The Silent Planet: A Space Opera (Cosmic Cyclone Series, Book 1) Read online

  He suddenly realized that this had to be a female aviator. His interest piqued, he checked the patch on the pilots uniform.

  It said Charity Jones.

  Wasn't that the name of the precocious little blonde who hadn't backed away when he'd walked in Daniel von Schwarz's spaceship?

  Ben didn't believe in coincidences.

  At least where people were concerned. She had drawn him to herself.

  Or he had drawn her…

  Sinking down with the seat, he wondered whether he should be there when she woke up.

  But what purpose would that serve? Well, he told himself, there are no coincidences. He was meant to meet her. Yesterday and today.

  Ben decided to hang around.

  When it was clear that the seat would come down on top of trees in Harrow's Dale, Ben took command of the thruster pods one more time. He steered the hovering seat towards a clearing in the forest, half a klick away from where his house had been. The fire hadn't touched that part of the forest.

  Ben watched as the seat got closer and closer to the ground. When it was only a meter away, he increased the thruster output and eased the seat down onto the blackening grass. He immediately switched the thruster pods off and the sounds of the forest became audible. Birds sang in the trees and there was even a scent of flowers on the meadow.

  ***

  The impact shook Charity and she woke up. For a moment she had no idea where she was.

  Am I dead? she wondered, looking around without seeing. What happened?

  All she remembered was pulling up on the ejection handle. Then everything had faded to black. A couple of times she'd almost come to, but she had passed out again each time.

  Her mind raced back to the dogfight. She'd taken out half of the bandit's thrusters. But then he'd chased her halfway through the solar system. At least that was what it seemed like to Charity. In her mind she was still desperate to get her tumbling x-jet under control—when she finally realized that she was strapped into her seat and sat on a glade in a forest.

  And birds were singing.

  Dazed and confused, she stirred but couldn't move. She knew where the release button for her harness was—right above her stomach—but her hand just wouldn't go there.

  She was about to pass out again, when she perceived a golden figure in front of her. It was the figure of a young man. A model of a man, really.

  But he was transparent.

  Cherry had never met a transparent being in her life.

  Am I mad?

  Have I died after all?

  She meant to ask who he was, when he turned to face her and she realized that she'd seen him before.

  But where?

  His face was that of a man she'd seen recently, perhaps just yesterday…

  Her sluggish mind wanted to go to sleep so badly, but she wouldn't let herself pass out.

  Suddenly the realization jolted her: in front of her stood none other than the ghost of Benedict Harrow—the beast from Neo Babylonia.

  Adrenaline surged through her and she became wide awake. She stirred in her harness and tried to get up.

  The ethereal figure in front of her saw her struggle and when Ben realized that she could see him, he reached over and pushed the red button on her stomach that opened her harness.

  Charity almost panicked when the transparent man's hand came closer and—touched her. But when her harness gave way and she could sit up, her fears suddenly vanished.

  He hadn't killed her.

  Perhaps he had even saved her.

  Studying him out of half-closed eyes, he fascinated her. In front of her stood—if you could call it stand—a perfect man. He didn't seem a day older than twenty. He wore no clothes, but his loins were blurred as if he wore a loincloth that did its job in spite of being invisible somehow.

  Did that even make sense?

  She only had eyes for his face anyway. It was the most fascinating face she'd ever seen. Right now his golden eyes looked into her blue ones and he said, "Welcome to Harrow's Dale, Charity Jones."

  There was something soothing about him, but also something terrifying.

  "Are you a ghost?"

  "No," Ben answered. "I am a human. Just like you."

  The distant thrum of hovercraft rotors became audible.

  "I'll talk to you later," Ben said before he vanished.

  Cherry stared at the spot he'd occupied just a moment before. Was she dreaming? Was she out of her mind?

  "Can you come back?" she shouted, suddenly feeling lonely like an orphan—which she was.

  "I'll be back," the wind whispered in the trees.

  Cherry broke down and fell on all fours, panting. She was going mad.

  She needed air!

  Her fidgeting fingers loosened the strap of her black helmet and she pulled it off. The helmet rolled in the grass. Back on all fours, she inhaled deeply through mouth and nose.

  The rumors were true. Ben Harrow could really do all those things! It was all true.

  The black medevac sported a white-trimmed red cross on its side. It reached the glade and landed beside Charity's ejection seat.

  Chapter 6

  Drifting on the wind again, Ben Harrow now regretted that Charity Jones had seen him. She had recognized him, too. Too bad, Ben thought. But he'd seen the moment of understanding in her eyes when she looked at him.

  Now somebody knew that he was still alive.

  Had she not recognized him, he would have had the option to remain… gone. The people of Terra Gemina surely would have believed that he'd died in the plasma bomb attack on his home in the forest.

  To be counted as dead would have opened many options to him.

  He could have gone ghost, walking the streets of Gemina City invisibly, without anybody knowing that he was there. Patrolling the city unbeknownst to her citizens, he could have helped people without their knowledge.

  He could have played angel.

