Ice Phoenix (47 page)

This pendant represents everything I feel.

Inside the
Dark Star,
Master Drummik, Grandmaster Deitrux, and Eliksha were busy hauling the injured crew members and passengers to the medical room. Master Drummik had escaped from Nashim when he came to abduct Terrana, fooling the Valpuri into thinking he was dead. He had left behind a clone for Nashim to kill as he made his escape. However, his injuries had been severe and he had passed out before he could reach Terrana in her sleep capsule. He had come to just in time to save Eliksha from being burned alive by Terrana.

"They won
't remember a thing when they wake up," said Master Drummik as he lowered the comatose form of the captain into a free bed. "The last thing they'll remember is seeing the sealing team heading out towards the gate."

"Pity
they'll remember even that," muttered Grandmaster Deitrux. "Because then they'll wonder where the rest of the sealing team is, before they learn that we're stuck on this side of the cloud forever. We will never get through the cloud without the pendant." He noticed Eliksha trembling and asked in a concerned voice, "Eliksha, are you all right?"

She gave him a watery smile and shook her head. "Sorry, I
'm trying. It's just ... after all I've seen, I need some time that's all."

Grandmaster Deitrux
gave her a sympathetic nod. "We all wish we could go home."

A voice interrupted them. It was Lakara, speaking from the bridge.
"Latest status report. The good news first — our auxiliary engine was undamaged in the blast and I've been able to repair the ship's thrusters so we are good to leave this area. We have full power and face no problems with our air recycling units. The bad news — the ship's main void-drive is still down and it'll take me a while longer to fix it. At this point, we can only travel at the speed of light."

"
Dartkala, how is that good news?" cried Eliksha. "Being stuck at the speed of light is like a death sentence out here! Anything could attack us and we wouldn't be able to outrun it!"

"One step at a time, Eliksha," said Grandmaster Deitrux. "We mustn
't panic. I have every faith that Lakara will be able to repair the void-drive."

"
Lakara, is there anything we can do to help?" called out Master Drummik.

There was no answer.

"Lakara?" Drummik called out again, his voice tinged with worry.

"You should all come up here.
Now
."

They
immediately sprinted out of the medical room towards the bridge. When they finally reached it, they burst through the doors, searching for Lakara. They spotted her standing at the captain's station, her back to them as she looked out.

"What is it, Lakara?" asked Master Drummik.

She didn't reply. Instead, she pointed at the window. "I think she's trying to get in," she said.

They followed her direction, gasping involuntarily when they saw the skinny,
glowing creature with large, black eyes staring back at them. Terrana was plastered on the window, wondering how she could convince them to let her in.

"Dear Dartkala, don't let her come in. We need to get away!" Eliksha cried, staring at Terrana in terror.

"But there's something different about her," said Grandmaster Deitrux, his voice thick with doubt. "She's not emitting any malice."

"I have to agree," added Lakara. "If she meant us any harm, she would have burnt a hole right through the ship already."

Master Drummik didn't say anything; instead, he ran up to the window to get a closer look at Terrana. His face would have touched hers if the glass hadn't separated them. "Terrana," he whispered, amazed by her appearance. It was the first time seeing her in a form other than her human self, and even more astounding, she was living and breathing in the In-Between! He had heard about her transformation from Grandmaster Deitrux, but the knowledge paled in comparison to seeing the real thing with his own eyes. "It really is you, well sort of. You look ... healthy," he said, his voice suspiciously shaky.

Outside, Terrana couldn't believe who she was seeing. Her eyes widened and the flames flickered wildly around her face. She spoke, even though the In-Between blanketed her voice. "Master Drummik? You didn't die!" She started to shake as happiness and relief coursed through her. Master Drummik reached out to touch the glass and Terrana did the same, placing the palm of her hand against his. Tears spilled out her eyes and Terrana felt herself becoming more human. Her flames started to die out.

Through the glass, Master Drummik noticed a dark liquid spill from her tear ducts, only to evaporate into the In-Between. He watched in confusion as she flickered like the flames of a dying candle, losing her brightness. Her body was becoming solid and she looked more human. Terrana gasped and
grabbed her throat, and to his horror, he realised that she was transforming into her human form.

"
Dartkala! We have to get her inside the ship immediately!"
he shouted
. "She's dying outside
!" He spun around to race to the airlock but Lakara stopped him.

"The grandmaster has already gone to fetch her."

The
Dark Star
chugged its way through Sector One, a dented tin can carrying battered passengers who wanted nothing more than to return home. For some of them, that home would or would not be waiting for them, and they looked out anxiously, hoping to catch any sign that Pa Gumpina still existed.

