Paws and Planets Read online

  “I will, I will,” he cried, flapping his stubby wings. He was too young to understand that this was not goodbye but farewell. The short-range ship to planet communications connection began to crackle more and more as the Limokko gained speed and the distance between them increased.

  “Good luck Maru,” his parents said in perfect unison.

  Maru watched as the image of his family faded into nothingness.

  He would watch and listen to the recording many times during the months and xanus ahead.

  * * * * *

  ‘The Intrepid Adventurers’, as the irrepressible Wharua was describing the occupants of the five ships (the name was becoming most popular amongst all but the Dglai) had been on their deep space exploration for three xanus and often found time lying most heavily on their wings. Now though, they were fast approaching another solar system in their sector of the galaxy.

  Such occurrences always gave rise to a considerable amount of excitement amongst the one hundred and twenty-five occupants of the Limokko. There was always the chance that this one would possess, orbiting its sun, a viable planet for colonisation. The six systems they had already surveyed had not.

  If the information the close proximity probes sent back proved negative yet again then it had been decided that each spaceship would send out one of its Botons, the long-range self-sustaining probes designed to travel ever onwards through the galaxy sending back information pertaining to any planets with a possible viable eco-system as it went. Each ship had five times five Botons in its hold-space.

  The Botons were powered by a high-density crystal connected to tiny solar panels which could draw in the heat from any sun and which a mechanism within converted into energy which the crystal could draw on.

  The finest scientific minds of Daiglon from all five landmasses had come together to design them, a rare show of joint-endeavour.

  “What are the scanners telling us?” asked Zanua of Maru who was once again on bridge-duty.

  “Nothing as yet,” he answered, “but this system does look more hopeful than the others we have seem, the third planet most specially. There are indications that there is an atmosphere and water.”

  “Then we must all orbit it,” Zanua decided. “I’ll talk to the other Susas. At least this sun is strong and hot enough to help replenish our panels, not that we’re anywhere near danger level yet but they can always do with a top up.”

  Maru fully expected that the Limokko, in the front again would soon be leading the other four into a wide orbit. However, the Dglai had other ideas. If indeed they had found a suitable planet they wanted to be the first to survey it and not meekly follow on behind.

  Maru listened to the one-sided and increasingly exasperated conversation between Zanua and the Susa of the Dglai.

  Eventually, Zanua shrugged her wings.

  “If you must,” Maru heard her say and concluded that his Susa had lost the argument with her bombastic Dglai counterpart.

  Not for the first time he wished the authorities on Daiglon had appointed an overall commanding Susa for the mission, a Susyc, but alas they had not.

  “The Ammokko will go in,” Zanua announced in an emotionless voice. “They have claimed the honour,” and Maru watched on one of his visual screens as the Ammokko of the Dglai veered away to begin her approach.

  The Limokko, the Silokko, the Jamokko and the Nizokko would continue to journey and wait for the Ammokko’s report.

  Maru tried to keep a lid on his rising excitement as one tvan passed another. How wonderful it would be if they and located a new home so soon and after only three xanus out!

  They would be able to return to Daiglon with their news, Ruzas all, Heroes of Daiglon. More importantly, the planet was close enough to Daiglon so that the transfer of most of their kind would be possible before life on Daiglon became untenable.

  He would be able to save his little brother!

  Maru’s large brown eyes misted over as he thought about Rezu, so full of life and stuck on the dying planet. So unsuspecting about the time bomb he was living under.

  He watched as Dabu, a close friend of his, sent an initial dat-message back to Daiglon. Communications between the five and their planet had been intermittent of late as the distance between them grew. Soon they would be out of range, any signals dissipating into the nad, the nothingness that typified space.

  Soon the only way to make contact would be by sending back one of their probes to inform their people about their progress, or lack of it. Also, the further out they went, the fewer they would be able to save if they did find a new home.

  Maru wasn’t panicking yet but the first niggling feeling of doubt were settling in.

  The Dglai reported back seven ship-days later.

  The planet was unsuitable for protracted occupation. It did have an atmosphere but it was too thin on oxygen to sustain life on a long term basis.

  The ‘Intrepid Adventurers’ sighed and set off towards the next solar system.

  Their ability to contact Daiglon directly ceased when they were half way towards it.

  * * * * *

  When Maru had left his planet he had been one hundred and seven xanus old, a young Lai, he had been in fact, the second youngest in the crew. Only Wharua was younger than him and that only by a few xanus.

  Now, almost fifty xanus later, he was in the prime of his life, a handsome, gleaming, golden Lai. The paler goldy shades and hues of his youth had darkened and his hide glistened with health.

  As he became older, his hide would continue to deepen until as the evening of his life approached, it would start changing into a burnished bronze and as twilight beckoned the bronze would begin to dull down to brown.

  But that was many hundreds of xanus in the future. A Daiglon could live for over eight hundred xanus.

