Storm Over Saturn (5 page)

Erikk took a breath and soldiered on: "By our count, the SG has close to two million Starcrashers, and probably just as many smaller but no less lethal ships. If the SSG was somehow able to control the Big Generator, then only SG ships would be able to fly in Supertime. Only the SG would be able to fire the big weapons. The Space Forces would be impotent. The rest of the Empire's military services would be as well. The Solar Guards would become so powerful in that one stroke, they would take over the Galaxy in a week. Or even less."

Erikk indicated his colleagues around the table. The grand StarLiners did not rely on the Big Generator for power. The same held true for the UPF guys. But even combined, their forces would be minuscule, compared to theSG.

"We certainly couldn't stop them for very long," Erikk admitted. "And there are indications they'd be coming for us first."

Hunter just shook his head. This must be another symptom of his madness, he thought glumly. Another vision.

It was just too insane…

Erikk read Hunter's mind. "Like you, my friend, I needed proof," he said earnestly. "But be warned please, the proof might be even more astounding than what I have just told you."

Hunter knew the Legionnaire had a point. Where did this crazy story come from? How did his friends on this isolated planet, halfway up the Two Arm, thousands of light years from Earth, know these deep dark secrets about the SSG and them manipulating the Big Generator? Where was the proof?

At that moment, there was flash of green light in the room. An instant later, Hunter found himself staring up at a tall, dark person dressed entirely in black. He was wearing a large, floppy hat that hid his face and had a cape thrown dramatically over his left shoulder. There was still an aura of emerald light around him, the sign of a subatomic string transfer, an ability shared only among the very high Specials and their ilk.

In a snap, Hunter's ray gun was out of its holster and pointing into the shadow that was so expertly hiding this person's features.

"
Who the fuck
are
you
!" Hunter roared at him.

"You're very quick," the voice from beneath the large hat replied calmly. "But believe me, offing me now would be a great mistake. Though I know you would have little compunction in killing an Imperial spy."

Imperial spy
? Hunter thought. This really wasn't making any sense now. Why would such a person be allowed in the Star Legion's HQ?

He must be in the middle of an illusion
. It was the only explanation. Wasn't it?

The spy spoke again. "I know it's hard to believe," he said in his slightly echoing voice. "But I have come to help you, Mr. Hunter. Help
all
of you. And not for the first time."

Erikk gently put his hand on Hunter's arm.

"My friend," the Legionnaire said. "By all that is good in me, and my family, I believe this man speaks the truth. Just hear him out, please…"

Hunter reluctantly lowered his weapon. A sigh of relief went through the room.

The spy pulled his hat farther over his face. "What your friends have just told you is accurate," he said to Hunter. "The Special Solar Guards are indeed trying to manipulate the Big Generator, and the consequences will be as dire as they have warned you.

"Now, true, I am part of the Imperial Court. And I have sworn an oath to serve the Emperor and rid the Galaxy of any enemies it might encounter. You, Mr. Hunter, certainly qualify in that respect, as an enemy of the state.

"But at the same time I know that great institutions ebb and flow, and when the tide goes out, innocents are usually the first to suffer. Trillions of them may lose their lives if the SSG succeeds, and if they don't, the Galaxy might become dark again—and that, too, would be catastrophic. A new Dark Age could be upon us, and that adjective would have more meanings than just one. The chaos that would ensue would be unimaginable. Loyalty oath or not, I simply cannot let that happen, not when there's a chance I can do something about it."

Hunter thought a moment, then said, "Let's assume that what you say is so. What can any of us do about it? The regular SG have the One Arm sealed off. I'm sure the Pluto Cloud is an impregnable fortress by now. And Earth itself? The entire Space Forces fleet would probably not be able to fight its way in and somehow rescue the Big Generator from the SSG. And that's even if the SF was working at full power."

He looked around the table. No one argued with him.

"All true," Erikk said. "But there might be another way. Our unusual visitor here came to us with this information, at great risk I might add, thinking that we might have the solution to it. And, as it turns out, we might…"

Hunter spread his hands before him, as if to say,
OK, let me hear it
.

