Children of Darkness (Rogue Star Book 1) Page 16
Marcus grinned. “The techs are making the final adjustments and Solomon is fine tuning the software. In less than an hour I can finally take her for a spin.”
“Have you considered a destination?” Dra’kor asked.
“I hadn’t. You got something in mind?”
The first councilor looked at Iaka. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”
“I will,” Iaka said. She practically danced where she stood. “The council has hired me to head a research team on Alpha 114. We’ll study the natives, discretely, to make sure they recover from Omni’s abuse. We’ll also make a full study of the planet to properly catalogue the flora and fauna.”
“You seem excited.”
“This is what I studied for. It’s a great opportunity.”
“Congratulations.” He tried to sound happy for her, but since her new job meant he’d probably never see her again he failed. “So you need a lift?”
“Not just me.”
He looked over her head and saw a tech pushing the cryochamber into the hanger. Marcus smiled. The Vencar had attached a new piece of tech to the chamber that generated radiation identical to what was found in the natives’ tunnels. “I suppose a god has his responsibilities.”
“I’m going to tell Solomon the good news.” Iaka ran up the loading ramp.
Marcus watched her until she disappeared inside. He smiled a sad smile and shook his head.
“Have you considered your future?” Dra’kor said.
Marcus snapped out of his daydream and turned back to the first councilor. “Not really. I’m afraid Earth space will be inhospitable for the foreseeable future. Most of my contacts are there so I guess I’ll have to start over.”
“There’s another option.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
Dra’kor took a breath and let it out slow. “What I’m about to tell you must go no further. The galactic council has very limited authority to act directly in the affairs of sovereign systems. Sometimes we find it useful to have the option to act through intermediaries. Individuals with the skill and desire to help where they can. You have proven yourself skilled. Do you have the desire?”
Did he? When he was a kid he always wanted to be a knight, like in the stories his mother read to him. An avenger who traveled around the world righting wrongs. He wasn’t a kid anymore though it would be nice to help people. People like the natives on Alpa who couldn’t help themselves. Marcus grinned. “How much does it pay?”
They emerged from hyperspace and Alpha 114 filled the view screen. Beside them a Vencar warship cruised into high orbit around the planet. The ship carried equipment and buildings to replace the one the cleaners destroyed. After they setup camp the ship would patrol the system to make sure no one caused trouble.
“Let’s head in,” Marcus said. Marcus pushed the throttle forward and did a couple barrel rolls. He grinned like a fourteen year old with his first sky hopper. The new engines handled great.
“If you’re through playing we need to get our guest back to his people,” Iaka said.
They rumbled through the atmosphere and landed in the remains of the old Omni camp. The trip to the natives’ caves wouldn’t take as long from there. The ship settled on its landing gear and Marcus and Iaka got up.
“Aren’t you coming?” Iaka asked Solomon.
“I don’t care for jungles,” Solomon said.
“You’ve never been to a jungle, only a clearing.” Marcus said.
“I’ve read about them and I didn’t like it. I’ll stay in the air conditioning, thank you.”
“Then this is good bye,” Iaka leaned down and hugged him. “Thank you for everything.”
Solomon’s face turned bright red and he managed to pat her shoulder.
Marcus shook his head. “Smooth, pal.”
They left Solomon in the cockpit to catch his breath and went back to the cargo hold. They’d locked the chamber down still on the hovercart. Marcus deactivated the force field holding it in place and powered the cart up. He checked the timer on the wakeup cycle. Ten minutes to go.
“You should put your armor on,” Iaka said. “Let them see their god returned.”
Marcus nodded and did as she suggested. They left the ship and walked the mile to the cave entrance. They went a couple hundred yards in and Marcus immediately heard the ultrasonic shrieks he recognized as the natives.
“They spotted us,” Marcus said. He opened the chamber and the bleary eyed and still half unconscious native sat up.
Iaka said something to him and he perked up. A few minutes later the tribe emerged from deeper under the mountain. Marcus helped the little guy out of the chamber. He looked a little unsteady when he set him down but the native stood on his own.
When Marcus looked back up all the natives save the shaman fell to their knees. The shaman approached and bowed nearly double. He shooed their little friend back toward the rest of the tribe.
Iaka listened as the shaman spoke. “He thanks you for bring his son back safe. Now, put your hand on my shoulder.”
Marcus did as she asked and Iaka spoke again. The shaman removed one of the stone fetishes from around his neck and handed it to her. He bowed again to Marcus and returned to the rest of his people. The tribe got to their feet and disappeared deeper into the mountain.
They returned to the surface and Marcus took off his helmet. “What was that all about?”
“I told him you appointed me your divine representative. He gave me the stone as a gift to a fellow shaman. This should make it much easier to conduct my research.”
“Just be sure you’re good to my people.” Marcus found he meant it. He felt a certain affection for the strange little creatures that made him their god.
“Don’t worry, we’re only here to observe and peacefully interact, no experiments.”
They looked up as a shuttle entered the atmosphere, the first of the supplies from the cruiser.
“I suppose this is goodbye,” Marcus said.
“Perhaps just see you later. We both work for the council now after all. I’m sure we’ll meet again.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed him.
Marcus felt warmth spread through him and decided he would see her again.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN