Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (34 page)

“Um… maybe we should do what the creepy robed guy wants?”
Jack suggested, his voice sounding meek after the rumblings of the figure
before them.

“That thing is a Deathlord,” sneered Sergeant Rodham.  “I’d
rather die than kneel before it—”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the figure’s
hand shot forth, reaching toward him.  Sergeant Rodham jerked upright, his body
arcing backwards.  His mouth opened in a terrifying scream as the ghostly form
of his body ripped from his skin and snaked with frightening speed to the
clawed fingers of the robed figure.

Rodham’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

“NO!” screamed Ganix.  Without wasting another moment, he
opened fire on the figure, and those in the group with weapons followed suit,
unleashing deadly plasma blasts upon the seated figure with a fury.

Jack watched for what seemed like an eternity as his group
blasted away at the figure, until finally, they ceased fire.  The smell of
burnt ozone from all the blaster fire assaulted Jack’s nostrils, and he looked
at the seated figure as it towered above them, unmoving.  The only sound was
the ragged, frightened breaths from the men in his group.

“Kneel before your master…” came the figure’s voice again.

“Crikey,” breathed Scallywag.  “It’s still alive…”

“Nothing could have survived that,” cried Yeoman Porter. 
“We blasted him with direct fire for a good minute.  How can it still be alive?”

“Probably because it was never alive to begin with,” said
Heckubus.

Jack looked at the robot.  “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I’m getting no heat signature from the throne,” said
Heckubus.  “There are no sounds of breathing, heartbeat, or any other signs of
life.  Whatever is sitting up there is definitely not organic.”

“Probly because it’s a bleedin’ Deathlord!” grumbled Faruuz.

“Deathlords are not organics, true,” replied Heckubus.  “But
they do possess energy signatures unique to their race, and I am not reading
any such energy from whatever is sitting on that rather gaudy throne.”

“Coulda shared that little tid-bit before we emptied half a
battery into the blasted thing,” muttered Scallywag.

“Oh, so
now
you want to hear my opinion?” chided
Heckubus.

“If it’s not alive, and it’s not a Deathlord… then what is
it?” asked Jack.

“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s some sort of machine,”
replied Heckubus, the gears in his head audibly whirling.

“Whatever it is,” said Ganix, “it has proven it can kill any
of us it wants with a flick of its wrist.”

“Only after he said he wouldn’t… um, you know… do what it
wants,” said Jack.  “I mean, if it wanted us dead, why ask us to kneel before
it?”

Ganix scowled.  It was obvious he did not like his options.

“Major?” prodded Yeoman Porter.  “What should we do?”

Ganix looked at Jack and sighed.  “I guess we kneel,” he
said.

Jack nodded and dropped to one knee, followed by Ganix.  One
by one, the others followed suit. Beside Jack, Grohm stood defiantly looking at
the robed figure.

“Hey, big guy,” whispered Jack.  “C’mon, kneel.”

“Grohm kneels before no one,” grumbled the Rognok.

Scallywag rolled his eyes.  “Here we go… blasted Rognok
pride.”

“Tell you what,” said Jack, ignoring Scallywag’s comments. 
“Just kneel until we find a way out of here.”

“Grohm kneels before no one.”

“We won’t tell anyone, promise.”

“Grohm kneels before–”

“Okay, okay,” said Jack.  “What about sitting?  Will Grohm
sit
before someone?”

Grohm’s large black and red eyes looked at Jack
suspiciously.

“Just get down here with the rest of us for a little while,”
said Jack.  “And when we find a way out of here, you can start smashing stuff
to make up for it, okay?”

Grohm snorted, glancing back up toward the robed figure,
which seemed to be waiting patiently.  Finally, the large Rognok lowered
himself to the floor, sitting down beside Jack.

“Thanks, big guy,” said Jack.

The Rognok grunted defiantly.  “Grohm smash,” he grumbled.

“Promise,” nodded Jack.  “You can smash all you want.”

Ganix looked around at the group, now all on their knees. 
His eyes moved to the robed figure on the throne before them, sitting still and
silent.  “Now what?” he wondered aloud.