  But his chronological age was not what concerned Maru. They had not yet found a planet suitable for occupation and the five spaceships were now so far away from Daiglon that they would, even if they found one, be hard pressed to get back in time. The crews of all five were growing disheartened and in the Dglai’s case, angry, at this failure. Of course by now other convoys would also have set off and have been searching for some time. Maru could only hope that they had found the new home of their dreams as the Limokko had not.

  There had been heated conversations of late between the five ships, two crews were wanting the convoy to split up, to enable them to extend the search pattern. Three believed that the success criteria had been set impossibly high but that they should make do with a planet (they had come across one) on which, even if it did not meet all the standards, could sustain life.

  Opinion remained divided.

  The Rai were loudest in their insistence that the five should split up so they could search a larger area. If they did not return home with news of a new home soon there wouldn’t be time for even a fraction of Daiglon’s inhabitants to head out for their new home before the eco-system collapsed (if it hadn’t already).

  The Sbnai were also tending toward this view.

  The Dglai (surprisingly), the Brai (the most timid of the five rtaths) and the Lai were convinced that they should all stay together at least for a while longer.

  The solar system they were approaching was a promising one. The Nahoko probe had sent back data indicating that the third planet from the sun more than met their needs. There were no visuals, the probe was either malfunctioning or it had managed to wedge itself deep within a rock fissure but there was water, oxygen and traces of a luxuriant insect life.

  * * * * *

  Danua entered the domta, the cavernous deck space on the Limokko where the crew spent their off-duty time.

  It was big enough for them to fly around (with due care), a necessary thing for the Lai in order that they could keep their wing muscles in trim. Gravity levels on the Limokko and her sister ships were set at a lower level than on the planet to conserve energy.

  Danua was looking for Maru. The two of them had begun to b
e drawn to each other and Danua had decided that it was time to do something about it.

  They were not by any means the first couple to declare themselves and to become eln. Other duos had moved into one or another of their dagas. Wharua was pregnant. Her eggs would be the first to hatch on the journey.

  It was rare for Daiglon to mate out with their rtath’s landmass although it could and did happen. Zanua, their skipper, was emotionally entangled with her counterpart on the Brai vessel and Danua had suspicions that she might be pregnant also. During the journey there had been a considerable amount of visiting between the ships. This had been encouraged to help combat boredom and squabbling amongst the crews cooped up together. Only the Dglai did not visit and discouraged visits in.

  Danua spied Maru. He was resting on the couch in his daga. She glided over.

  “I thought I might find you here,” she began with a coy look.

  “And where else is there to go might I ask?” he replied in a voice devoid of humour. He had been on duty on the bridge and Danua had been down in the store decks, tending to the stores.

  Although not yet at critical levels, supplies were diminishing and they would have to be replenished soon.

  Over fifty xanu’s worth of food had been stored, enough time, it had been thought for them to find a planet and return but it hadn’t worked out that way.

  “The Boton had begun transmissions,” he announced lazily to Danua as they lay, limbs and wings entwined, on Maru’s couch many tvans later. For once they had the domta space to themselves and they were making the most of it.

  “Did it have anything interesting to report?” she asked in a sleepy voice. Their lovemaking had been long and intense and she had other things on her mind other than the progress (or lack of it) of their mission.

  This was the twenty-fourth possible solar system they had surveyed and all without success; the seventh since the Sbnei had left them and the eighteenth since the Rai had gone.

  The Lai, the Brai and the Dglai were now on their own.

  He gazed at her with possessive fondness.

  He had a hunch that this last lovemaking had been both long and vibrant enough to produce seeds of life.

  They had been through too many occasions when the Boton had back-transmitted initially favourable data which had come to naught to get overly excited at the news.

  Long gone were the xanus when they had been looking for a replacement planet for their people. Maru was convinced their own planet must be dead now, his family too, unless some who had gone out after them had found the replacement.

  Maru tried to hold on to that thought, that either the Sbnai or the Rai or another had done it. The flip-side of his thoughts was too horrible to contemplate if he didn’t want to lapse into depression.

  Sometimes though, he couldn’t help but think about it and he knew Danua felt the same.

  * * * * *

  “So what happened when you reached Planet Earth Haru?” asked Niaill.

  Haru shook his wise old head. “So you still cling to that idea? I have told you again and again that there is no way we can know that the planet my ancestors visited belonged to your ancestors.”

  “I know,” answered Niaill, not a whit abashed, “but you can’t stop me believing that it was so. Tell me the story again … please.”

  “Yes do,” implored Taraya. “Is a good story, never mind the truth of where.”

  “It was the Earth,” insisted Niaill, stubborn to the last.

  “Well,” began Haru, “we know it must have happened a long time after the first xanus,” settling into a more comfortable position, “because the names of those involved are different.”

  “No Maru,” said Taraya with a sigh, “a pity, I liked him.”

  “But in his place we have Jaru and his brother Laru and the story tells us that they were the grandsons of Maru and Danua, though I don’t know if that is true or not. By this time only three ships remained, the Ammokko of the Dglai, the Jamokko of the Brai and the Limokko of the Lai. They were no longer searching for a home for those left on Daiglon, they were searching on their own behalf.”