Oddly enough, they passed through several checkpoints without being flagged down — which wasn't a good sign. No one responded to their transmissions, which they broadcasted constantly.

As they continued through the In-Between, they encountered stranger things; damaged ghost ships tumbled by, a mashing of evacuation vessels and fighter crafts. The Imeldors shook their heads in disbelief as they saw gigantic blocks of former ships cut down to nothing more than building blocks. The edges of these blocks where they had been blasted apart were smooth, lacking the jagged contours and burn marks that were often left behind from standard military weapons.

“What weapon could have caused them to come apart like that?” Drummik asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself," muttered the grandmaster. "I would have inferred that UWIB has been keeping secrets of its own, developing secret weapons except …"

"Except those are mainly UWIB crafts destroyed out there and so it would be Pa Gumpina that has been developing secret weapons," finished Lakara. 

Grandmaster Deitrux tried to hide his scowl. He did not like the implication that Pa Gumpina had been developing destructive weapons behind UWIB's back, but at the same time he was filled with hope that the planet had survived.

"The
Dark Star
hasn't been able to detect any life signs," said Eliksha, "and the evacuation ships look empty. Where're the bodies? We should have seen at least a few bodies floating in the void."

"You asked too soon," said Lakara. Her voice was strangely detached.

They were coming up to a massive station, the first one since their exit from the Voron Cloud. Printed in large letters on its side was
AlKalindrome 77
. Terrana gasped; she remembered it as the evacuation station that she and the other students were headed for before they had been attacked by the wrails.

It was encased in some kind of amber material, trapping everything inside. Bodies bumped against the material, their faces completely lifeless, but in some strange way they looked happy, as if they had made a choice that satisfied them.

"They chose to die," said Eliksha, gazing at the bodies in horror. "Judging from the open airlocks, they came out on their own rather than remain inside with the others."

"I wouldn't have called that a choice," said Master Drummik, sounding angry. "It was either that or be eaten."

"Or eat," added Lakara. "That amber material is Sector Six standard containment issue. Saliaphane, if I'm correct."

"Yes, developed by Gratch and
galaported to Sector Six. Only the queen and her world hold exclusive rights to saliaphane," said Grandmaster Deitrux.

"What does that mean?" asked Master Drummik.

"I don't know yet," replied the grandmaster.

They continued past
AlKalindrome 77 in grim silence, wondering what else they would see or, even worse, not see. Their course was plotted directly for Pa Gumpina, a decision that not everyone was comfortable with. When Lakara had questioned the grandmaster's wisdom, he had snapped angrily at her.

"I don't care what the UWIB Council thinks! They can go to hell if they expect us to deliver a status report to them first. If they have a problem with it, they can come to us. I am going to Pa Gumpina!"

No one brought the subject up again.

"Lakara, how long before the void-drive is ready?" asked the grandmaster.

"Not too long. It's nearly cooled down." Lakara had come through for all of them, managing to repair the void-drive despite it being badly damaged. However, because they lacked certain components, she hadn't been able to repair it completely, and therefore she was unable to prevent it from overheating. This forced them to pull out of void-drive frequently — now was one of those times.

"We should see the Nuclear Chain Matrix at the next point," said Grandmaster Deitrux. "Then we'll learn if our dear home still exists."

It was the moment of truth for them. They had successfully completed their mission, but with bitter losses, and if they were to discover, in spite of their success, that Pa Gumpina no longer existed, then whatever they had done and sacrificed so far would have been for nothing.

Even though they had lost valuable people during the mission, that would be nothing compared to the billions of lives lost on Pa Gumpina. Their frustration and pain would increase a thousand fold if they had to bear the sadness of losing all those lives. But at least they would not feel responsible for the carnage. That burden rested on the shoulders of the young girl standing with them.

They knew she wasn't to blame, but no one could deny that she had been the catalyst, the reason why the Valpuri had wreaked destruction, and no one understood that better than she did. Nashim had killed the Imeldors, L-Masters, and ordinary citizens to reach her. The Imeldors watched her nervously, wondering how she'd adjust to the situation.

"I'm still for altering her limbic system," murmured Eliksha to Grandmaster Deitrux. "Eradicating her emotions would prevent her from acting rashly, and it would keep her stable. She can be guided to learn what is wrong and right."

"No," replied the grandmaster. "She'd be nothing more than a robot. She's still a child, and who knows what altering her limbic system would do? She's part human, part feiyed. I'd not risk it."

"Grandmaster Deitrux, with all due respect Terrana is a mess! She's seen far too much death for someone her age. What makes you think she'll be able to cope when she sees an entire planet gone?" hissed Eliksha. "She's a sensitive child, and I'm only thinking of her welfare."

"You are underestimating her. The girl we took with us and the girl who's returned — they are different."

"Well, of course she is. She was human when we left and now she's —" she glanced around nervously to check that no one could overhear them, "something more. We have no idea how she'll react when and if we discover Pa Gumpina no longer exists."

"You are listening too much to your head, Eliksha. Speak with Terrana, but don't just speak. Listen to her. Listen to how her heart beats, for if you do, you'll realise that she is okay. Something in her knows that her friends and Pa Gumpina still exist. You need to have a little faith."

"Something in her knows? Up until you told her that Nashim killed her family, she believed that she had done it. I don't think you can ask me to have a little faith!"

"I can. I also believe that Pa Gumpina survived."

Terrana had wandered away from the rest of the group and she was now huddled in a large pod facing away from the window, staring mindlessly at the control panel in front of her. Earlier, she had guessed it was the ship's translator unit although it hadn't been used once since they had left Pa Gumpina. She wasn't allowed to touch it, since her body would spark off an electric charge strong enough to disable any unit in the ship if she came into direct contact with it.

She was still reeling from the shock of hearing the grandmaster's revelation about her family's death, and she was overcome with relief that she had not killed them. Nashim did. He had started the fire. She hadn't been able to stop crying afterwards and with each sob, her body became a little more human.

She glanced at her hands then. They were still glowing, but much less than before. Even before hearing the truth about her family, her human body had begun to regenerate, and it was fascinating to watch her veins pulse with blood as it flowed throughout her body.

As soon as Grandmaster Deitrux had brought her into the ship, he had wanted to place her in the medical bay, but she had refused. She hadn't wanted to be left alone with all the other comatose patients, and in the end the grandmaster had agreed to let her stay on the bridge on the condition that she touched nothing. She was feeling weak, but she hoped to regain her strength once they landed on Pa Gumpina.

Pa Gumpina.
Kazu. In her gut, Terrana knew Kazu was still alive. And if he was, then there was hope that the others had made it too. Lorn, Mikin, Prince Gil Ra Im, and the rest of them. She clenched her fists. She couldn't wait to see them. She missed them. Master Drummik's survival had only increased her hopes of seeing them alive. As she sat alone in her pod, she remembered the joy of seeing him when she was still plastered to the window, willing the Imeldors to let her in. She had never been happier to see him, and as soon as she was inside the ship, she had run over to him to make sure she wasn't imagining things. She replayed their conversation in her head.

"
I thought you were dead."

"
I nearly was. Nashim engulfed me with his smoke and I nearly burned alive."

"
So how did you get away?"

"
Illusionary weaving. Remember your memory training classes?"

"
Yeeeaaah."

"
Nashim's memory wasn't particularly sharp — I was able to weave certain exit points in the ship which he believed were walls or floors that led to nowhere. When his smoke engulfed me, I disappeared through the floor, leaving a clone of myself for Nashim. But he injured me enough and I passed out. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you awakened."

"
That's okay," she told him generously. "I'm just glad you're alive."

"
And I'm very glad that you are alive!" He did something unexpected then, pulling her towards him and hugging her. She found it awkward at first, but then she flung her arms around him, hugging him back.

"
Master Drummik?"

"Yes, Terrana.
"

"
Have you got any food? I'm hungry."

Master Drummik smiled and held her tighter.

She drifted off into a blank world again, unaware that sleep had overtaken her. Not knowing how many hours had passed, she was finally woken when the grandmaster's voice rang out excitedly.

"Pa Gumpina! She's there!"

Someone shook her and she looked up to see Master Drummik looking down at her. He was smiling, and she thought she had never seen him look happier. He gently took her hand and tugged her towards the window. "Come, Terrana," he said. As she approached the window with him, a beautiful blue-purple planet came into sight. Tears misted her eyes. Master Drummik squeezed her hand.

"It's still there. They'll be okay," he said.

"It's a graveyard up here!" exclaimed Eliksha, looking around the void now that she knew Pa Gumpina had survived UWIB's attack. "The pins around the planet are broken. The Nuclear Chain Matrix has been destroyed!"

The Nuclear Chain Matrix was the weapon that UWIB had intended to use to destroy Pa Gumpina. It was once a gigantic tower which spun slowly above the planet, but now it drifted in large pieces in an artificial gravitational belt, along with the odd fighter craft.