship," ordered Marlon.

"Affirmative, Captain. Engaging the tractor beam now. The coordinates of the group have been locked in. Would you like a visual display, Captain?" asked the AI.

Marlon pondered that question for a moment. Killing was such a foreign thing for a Wodenite to be doing that he actually shivered and felt a wave of nausea wash over him, as the full realisation of what he was doing hit him.

"Is this right? Is this really the right thing to do?" he asked himself. "The Emperor said that we had to re-invent ourselves and this is part of it. These savages have already attacked us and we are at war. I have to set an example here, show that things have changed and that we need to harden ourselves to acts such as this. Maybe making the crew watch what we are doing will be the first step in all of us changing our nature?"

Having made his decision he spoke out loud so that the crew on the bridge as well as the AI could hear him.

"Yes AI, put the images on all of the screens throughout the ship. Everybody should see this. Killing from a distance is so impersonal, but we need to start to harden ourselves if we are ever going to free Woden from the Zytol. Let this be a start then; let everyone watch as we kill these people. Let them watch the detail rather than try to distance themselves from what we're doing. Before our journey ends it's likely that we will have to kill many more people. Let this be the start then, let this be the first act in the liberation of our friends and family!"

David's settlement was quiet with the bulk of the adults away helping the people at the caves. Two squads had been left behind to defend the camp and protect the young children — in total there were around twenty five people.

The first of the tribe to be caught up by the Scout's tractor beam was a boy of about six. His twin watched from the window of their house as he began to rise into the air. The little girl squealed with excitement and then ran from the house to try to join him.

"God is taking Johnny! God is taking Johnny!" she squealed as she ran.

The squeals brought others and they watched with awe as little Johnny began to slowly rise from the ground. His twin ran closer and then she too began to drift slowly upwards.

Having seen 'God' lift David in the past, the people of the tribe naturally assumed that this could only be their God at work again. Soon all of them were rushing forward to try to be next to be lifted up by God.

The Stellarite women all knew who Ben was and had heard all of the stories about him. They were quite unashamed about seeking him out for a turn at dancing with him and he found himself being passed from one to another. Sarah thought it was all hugely funny and she periodically cut-in to have a turn round the cave with him herself.