Then, a low hum began to emanate from all around them.  A
few of the men clasped their hands to their ears as the hum grew louder.  Jack
could suddenly feel the pressure of the sound building around his body, as
though heavy weights were being stacked on his back.  All said, it was not the
most pleasant feeling he’d ever experienced.

The robed figure’s head moved.  For the first time it lifted
its gaze at the group, revealing itself.

It had no face; instead it was composed of smooth black
stone with three holes in it, two where the eyes should have been, and one
where the mouth should have been.  Each hole was large, about the size of a
fist, and each began to glow with an eerie white light.

The floor before the throne began to warp and twist, growing
into a perverted looking altar adorned with various jagged edges and spikes. 
In the center of the altar, a holographic image of a planet appeared, hovering
over it.

The planet was white, dry, and pocked with craters.  In a
way, Jack thought it looked like Earth’s moon, but something was off about it. 
It seemed to glow, and the surface of the planet appeared to shift slightly as
though the ground itself were alive and moving.

“Behold,” echoed the chilling voice of the figure.  “The
ghost planet of Terahades.”

“Ghost planet?” muttered Jack, wondering what the heck that
meant.

“After our victory at the battle of Tarchimache,” continued
the figure, “during the scourge, our enemy grew desperate.”

“The Scourge,” gasped Ganix.

Jack could see the look of surprise on the Major’s face.  “He’s
talking about the time when the Ancients and their technology disappeared?”
Jack asked.

“Looks like they didn’t disappear, lad,” muttered
Scallywag.  “Apparently they were exterminated.”

Before Jack could ask anything else, the figure continued.

“We pursued our enemy as they retreated into the Veil
nebula…” the voice droned.  As it did, the image of the planet faded to a star map,
pointing out the site of the nebula to which it was referring.  “Resistance was
slim.  We were confident we would be able to destroy them with ease.  But we
underestimated our enemy.”

The image of the Veil nebula grew, showing Jack and the
others a beautiful blue and purple cloud that stretched out far and wide across
space. 

“The nebula interfered with our technology, rendering us
blind to the trap our enemy had set until it was too late.  During the Battle
of the Veil, our enemy was somehow able to manifest the planet of Terahades,
trapping our armada within its core.”

“They did what now?” asked Jack.

“The Ancients…” said Ganix.  “It’s saying they manifested a
planet
.”

“You mean that quantum stuff?” asked Jack.  “They made an
entire planet appear out of nowhere?”

“Interesting…” said Heckubus, twiddling his fingers. 
“There’s never been a recorded quantum manifestation of something as large and
complex as a planet.”

“We had underestimated the abilities of our enemy,” the
figure continued.  “Terahades became the prison which held the bulk of our
armada.  The planet itself is in a constant state of dimensional flux.  Whether
this was intentional or evidence of our enemies’ inability to control their
powers, we do not know.  But because of the nature of its creation, it exists,
and yet, it does not exist…”

The image above the altar shifted back to that of the
planet.  “Terahades is constantly moving through dimensions, even though it is
always anchored in our own.  Because of this flux, the planet can be accessed
from your space and time, but those trapped there cannot leave it.”

“Brilliant,” said Heckubus.  “If the planet is constantly
moving through dimensions, those trapped inside it – or even on the surface of
it for that matter, would never be able to leave.  If they did, the chances of
them coming back to their own space and time would be astronomically slim.”

“So ya can check in, but ya can never check out,” muttered
Scallywag.  “Sounds like hell.”

“Our enemy designed Terahades to be the perfect prison,”
continued the figure.  “After the battle, they set about making it impossible
for anyone to gain access to it, for fear of the possibility that our invincible
armada might once again be released upon the universe.  The Veil keeps its
location hidden from all technology.  The enemy seeded the nebulous cloud
surrounding the Terahades oasis with mines to ensure the destruction of any
ship that approaches it.  Even if you were to find the ghost planet, it is protected
by a planet-wide energy shield strong enough to withstand even our most
powerful weapons.”

“A planet-wide shield?” said Scallywag.  “How’s that even
possible?”

“The energy requirements for a shield that big alone are
prohibitive,” said Heckubus.  “And to have it be strong enough to keep out all
enemy weapons’ fire…”

“Sounds like the Ancients didn’t mess around,” said Jack.

“That’s putting it mildly,” said Ganix.

