Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life (28 page)

Zoren was sitting on a cold metal pedestal, fixed to the floor, in the centre of a depressing circular cell about five metres in diameter. The drab surrounding wall was speckled with a blue fungus-like mould, with some blooming in the area around three small dim lights on the wall. The little orange flowers were grouped in clusters, which casted eerie shadows within the room, and gave off a pungent sweet and acid scent. That, mixed with a musty odour from the ground, made the environment very unpleasant.

The door to the cell slid open revealing a brightly lit corridor. The inflorescence of the blue fungi turned towards the light and their shadows moved like a crowd of people rushing towards the doorway. Their petals spread wide to catch the rare opportunity of such a quantity of light.

Through glazed eyes, reddened by tears, Zoren squinted as he stared at the floor in front of the doorway expecting someone to enter. His will was broken; his hearts were empty, as he felt guilt for Sabri’s death. He kept going over everything that had happened since she was taken from the space station, searching for anything he had done wrong that could have resulted in her death. He disparately wanted to change things, to bring her back, and he was so obsessed and exhausted by the recent events that he had no energy or intention to face up to the present or future. He was motionless in the cell and time seemed to stand still.

‘Why you? Why did they have to kill you? Sabri, I miss you so much,’ he said quietly.

‘Zoren, it’s me! Kalrea,’ she said over the communications system within the cell. ‘I can’t see you, but I know you’re in there.’

‘Leave me alone,’ Zoren replied. Kalrea’s voice had made him realise where he was again. He felt the bump on the back of his head. Just touching it made him flinch, but even the pain could not stop him from thinking of Sabri lying in the box.

‘Zoren, you need to get off the
De’fego
and back to the
Aurora
. I’ve made sure no one can prevent you leaving and I’ve opened all the doors for you.’

Zoren rubbed his forehead.

‘Go away!’

‘You need to get moving. I’m not sure how much time you have before Lady Sathodee recovers and heads back to the
De’fego
.’

‘It doesn’t matter anymore,’ Zoren said, with remorse in his voice. ‘Sabri’s dead. Don’t you understand? She’s dead!’

‘Zoren, I know what you’re going through.’

‘How could you possibly know what I’m going through.’ Zoren felt angry. ‘You’ve never lost anyone close to you. I want to die, so I can be with her. I don’t want to live anymore,’ he said, and then thought repeatedly,
I don’t want to live anymore.

He started to sob.

‘Why?’ he said, staring towards the ceiling. ‘We were happy two weeks ago. Now look at me.’

‘I do know what it’s like, Zoren, to lose someone close.’ Kalrea sounded solemn. ‘I haven’t told you, but there was once another ship that was identical to the
Aurora
. It was called the
Pulsora
and also had a Xint nuronic computer onboard. His name was Sarhao. He was like a brother to me. Sarhao was killed when the
Pulsora
was destroyed. I felt I’d lost part of me; I felt grief for the very first time. You still have family here on this ship; they’re all family. Zoren, they’re all feeling how you feel. Don’t make it worse, please!’

‘I lost my son... We were going to have a son. I’ve lost everything I cared about. Damn the Xangols! I hope they rot in hell.’

‘Zoren, I know where the other Agonians are. They’re on a planet called Linud. I think you know that planet.’

‘That’s our homeworld,’ Zoren replied surprised.

‘Yes, and they need your help.’

‘My help! They don’t need my help. They need your help, not mine!’

‘Well, I’m not leaving without you.’

‘The longer you’re here the more of us will die, Kalrea. You’ve got to leave.’ Zoren was concerned.

‘Get your arse over here then, so we can go.’

‘That’s not fair.’

‘No it’s not, but if that’s the only way to get you out of there, then so be it.’

Zoren got to his feet and wiped his eyes. He was trying to compose himself.

‘I can’t stop thinking about her lying there. They took her life and put her in a box... they didn’t even care that she was going to have a baby.’

‘I know, but you have to pull yourself together, Zoren. Sabri would not want you to risk losing your life, like it happened to her. And if you stay there then that’s what will happen.’

