The Dory Family Trip to Earth
Preenasette - Trun Rizontella - 2009
The Cast
Kean DeMancer, Commander Dori Mancer, Supreme Commander Domantry Zander, Commander Mavar Hallot, Sub Commander Blomquist Tray, Amir Sonia
The military apartments to the south of the Allacrom Central Command Centre in Trun Central Territories were as bleak as the surrounding landscape. Aesthetics were not at the top of the architect’s list during this development. Made from dark grey granite slate, they stood in endless rows of six-storey blocks. All that broke up this monotonous continuity was the interweaving elevated mono-tram lines, all heading to and from the north: to the Command Centre, the Space Hub and the training barracks.
Kean DeMancer was making his way to his father’s house. His mother Lizetter made sure he visited her ex-husband as least every ten days, since joining the Reticent Guard he was apt to find reasons not to go. He approached the ground floor apartment of block 2506H apprehensively and spoke into the voice recognition entry system. A moment later and he was walking into the kitchen where his father was drinking Comfier tea. The layout of the apartment was identical to his mother’s, but it couldn’t be any more different. One was a home, the other a place to sleep and eat.
‘Hello, Father,’ he said, helping himself to Cransome juice from the cooler.
His father, nose in some military document, looked up and smiled. A craggy, old wrinkly smile, but one with warmth. ‘Good morning, son. The gods of probability have ordained that we both get the same off-world posting. Who would have expected that?’
Kean breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. It appeared he would be spared the ritual admonishment from his father for not joining the Trun Squadrons after completing his military training two years before. He was expected by all and sundry to follow in his father’s footsteps, but, to his father’s disappointment, he had chosen a more covert career as an Infiltrator in the Reticent Guard. He hated the pomp and ceremony that was part and parcel of the Squadrons. He also wanted any advancement to be attributed to him, not who his father was. The main reason though, was that he was happier working alone than in a team, and in the RG that was considered a prerequisite.
He answered, ‘Yes. Who would have thought?’ His father looked very solemn, lacking any of his usual verve. Even when he was chastising him for abandoning family tradition, he did it with a certain charm and dramatic flair. That was missing today. ‘You don’t look happy about this posting, Father. Aren’t you pleased?’
‘No.’ He looked up, and Kean thought with surprise he was looking his age, something he was excellent at hiding. ‘I’m not. I’m the second-in-command of the Trun military, and I’m dragged away at a critical phase of the war with our aggressive neighbours to go and apprehend a teenage princess, for goodness sakes. I have at least two dozen men under me capable of this.’ He was getting flustered, his cheeks turning a dark sapphire blue.
Kean was confused. ‘Why has the Supreme Commander asked you, then? It seems strange.’
‘Zander hasn’t asked me. The order came from the council. He was outvoted.’
Kean knew that politics had become prevalent in the Trun military over the last few years, but knew better than to press his father on the matter. He changed tactics. ‘Do you know what my role is? My superiors have told me little.’
‘That’s because your superiors know little. They’re being frozen out of the decision-making process, as are we.’ Kean had never seen his father open up like this before and was starting to think that some of the vague rumours whispered by so many might well be true. His father continued, ‘I know what your assignment is, but it’s not my place to tell you. The Supreme Commander will tell you in a few days’ time.’ He considered for a moment. ‘What I can say is that your RG training will stand you in good stead, and I think you will do very well.’
A rare compliment.
‘You will be part of an advance party travelling by TW Sphere,’ his father continued. ‘And I will follow with a much larger military complement, a TC cruiser most likely. I’ll probably arrive a year or so after you.’
Kean knew that two-thirds of the known wormholes were too small for a vessel the size of a cruiser, whereas a sphere could navigate most of them. His father would have a longer, more convoluted route to wherever their destination was.
A few days later, and Kean was in a small anteroom at Allacrom Central Command, waiting to be briefed by the Supreme Commander.
When summoned to the meeting, he wasn’t surprised to see his father there, next to Zander. They had become friends eleven years ago when Zander had first taken the top job, a surprising appointment from the Three Cities Garrison, and one many had said had been engineered by Mancer. It had coincided with his parents’ breakup, so his father had diverted all his energy and skill into helping this young man succeed. Mancer was whispering something into Zander’s ear, and he was nodding.