  “Strange they had found nowhere,” commented Niaill, “there are quite a few planets in our sectors of outer space, Centurion, Earth, Riga, to name but a few. I’ve read it in the history books.”

  “One reason why I don’t think it could have been Earth we landed on. Settle down you two and I’ll get started … “

  * * * * *

  EPISODE 2 - EARTH

  Have you ever wondered where our legends about dragons come from?

  “The reports from the Boton became more encouraging as the probe entered planetary orbit and assessed the planet in more detail, breathable oxygen, an abundance of flora and fauna, seas alive with creatures and also land animals, some very large, as large as the Daiglon themselves.

  Excitement among the crews of the remaining three ships was at fever pitch.

  At last here was a planet that looked to be perfect.

  They flapped their wings with glee, hoping the Boton would not find any signs of sentience among the inhabitants.

  * * * * *

  “So we land?” asked Jaru of Laru.

  “Indeed we will. A Quorko from each ship,” answered Laru. “You will command, take Zanfanu. You are in overall command of the expedition.” He emphasised the adjective.

  “Is it wise to permit the Dglai to send one? I mean …”

  “Point taken, but there is no way I can refuse. They are very keen on this planet and I had trouble persuading them that three Quorko would be enough to ensure the success of the mission. Susa Quend wishes to send them all. He said if they all went that we could cover the planet that much quicker. He is not happy with the restriction but had accepted it. I believe however that the Dglai are already planning which areas of the landmasses should be theirs.”

  “Bit premature wouldn’t you say?” inquired Jaru.

  “I agree but even I have to admit that all the signs are right. It’s got a healthy eco-structure, cold and temperate zones, an atmosphere almost the same as our own, animals, land, water and air, even the carbon make-up. Like Daiglon in its heyday eh!”

  “Well, yes. The similarities are almost beyond being believable,” Jaru answered, looking at the scrolling data on the screen. “Your orders?”

  “Normal reconnaissance protocols. Samples of air, water and plant-life. Images of animal life. The usual. Remember if you can, to gather samples of the animal life but keep interference to a minimum and of course, any signs of sentience in any creatures you come across you leave immediately. There have been no signs of any so I think your reconnaissance should progress as planned.”

  “But if we so find a sentient creature, where will we get the badly needed stores for replenishment?”

  “We’ll find an area where they are not and take them from there.”

  “But, if there are no creatures with sentience,” said Jaru, hope rising, “this planet will be ours!”

  “Excitement on board is at an all time high,” agreed Laru as his intercom bleeped. “That’ll be the other ships telling us they’re ready. Off you go!”

  * * * * *

  It is beautiful, thought Laru as he steered his Quorko towards a large open area, interspersed with a few, small bushes of a nondescript type. The landing was accomplished without incident and he opened the air-hatch as quick as he could. He took breath after breath of the oxygen rich fresh air that flooded inside. It eddied around his body.

  He turned to look at Zanfanu who grinned back. Jaru manoeuvred his not inconsiderable bulk out of the operating wedge (the Lai did not sit on chairs), being careful not to get his wings entangled on any of the cockpit protuberances and took the few short steps to the open hatch.

  There he stood for a moment, savouring the vista that lay before him.

  Absolutely perfect in every way.

  He half-glided down from the hatchway and on to the springy turf, it wasn’t much of a glide, the
access hatch on a Quorko was only two velos from the ground. He wriggled his toes, laughing to himself as the soft green yet spiky carpet that covered the ground tickled in between them.

  “Jaru,” called out Zanfanu from behind, “move on and let me through.”

  Jaru laughingly complied. Both Lai lifted expectant heads at the sound of another Quorko appearing over the horizon.

  “It’s Dru and Anua from the Jamokko,” announced Jaru, squinting through the haze. “Good. As soon as Qian and Quort appear we can get started.”

  The Brai duo landed and soon Dru and Anua were standing beside Jaru and Zanfanu. The four of them discussed their first impressions in an animated fashion, looking up at intervals to see if the Quorko from the Ammokko was coming.

  “Where are they, thriple blast it,” declared the black-skinned Dru with impatience.

  No Dglai appeared and it began to dawn on them that their green-skinned cousins had ignored the agreed landing site and had gone out on their own.

  “Twice thriple blast it,” declared Jaru with annoyance. “Where are they?”

  “Probably somewhere where they shouldn’t be and doing something they shouldn’t,” said an exasperated Anua, the only female member of the exploratory team.

  Jaru was right to be a worried Lai but as he said to the other three, he was not altogether surprised. “They are a law unto themselves, should’ve guessed they might.”

  “We’ll get back to our Quorko and go look for them,” said Anua, her blue eyes narrowing with anger. She wanted to go and explore.

  “That would be best,” said Jaru. “Zanfanu and I will begin gathering the samples. Keep in contact at all times and once you’ve located them; call in with their location.”