Erikk took the cue. "Good friend, Hawk," he began. "Obviously the SSG have their best experts trying to attempt this manipulation of the Big Generator. Their mad scientists, if you will."

Hunter nodded. "Obviously…"

Erikk almost smiled. "Well," he said. "We might have a mad scientist of our own."

Hunter laughed. "Really? I didn't think any of us were that smart."

"We're not," Erikk replied. "But we might know the whereabouts of someone who is."

Erikk turned to the ancient Quasar TV. "And the person we seek," he said, "is a friend of
his
.…"

The TV's test pattern suddenly disappeared and was replaced by the image of a man dressed in a very old space-suit, bulky and gray. The spacesuit was adorned with four letters: NASA. This man, Hunter knew, was more than 5,000 years old and was an astronaut. Literally, an Ancient Astronaut.

Like Hunter, he was also an American. And like Hunter, he had been taken out of his time and thrust forward into the future, for a purpose beyond anyone's complete understanding, but apparently to counterbalance the forces of evil that were running rampant throughout the Galaxy no matter what time frame one found themselves in. This man rose to the occasion, creating the very mysterious Third Empire—about which very little was known these days—and restoring justice to the Galaxy after the catastrophic reign of the bloody Second Empire. As a reward for his heroics centuries before, the Astronaut had been given what was apparently an eternal life. At least, so far.

It was to him that Hunter went for help in gathering the forces needed to defeat the rampage of the devilish REE It was then that Hunter realized this strange man and he were of the same blood, too. His story someday might fill yet another book, if not two. But suffice to say, the Star Legionnaires were his men, and they were brave and loyal and believed in the same things as Hunter: freedom and fairness, not just for some, but for all.

The TV screen got brighter. This transmission in real time was coming from across the Galaxy, from the mysterious Seven Arm. As always, the Ancient Astronaut was in bed, propped up by a dozen or so pillows, being attended by two lovely nurses in short white skirts. And of course, he was drinking a Tang martini through a straw.

The Astronaut spoke: "This individual Erikk has told you about appeared on the scene about the same time I did. We were colleagues, in a way, as we both flew in space back in those early days. And we were both chosen, Hawk, just as you were, to help save the unfortunates of the Galaxy, and thus help save the Galaxy itself. And in that cause, he and I succeeded together. He helped build the Third Empire. He was as committed to it as I was—though I must admit, we didn't always see things eye to eye"

Hunter was listening closely now, but at the same time he couldn't help but be amazed by the talking image. The Third Empire had many technologies that weren't apparent in the current realm, ideas that had been lost over the centuries. The Ancient Astronaut was speaking to them from his house at the end of the Seven Arm on a world called Far Planet. Yet he seemed as if he was right there with them, as close as the bedroom upstairs maybe, so clear and crisp he looked. Very strange…

The Astronaut continued: "Then, as you know, came a time when the Third Empire was forced to withdraw. We did this to save billions of lives across the Galaxy. When this happened, this individual chose to stay behind, to remain within the realm. Because he was still a very powerful person, the new rulers of the Galaxy knew they had to reach an agreement with him. He would give them no trouble if they promised to treat the citizens of the Galaxy with respect. Well, that went right out the window as we know, but this man held to his side of the bargain. He wanted only one thing from the new rulers in return."

"And that was?" Hunter asked.

The Astronaut looked over to Erikk. "Can you please explain it to him?" he asked his commander. "I don't think I can do it with a straight face."

This mystified Hunter further.

Erikk looked around at his colleagues and then the spy. The next few words would indeed have to be delivered soberly. It was going to be hard, though.

"This individual asked…" he began stammering. "His request was, well… he
demanded
in return for him laying low, that they allow him to build… what used to be called… well, an
amusement
park."

Time to go
, Hunter thought. Even if this was reality, it had just become plain silly.