‘I wish I was back on the space station and it was never attacked. I’d have lived out my life with Sabri. I would have been happy.’

He continued talking as he meandered slowly out of the cell, staring down at the floor.

‘I’m never going to see her again.’

His eyes were full of tears once more as he dragged his feet slowly along the corridor.

Kalrea is telling me to pull myself together, but what’s the point. I’m nothing without her
, he thought, and then shouted out, ‘She was my life!’

After a few minutes, Zoren looked up to see the exit to the
De’fego
. He glanced back along the last corridor. He had not noticed anything on his way; he had walked like a zombie. He took a deep breath and then wandered down the exit ramp of the ship. He noticed that the ground was blackened and some of the sand nearby was smouldering, and he smelt burnt wood in the air. He glanced to the
Aurora’s
Pojin lift and then, wondering what had happened, looked around.

‘Everything’s gone! The buildings, trees, everything!’

A haze of smoke was still lifting from the remains.

In the distance, he noticed the outline of a blackened figure, emerging from the haze, marching slowly towards him.

‘Who’s that?’ he said and then shouted out, ‘Is that you, Kalrea?’

The figure was holding something in its hand and raised it towards him.

That’s not Kalrea, that’s Lady Sathodee!’

There was a flash of light from the railgun in her hand, signalling a shot had been fired. Instantly he felt an intense ball of heat just missing the side of his face.

Damn! That was close.

His hearts started to race as more shots were fired. He turned and sprinted over to the
Aurora’s
Pojin lift. As soon as he entered, the door closed.

Bridge,
he thought calmly.

Just when he was about to give a sigh of relief, the lift was hit by two plasma rounds, punching holes in the door. He pressed himself up against the wall in fear of more, but the lift had now safely entered the
Aurora
. A few seconds later it opened onto the bridge.

‘What the hell were you doing? She almost killed you!’ Kalrea said, in an aggressive tone.

‘Kalrea, don’t lecture me! I’m not in the mood, all right? You told me to come back. I’m here! Aren’t we meant to be flying to Linud?’

Kalrea shook her head, before saying, ‘We’re already in the air.’

‘And what about all those ships in orbit around Trafth,’ Zoren said defensively, ‘Won’t they attack us?’

‘I’ve disabled the communication system onboard the
De’fego
. They have no idea what’s happening. We’ll be able to leave without any problem.’

Zoren noticed Hifmo lying against the wall.

‘Bastard!’ he shouted, and then rushed over to him. Hifmo flinched away as Zoren kicked out at him. ‘I’ll kill you, you murdering bastard!’

Hifmo curled up in a ball on the floor with his hands covering his face, as Zoren kicked him again.

Something’s not right!
Zoren thought. He stopped and turned to Kalrea, before asking,

‘What have you done to him?’

‘It was the only way I could find out where your people are,’ she said, walking over and handing the telementor back to Zoren. ‘He was wearing this, so I used it.’

Zoren’s mouth opened. ‘You mean you used it to access his mind.’

Kalrea nodded, but said nothing. She looked upset.

Zoren looked back to Hifmo, who was peering, with one eye, nervously out from behind his hands.

‘He looks so frightened.’

‘That’s because he is. He doesn’t know where he is, let alone who he is. I’m not proud of what I did to him, but I had no choice. I needed to know where your people had been taken.’

‘He got what he deserved!’ Zoren said, raising his voice towards Hifmo. ‘An eternity of being afraid.’

Zoren took a deep breath. His anger towards Hifmo suddenly felt without purpose. He felt a deep void in his hearts and stared down at the floor to see a tear dropping onto its surface.

Kalrea put her arm around him. He turned and embraced her. ‘Kalrea! I don’t know what to do.’ Tears started to flow. ‘While I thought Sabri could still be alive, I… I had a reason to live.’

The lift door opened and Zoren’s mother and Gulco hurried out.

‘Thanks for coming up,’ Kalrea said to them, while peering over Zoren’s shoulder. ‘He needs you more than ever.’

Zoren turned around. ‘Mum!’ He rushed over to her. The two embraced, holding each other tightly.

‘We’re here for you, Zoren! There-there, please be strong.’

