The planet had been easy
to find once they were clear of the wormhole. Eric’s distress signal boomed out
over the speakers and Sam had homed in on it like a bat looking for hell. Entry
into the planet’s atmosphere was a much less comfortable procedure for everyone
due to the insufficient heat shielding of the home-made craft, but the Tartarus
got them through in one piece. It was daylight. Just like the first time. As
they dropped through the clouds Angelo wondered once more at how complete the
illusion was; beautiful forests, lakes and rivers that all looked so real and
inviting.
“Okay,” said Sam,
looking out of the window, scouring the countryside. “Okay pipples. Now you
take me to Eric.”
“Those mountains over
there, the valley is on the other side,” said Angelo pointing through the
windscreen. Sam patted the laser pistol on his hip, just to make sure it was
still there. It was one of those nasty little numbers that can cut through a one
inch I-beam like butter. He could hardly contain his excitement.
“Here we go.” His voice
dripped malice as he spoke. Angelo could see he was one of those people who
cared nothing for their own safety or for the price they had to pay to achieve
their goals. He didn’t even want to think about what Sam would do to them if he
couldn’t find Eric. Then the red mountain range loomed up ahead. In his hurry
Sam just managed to skim over the tops
and began reducing speed, humming a little ditty to himself as he adjusted the
controls for descent.
“That’s the valley.
They’re down there somewhere,” said Angelo. Sam settled his buttocks firmly
into the seat and everyone’s stomach lurched as he pushed forward the joystick
and swooped down into the valley like a falcon after its prey.
“Okay, somebody kip
talking to me or else I to do something crazy. Where we go...where we go?” he
said, chewing on his cigar.
Righteous seemed
unperturbed by Sam’s murderous intent. “He is here.”
“Better be…better be” he
said, reflexively flicking the safety catch on the ship’s proton-cannon button
open and closed. “If anyone tries funny business I blast them to hell.” He was
actually bouncing in his seat with anticipation. “And what the hell kind of a
place this?”
They were flying low along
the row of huge bone pillars that curved up and over them into the sky. In the
distance stood the citadel, gleaming in its glory. Angelo hoped he didn’t get
it in his head to start shooting at that. A lot of Ahram were going to die if
he did.
“He lives in those
mountains with some cave-women,” said Angelo, vaguely gesturing towards the
southern range. Sam, on an absolute hair trigger by now, was so pumped up that in
his eagerness to mount his arch enemy’s head on the bonnet of his spaceship, he
let loose two anti-matter torpedoes into the offending mountainside. Angelo shook
his head in disbelief as he watched the twin trails snake off into the distance.
This guy was nuts. Dangerous and nuts. The snake on the side of his neck seemed
to writhe with excitement as the chords and veins in his throat clenched and
contracted. He played with weapons of mass destruction as if they were toys.
The double thump-suck as the bombs exploded-imploded caused everyone’s ears to
pop and damned near downed the Tartarus in the backwash. Sam fought like a
maniac to keep from crashing to the valley floor. For some seconds it seemed
like the end of the line for them all, but then Sam sang with satisfaction as
the controls answered and they soared safely aloft again. Then the beam of
light from Dutch’s crozier pierced the sky like a beacon.
“There,” said Belle and
Angelo at the same time. “Noot,” said Noot from behind. Sam hauled the Tartarus
around in a torturous turn and aimed for the base of the light beam. Hunched
over the wheel, his eyes glued to the prize, Sam was actually drooling in
anticipation. Angelo was sure that if Eric was there in front of them somewhere
Sam would simply drive the spaceship straight into him and kill them all, the
guy was that crazy. Soon they could see movements and figures began to take
shape.
“See more lizards down
there,” said Sam, squinting through the haze.
“I think that’s Dutch,”
said Angelo. “Yes. Those are our friends. That’s where we want to go.”
“Here we go ladies. Hold
on to your panties.”
Sam angled the massive
deflector fins that directed the main rocket thrust, forwards and downwards and
the ship slowed to a quivering halt.
“This is going to be
fun.” Sam had to shout to be heard, for this was no quiet cruiser ship. It
sounded more like the hot-rod-from-hell without baffles.
“Happy landings,” said
Sam and set her down in a cloud of dust. He casually flipped a switch and
killed the engines. As they waited for the dust to clear, the silence made
their ears ring.
Ever eager, Sam was the
first to stand up in the open cockpit and survey the scenery, his cigar
indicating all points of the compass as he circled round. Then he turned to
face Dutch, bemused by her strange mode of transport.
“Interesting place,” he
said. “Interesting pipples.”
