Terra's World by Mitch Benn Read Free Book Online Page B

and the fastest tongue in the galaxy. They’d come to some sort of arrangement.
    Probably.
    Strannit climbed into the command chair and winced. It was the least comfortable chair he’d ever sat in.
     

 
     
     
    1.11
     
     
     
    ‘Now THIS ,’ said Billy, ‘is a spaceship!’
    In contrast to the Tastak vessel’s cramped cabin and knobbly chairs, the Kotari ship’s flight deck was like a cross between the bridge of the Next Generation-era Starship Enterprise and the drawing room of a medium-sized stately home. Billy gazed in awe at the technology and opulence, and then sank happily into what, if asked, he would have had to describe as the command chaise longue.
    ‘Get out of there, you,’ admonished Terra, ‘unless you fancy trying to pilot it.’
    Billy pulled a face, got out of the chaise and slunk across the flight deck to another, equally luxurious couch. As he flopped onto it, a harsh voice barked out something alien and unintelligible. Billy leapt to his feet, startled. Terra rolled her eyes in annoyance and took the translation cube out of her pocket.
    ‘Computer,’ she said, ‘this is your new captain speaking.’
    - MY CAPTAIN IS ALL-MONGER STRANNIT ZEK. I ACKNOWLEDGE THE AUTHORITY OF NO OTHER .
    ‘Strannit Zek is no longer aboard this vessel. So either you can start taking orders from me, or we can drift in space until I die of old age and your reactors fail.’
    There was a pause, and then the room was dominated by a holographic star-chart. Terra smiled. ‘Seems like the Kotari program their computers to be just as self-centred as they are. Had a feeling they might,’ she said to Billy.
    - PLEASE STATE DESIRED DESTINATION , said the voice.
    ‘Tftk system, fourth satellite,’ said Terra simply. The holographic star-chart started zooming in on a particular constellation. Terra leaned back in the command chaise and exhaled heavily.
    ‘So now what?’ asked Billy. ‘Who are the Walkers of the . . . whatever it was?’
    ‘The True Path,’ said Terra. She sighed. ‘They’re a rumour. A nasty rumour.’
    Billy sat up, his confusion and keen interest obvious. Terra went on.
    ‘The planet where I grew up . . .’ she said.
    ‘Fmrrm?’ ventured Billy.
    ‘Fnrr,’ corrected Terra. ‘There was a war. A nation called the G’grk invaded my island, Mlml. They were going to enslave the adults and conscript the young as child soldiers. I . . . managed to stop it.’
    Billy had read something about this, about how a human child had stopped a war with a song, of all things. He was sure there was more to it than that but didn’t want to interrupt.
    ‘There was a peace treaty. The G’grk leader, Grand Marshal K’zsht, renounced war and retired. He was the first Grand Marshal ever to retire alive. That freaked them all out a bit back in the G’grk homeland, but they respected K’zsht enough to go along with it. He nominated his grandson Zst’kh to succeed him. His grandson said he was going to carry on with the peace process. This disappointed some of the G’grk, who thought the young Grand Marshal would go back to their old warrior ways. There were reports that a hardline G’grk faction, the Walkers of the True Path, had broken off from the nation and left the planet. They were supposed to be plotting to return to Fnrr, overthrow the Grand Marshal and start the war up again. With Sk’shk as the new leader.’
    ‘Sk’shk?’ asked Billy.
    ‘The old Grand Marshal’s deputy,’ said Terra with a shiver that Billy felt from across the room. She remembered being on her knees on the cold, quartz floor of the council dome . . . The harsh, ranting voice . . . The gleaming, curved, bronze blade of that sword, that sword . . . Being more afraid than she – surely than ANYONE – had ever been.
    ‘Where is Sk’shk?’ asked Billy.
    Terra took a deep breath and composed herself. ‘Nobody knows. Banished somewhere. The Walkers were supposed to be looking for him. And me. They haven’t forgiven me