"Did you just say, 'amusement park?'" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, he did," the Astronaut replied. "That was his deal. They would allow him to build a place filled with attractions, thrills, spills—you get the idea?"

"They used to call them
dizzylandos"
the spy interjected. "Places where citizens would climb into various contraptions that would then move them in very strange manners with the intent of scaring the hell out of them, all for their enjoyment. An unusual idea, no?"

The Third Empire guys just shrugged. They had carnivals and fairs back in their little piece of the Galaxy, but a dizzylando was a bit beyond their understanding. The same went for the UPF officers.

Strangely, though, Hunter seemed to recall the concept. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his memory, he pulled up bits and pieces of these places, where people went to laugh at being frightened. Back then, they had a similar name.
Was it Dizzy Lands
?

"If what you say is true," he said now, "this was a strange thing for him to ask for."

"
Very
strange," the Astronaut agreed. "Nevertheless, the early rulers of the Fourth Empire let him build it. It had many so-called amusements, many scary rides and attractions, but it went much beyond that. It was infinitely more sophisticated than a typical dizzylando. It contained many imaginary places. Places built to look like other places. Things of that nature. And all of it absolutely realistic, as it was constructed with the same technology as used in terra-forming."

"Amazing," Hunter heard himself say.

"Even more so," the spy explained. "As far as we can tell, no one ever went to the place—except for its creator."

"He built it for himself?" Hunter asked.

The Astronaut just shrugged. "That's the way it looks," he said. "He became a recluse. An eccentric. He had trouble dealing with this reality. So he created one of his own and then went to live within it."

"Weird…"

"Well, he's a weird individual," the Astronaut went on. "And he has a very weird sense of humor."

"And you think he is still there—at this place?"

"We hope so," Erikk said uncertainly. "But truth is, he hasn't been seen in centuries. Not since the very beginning days of the Fourth Empire, am I right, sir?"

Everyone in the room turned back to the TV set. "Well, he's as old as I am, let's put it that way," the Astronaut said. "And he stayed close to Earth when I chose to leave. I can't blame him, I guess. We all had to make tough decisions back then. To each his own.

"But as odd as he might be, he
is
a genius when it comes to power-producing technology. That was definitely his forte. The core sources, the generation. The very
mystery
of Super electricity… If there is one soul in this Galaxy who can help with what might be a catastrophic situation, it is him. He will know what to do with this Big Generator business. He will know how we can attack the problem from our end. Or at least I hope he will."

"So, where is this guy?" Hunter asked now. "And where is this amusement park of his?"

Erikk said, "Well, that, too, is strange, Hawk…"

He waved his hand, and instantly there was a three-dimensional star map hovering above the table. Another wave of his hand, the map became more detailed. But Hunter found himself not looking at some far flung star system, but rather into the heart of the Solar System. The
original
Solar System. More specifically, he was looking at Saturn, its rings and its many, many moons.

Erikk indicated those moons.

"His dizzylando is down there, somewhere," he said. "And so is he."

"Saturn?" Hunter asked, astonished. He'd just assumed the mystery man, while still technically located within the realm, had fled to another part of the Galaxy, just as the Astronaut and his army had withdrawn to the edge of the far-out Seven Arm.

Never did he think he would have stayed inside the Solar System itself.

"As part of his pledge, this man was given a bunch of Saturn's moons and the use of the last of the original Ancient Engineers, or the secrets thereof," Erikk explained. "He was given the ability to change these moons into anything he wanted for his dizzylando. Each moon being a separate attraction. That was his deal."

Hunter studied the moons spinning around the huge ringed planet. Between the real ones and all the artificial ones put up over the centuries, there seemed to be hundreds of them.

"I can confirm his moons have been off limits to even

the highest Specials," the spy told them in his darkly regal way. 'Their very existence, and the way they were altered, is one of the Five Secrets held by the Empire. You won't catch any of the Imperial Family out there, just like you won't catch any of them on Luna. The Solar Guards avoid the place religiously, too, even though, as you know, they are all over Saturn itself."