  But Charity Jones had seen and recognized him. She'd tell somebody. Word would get around. Ben found, he had no choice but to go solid again. Truth be told, he didn't mind. He wanted to know who was behind this afternoon's attack. He had to find out if Admiral von Schwarz, responsible for the planetary defense, knew what was going on. The longer he thought about it, the more determined Ben came became. He wanted to know who'd flown in and tried to take him out. He'd go and see Daniel. Still today.

  But first he'd have to find some clothes.

  ***

  To a large extent Gemina City consisted of buildings that were made of glass and concrete. The raw materials for both were abundant on the planet. It was a sparkly place when the twin suns shone in cloudless skies, which they did most of the time. There were residential zones and business zones like in so many cities on Terra Originalis, after which all other Terras sought to pattern themselves. Gemina City had a chessboard structure. It's streets were laid out on a grid. You couldn't get lost here. It was an airy and green city. Most of her streets were lined with trees.

  Dusk was settling over its ground-level buildings; the upper stories of the high-rises sparkled like orange glaciers. Hovercrafts with headlights turned on were driving in the streets below.

  Still in his ethereal form, Ben swooped down on the Space Navy headquarters building in the military compound north of town, near the spaceport. He circled the building's top floor, where he looked into Daniel von Schwarz office and found it unlighted and empty. Its occupant wasn't there.

  Probably in a Council meeting, Ben thought. They were surely discussing the attack in the Council today as Daniel was responsible for the planetary defense and certainly everybody, including Governor Alighieri—Mother Ally—was in a huff because of it.

  For a moment Ben contemplated entering Daniel's office by sinking through the window. He was sure that the admiral kept a store of clean clothes here somewhere. It would have been easy for Ben to help himself to the admiral's wardrobe. But he rejected the thought out of hand. He'd drive the people of Gem
ina City, including Daniel, crazy if he would just materialize in places into which he hadn't been invited. Ben's great desire these days was not to be a menace to his fellow men.

  Here he was, endued with the most peculiar abilities, but humbled by the fact that he couldn't appear anywhere, simply because he had no clothes to wear. The thought made Ben to laugh.

  His mind flashed back to Charity Jones.

  He wondered how she was doing. For a moment he thought about looking her up in sick bay. But that thought he dismissed, too, because it was motivated by an interest in her as a woman and not by compassion. She was a cute girl and obviously had a lot going for her to have been selected for tactical aviator. But he was 382 and she was eighteen. What could an eighteen-year-old tell a three-hundred-and-eighty-two-year-old?

  Not a lot.

  It would be easy for him to get her to fall in love, Ben mused. But it would also be grossly unfair. The difference not just in age but also in power was gigantic. He was one of the most potent beings in the universe and she was… just beginning her journey.

  Besides, there would never be another woman like Sharon. But Sharon, his wife, his lover, his soulmate, had not shared in his transformation. She'd grown old and he'd grown old with her until she died three hundred years ago and he decided to be young again.

  He still hadn't forgotten her.

  Well, what happens to you in your youth sticks with you. For better or worse.

  Ben shook his head to banish the thoughts of Sharon. They only made him melancholy. He inhaled briskly. He needed to find Daniel and talk to him. He needed to know who was behind this attack on him.

  ***

  It was night when Admiral Daniel von Schwarz left the Council meeting in Gemina City's Dante's Hall, its seat of government. The hovercraft donning two square pennants on its front fenders was occupied only by the admiral and his driver, a young ensign from the farm districts in the south. They cruised out of the city and towards officers' housing, when the chauffeur glanced over his shoulder.

  "Sir," the ensign said, "a man on the side of the road is hailing us. Do you want me to stop?"

  The admiral leaned forward and looked out the windshield. In the headlights he saw the muscular frame of a man standing by the roadside.

  "I can't believe this!" von Schwarz roared.

  The man wore nothing but a loincloth.

  "Just drive on, John," the admiral said to his chauffeur. "Call the guards later to take care of this clown." He snorted dismissively. First there had been a terror attack on the planet that had killed his friend Ben Harrow and now a sailor was prancing around naked?

  Were people going nuts?

  He had no time for fools like that.

  The chauffeur stepped on the pedal and was about to pass the man by, when he stepped into the middle of the road, forcing the hovercraft to a halt.

  "Want me to arrest him, Sir?" the ensign asked. "Or do you want me to drive over him?"

  In the admiral was about to reply, when he looked into the man's face. Von Schwarz let out a startled cry. The next moment, he'd opened the door of the craft and was scrambling out. He rushed towards the man standing in the street.

  "Ben! I thought this time they got you for sure."

  "Well, almost," Ben replied. "But not quite."

  "I'm so glad you're still alive," the admiral said. "Don't worry about the clothes. We have new ones for you. Come on and get in."

  Been obliged and when the door had closed, they resumed their ride.

  Fifteen minutes later, the two men were sitting in the admiral's home office. His wife brought some tea. She'd been startled at first by the unclad gentleman climbing out of her husband's car, but then recognized Ben, who she thought was dead. She shared in her husband's joy that he was still alive. Their guest was whisked inside and got dressed. The men passed on supper. Neither Ben nor the admiral were hungry.