The following day, Zoren was sitting all alone inside the Qinant shuttle within the cargo bay. He removed Sabri’s marriage band from his pocket and held it in his hands, feeling it slowly through his fingers. For a moment he felt happy, remembering the time when he had chosen it for their wedding, but all too quickly the image of her dead body returned to haunt him. He noticed Kalrea standing in the open doorway to the shuttle.

‘How are you feeling?’ Kalrea asked him. ‘Did you manage to get any sleep?’

Sleep!
he thought and then said, ‘Not really. How could I? When I try, all I see is Sabri in her red dress lying in that damn box. I can’t get that image out of my head.’

Kalrea got onboard and sat alongside him.

‘I wish I could help you, but I know how much you loved Sabri. It will take time to come to terms with your loss.’

‘I don’t think I ever will, Kalrea.’

Zoren placed Sabri’s marriage band on his wrist alongside his. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Kalrea said, ‘In time, I’m sure your grief will pass. Please try to be positive. Sabri would not want you to be like this.’

‘No, I know,’ Zoren replied, and then thought,
but I can’t stop myself. I wonder if she’s looking down on me now.

He turned to Kalrea and said, ‘Do you believe that our soul lives on after we die?’

‘Over the years I’ve come to know of tens of thousands of beliefs on that subject.’

‘I don’t want to know what others believe. I want to know what you believe.’

‘No one’s ever asked me that before. I like to believe that the soul, the inner-self, lives on after death.’

‘Do we still know who we are? Do we see our loved ones?’

‘Zoren, even with all my knowledge I can honestly say I’ve no idea. Only upon death will that become clear. I like to think that I was reborn as what I am in this life. Maybe I was Qinant or some other race in a previous life. Maybe I’ve already been reborn hundred or even thousands of times. Who knows, it could be that when you die you remember all those other lifetimes and it’s part of a greater learning experience that our soul goes through.’

‘So why do the Xangols want to cheat death?’

‘Because they’re afraid.’

‘
Afraid!
’

‘Well the Xangols believe that there’s no life after death and that the life they have is the only one they will ever have, and when they die they will cease to be.’

‘Oh,’ Zoren said.

‘But, no one lives forever. Xangols think they’re immortal, but that’s just a word. How can someone possibly have an unending existence? At some point in time the universe will cease and then so will they, so immortality is not really possible.’

‘If that’s the only thing that can end an immortal’s life, then I hope the universe ends today,’ Zoren replied.

‘That’s a bit drastic, Zoren. I’m sure that’s not the only way. For example, I don’t know of anything that can escape dark matter.’

‘You mean something like a black hole?’

‘Well if it doesn’t kill them, then I don’t see how they could possibly escape it.’

‘There’s a fat chance of that then. I want to be positive, but it’s hard to be,’ he said in a dejected tone.

‘I believe there are twenty-one of your people on Linud. Let’s not worry about the Xangols, think of them instead.’

‘How long will it be before we reach Linud?’ Zoren asked.

‘One day, twelve-point-three hours,’ Kalrea informed him.

Zoren shrugged his shoulders. ‘By then another twenty-one Xangols could have immortality and all the Agonians could be dead.’

‘I don’t think so. I believe Lady Sathodee was worried that if she carried on trying to sell them, then I would have easily intercepted her, so she asked her son, Lord Saylmon, to keep them. I’m sure she’s on her way to Linud now. We’ll arrive about five hours before her, so that gives us plenty of time to save them.’

‘What do you know of this Lady Sathodee?’ Zoren asked. ‘She makes me feel so inferior.’

‘Well she’s six hundred and twenty-eight years old, has had sixty-two husbands and mothered forty-five children over the years. All except one of those have passed on due to old age.’

‘So none of her family is immortal.’

‘That’s right, but for some reason she seems to have suddenly decided that she wants her latest son to become immortal.’

‘I would have thought she would have made him immortal first, before Hifmo,’ Zoren said.

‘He’s seventeen in three days time, the age of adulthood for a Xangol. Most of the immortals are that age. I believe the attack on the Polnozoo was with that in mind.’