There were three others around the table. One was Commander Hallot, and the other two, Kean assumed, were his companions for the trip to Earth.
Zander looked up to start the proceedings, his dark eyes giving away nothing about his mood.
‘I will go around the table and introduce you all.’ He looked to his left, past Mancer, to a small man in his early thirties. His mousy head cap was unusual for a Trun, they mostly had black caps that complemented their blue skin tone. The man scanned the table and nodded in acknowledgement. ‘This is Sub Commander Blomquist Tray, the pilot of this expedition. I will brief Tray separately, but for now, he is to get you to Earth.’ Zander looked in the direction of Kean and at the woman next to him. ‘He will land you in the southern part of this country.’ He pointed at a projected image of a map. ‘Once he has helped with settling you both in, he will return to a concealed orbit around the planet. We have some other jobs for him to do, but he will be there to relay your reports back to Preenasette, and liaise with Commander Mancer when he eventually arrives.’
He moved his penetrating gaze to Kean, who couldn’t help wincing slightly under the scrutiny. ‘This is Kean DeMancer of the Reticent Guard. He will make friends with one of the two human juveniles known to be associates of the Princess. A Jon O’Malley.’ He was looking at notes. ‘He is of a similar age and has a passion for bicycle riding, as do you. That will be the common interest to get you close to the Earth boy.’
Without hesitation, Zander moved his gaze to the woman on Kean’s left. ‘This is Amir Sonia.’ She was in her late twenties and had a serious expression. Kean was disappointed. He wasn’t exactly hoping for romance during the journey, but a bit of flirting on the way would have been fun. ‘Sonia will be tasked with seeking out the female, Amanda Walker.’
Finally, he nodded at the military man. ‘This is Commander Hallot. He will be coordinating the whole expedition and will report directly to me.’ It was evident there was a certain coolness hanging between these two men. From his RG training, Kean was picking this up in abundance.
Zander went on, ‘You have, no doubt, read the extensive notes sent by our operative in the Vercetian Life Team on Earth. Firstly, you will make no attempt to contact this agent. You will find all traces of his identity erased from the notes. Secondly, you are to be in a position to direct Commander Mancer’s forces straight to the Princess’s location upon his arrival.’ Zander paused for a moment and then continued, ‘Be warned. There is extensive security around the Royal after an assassination attempt.’
‘You leave in three days’ time. Read the notes and get yourself prepared.’
Kean and Sonia exited the room, leaving Zander, Mancer and Hallot to brief Tray.
‘You are to report directly to Commander Hallot,’ said Zander. ‘Particularly regarding any unusual activity by Sonia. We know little about her. She comes highly recommended by the office of Premier Gor. But we do not understand their interest in this mission.’
Mancer picked up the thread. ‘Log all of her communications and make sure everything goes through Commander Hallot, who will keep the Supreme Commander abreast of any developments.’
Hallot finished with, ‘You are the eyes and ears of this mission. It mustn’t fail. Commander Mancer needs to have immediate access to the Princess when he arrives on Earth.’
‘Any questions?’ asked Zander of Tray. ‘No? Then you are dismissed. Commander Hallot, please escort the Sub Commander out.’
When they were alone, Zander said, ‘Your plan to flush out Hallot is in place. Tray’s a good man. He’ll monitor them both and hopefully find something to tie him to the subterfuge going on here.’ He lightened the conversation somewhat, asking Mancer about the makeup of the task force he would be taking.
‘A full ground squadron comprising thirty soldiers, four mechanoids, and a standard support, surveillance and maintenance crew of fifteen,’ said Mancer. ‘A TW Sphere for the return journey and four 3W fighters should ensure enough firepower to overpower the Life Team and fend off any interference from the inhabitants of Earth. They are about three hundred technological years behind us.’
Zander had pulled up a 3D map showing the route between their star system and Sol. ‘You will need to cross the waste space between the galaxy’s inner and outer spiral arms.’ Zander stopped to think. ‘That will require an additional two years in cryogenic stasis. Someone is not making this easy for you.’
Mancer’s look said it all.