  "Who did it?" Ben asked point-blank. His piercing gray eyes were on the whitehead across the table.

  "Let me start at the beginning," Daniel von Schwarz said. "We scrambled three x-jets to go after the bandit right about when he attacked Harrow's Dale. However, two of the fighters disengaged when they realized that the bandit was a superior craft to theirs. I can't blame them. Plasma guns are wicked beasts. Only one aviator kept up the pursuit."

  "Charity Jones," Ben said.

  The admiral's brows went up. "How do you know? You really met her? She mentioned in the hospital that she saw you, but I didn't want to believe it. Since she saw you aboard Gemina-1 yesterday, I thought she might have got mixed up. But now I'm hearing it from you. You met her."

  Ben nodded. "How is she doing?"

  "We're amazed she's still alive," the admiral answered. "Her flyer came down hundreds of miles away and her ejection seat was programmed to deliver her to the alpha station on the airport. Instead she came down on a clearing in Harrow's Dale."

  Lost in thought, Ben stared into his teacup.

  "Anyway," the admiral said. "She's young. She'll be out of sick bay in a day or two. She's my niece, by the way."

  "Impressive," Ben said. "Resilient, too. I don't know a lot of people who would have survived her fall."

  "Well, Charity engaged him—that bandit—and took out a few of his thrusters, she says. He then turned around and taught her some humility."

  Once more, Ben thoughtfully stared in his cup of tea.

  "After he shook her off, two frigates intercepted him just as he was getting ready to jump on the pylon road. They extrapolated his target coordinates and they don't necessarily point towards Kasaganaan."

  "You sure?" Ben said.

  "Positive," the admiral affirmed. "He took off in the direction of the Grand Tower." The admiral steepled his fingers under his chin and looked at Ben.

  "My old galaxy," Ben said. Neo Babylonia was located there.

  "So far, nobody but Charity and me and Sophie"—his wife—"and my driver know that you are still around," Daniel von Schwarz said. "The engineers who flew out to your house to see what happened came back with a bad report. There's nothing left.

  "They believe you're a goner.

  "Whoever was behind this attack: it was obviously meant for you and you alone. Of course, we are going to get reinforcements now, after this incident. But what I've been thinking is, we could just let this bandit believe that he was successful. That you are history."

  "What are you telling me?" Ben asked.

  "You could lie low by going to Kasaganaan?"

  It was possible, Ben thought, that somebody from his old home of Neo Babylonia and found out where he lived and had come to eliminate him once and for all.

  Plasma bombs were powerful, but they were still limited in their effectiveness; they weren't weapons of mass destruction. If his assassin would have wanted to, he could have let loose a volley of neutron bombs. But he hadn't done that. He'd spared the civilians of Terra Gemina instead of exterminating them along with Ben Harrow.

  But if word got out that Ben was still around on TG, this planet was no longer safe. Another assassin might just bring neutron bombs in his bay. It was best for the citizens here if he vanished.

  "Well?" the admiral said when Ben didn't reply for the longest time.

  Ben finally nodded. "I'll do it. I'll go to Kasaganaan with a few good men."

  "And women!" the admiral added with a smile. "Thanks, Ben."

  "Thank me when I bring them back."

  Chapter 7

  "I'm glad he agreed to visit Kasaganaan," said Governor Sandra Alighieri—Mother Ally to the colonists.

  Admiral Daniel von Schwarz walked around in his carpeted top-floor office in the naval headquarters building and saw her elegantly wrinkled face on the view-phone in his hand.

  "For all those years I've tried to govern in a way that he would agree to," Mother Ally said thoughtfully, "just so I wouldn't provoke him."

  "He never came and got mixed up in the affairs of state," the admiral replied.

 
"Yes, but imagine if he would have."

  Von Schwarz was quiet for a moment. Mother Ally and the Council kept Terra Gemina's society free and open. There were regular elections; police and the justice system were deemed fair by most citizens, crime was low and a free-market system was in place.

  And Mother Ally placed serious restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence in the affairs of daily life. The Council wanted people to think for themselves and not to become dependent on machines. As a matter of fact, "Don't Become a Zombie"-billboards showing a staggering red-eyed cartoon guy holding a view-phone in his outstretched hand could be seen in the more notorious quarters of the city.

  "I still think your fears are unfounded," the admiral said.

  "You've never been to Neo-Ba when he was there, Daniel," Mother Ally said, "I was. I experienced a highly excited society. I remember both, the hero worship and the horror. It was something to behold. Something in me hopes he stays on Kasaganaan."

  The admiral didn't reply to that. Instead he said, "Sailors and Marines will be briefed later today. They know that the job's finally coming their way."

  "I wonder how they'll take it, once they find out who will be leading them."

  "Maybe they never will," Admiral von Schwarz said. "Will you be there for the briefing?"

  "No," the governor said. "I'll be there tomorrow, when we see them off."

  "I'll let you know how the briefing went," the admiral said. "Bye for now."

  As soon as the admiral had pushed the red button on his picture-phone, the intercom on his desk rang. Dan von Schwarz went and sat down behind the wide piece of mahogany. He touched the intercom's screen and his secretary appeared on it.