“And past the energy shield is the last line of the Ghost
Planet’s defenses,” said the figure.  “The surface of the planet itself is
designed to drain the life force out of any who sets foot upon it.”

“Dude…” whispered Jack.  As if all that other stuff wasn’t
cool enough, the planet also had life-sucking dirt to boot.

“Our brothers have been trapped in Terahades for far too
long,” rumbled the figure.  “You are commanded to find this ghost planet and
free those confined within it.  When you do, our invincible armada will once
again sweep across the galaxy and finish our glorious work.”

The holographic image of Terahades disappeared, and the
altar began to deconstruct itself, receding back into the floor from which it had
come.  The lights from the figure’s face faded, and it slumped back into its
throne once more.

“Go forth and serve your Masters,” echoed the voice.  “Serve
the Lords of the Void.”

A moment passed as the group sat in silence.

“Observer help us…” muttered Yeoman Porter.  “They must be
the great enemy the history books talk about – the ones that destroyed the Ancients!”

“You mean you’ve never heard of these ‘Lords of the Void’
guys before?” asked Jack.

“Never by that name,” said Ganix.  “But if they’re who the
Deathlords answer to, then we may be in even more trouble than we thought.”

“Well, if that little slide-show is any indication of what
they’re up against, I’d say we’re pretty safe,” said Scallywag as he got to his
feet.  “If the Ancients designed that prison ta keep these Lords o’ the Void
in, I’m confident we ain’t seeing ‘em anytime soon.”

“I wish I could share your optimism, pirate,” said Ganix.

“Aye?  What’s got ya down, Major – the hidden minefield, the
impenetrable planetary shield, or the life-draining multidimensional planet? 
Even if the Deathlords were able ta find this planet, it would take more firepower
than their entire fleet has to get past all the defenses the Ancients put in
place.”

“True, it might take more than what the Deathlords have to
get past all those defenses,” said Ganix.  “Or, it would take just one person
with the ability to control Ancient technology.”

Jack felt a lump grow in his throat.  “Anna,” he said.

Ganix nodded.  “We thought the Deathlords might want to kill
her, or take her alive to hold the Empire hostage.  But if this thing is really
a message from their masters, then that means they’re planning to use the
Princess to free whatever is trapped there.”

“With an armada of ships that was able to defeat the
Ancients at their side, they’d be unstoppable!” said Yeoman Porter.  “With the
Deathlords, our ships at least stand a chance, but against that…”

Ganix got to his feet.  “We need to rescue the Princess,” he
said.  “The fate of the universe depends on it.”

“Great plan, Major,” said Scallywag.  “Except for the part ‘bout
how we still have no bloody clue how to get out of this hole.”

Suddenly, the steps to the platform before them began to
rumble.  The rest of the group scrambled to their feet and quickly leveled
their guns at the area as it morphed and opened up into a doorway.

Standing in that doorway, smiling his big, white, toothy
grin, was none other than Professor Green.

“Ah!  Jack!  There you are!” he said cheerily, as if he had simply
run into Jack during a leisurely stroll.

The entire group lowered their weapons and looked at Green
with surprise.  “Professor?” asked Jack, relieved to see a familiar face.  Jack
ran up and threw his arms around him.

“Sorry it took so long, my boy,” said Green, patting Jack
good-naturedly on the back.  “Glad to see you’re alive!  And it seems you’ve
met some friends?”

The group all stared dumbly at the overly cheery new
arrival.  Faruuz raised his hand awkwardly and waved.

“How did you find us?” asked Jack, breaking away from his
embrace.

“Funny thing, that,” smiled Green.  “I basically had to
deconstruct the entire Deathlord alphabet by accessing their databases.  It’s
quite a complicated language, but I was able to—well, I’ll spare you the
details.  But after accessing this panel in one of their generator rooms, I got
a message telling me I needed to come here and open this door.”

“A message?” asked Jack.

“Yes,” replied Green.  “I thought it rather curious, since
it’s entirely unlikely the Deathlords would have directed me to such an obscure
location on their own ship.  I mean, if they knew where I was, why not just
send soldiers to capture me instead of such a polite message?  So I took the
chance that you’d somehow found a way to communicate with me.  Always nice to
see I was right.  Good thing, too, since it seems this area can only be
accessed from the outside.”