The Wars of Zegandaria by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (find a book to read .txt) 📕

His guilty conscience made him rush even more. He had to try to make things right an hour sooner. Even at the cost of his own life. The young man had grown up on this planet, breathing in the air of freedom. But that air had not been free for a long time. That air was suffocating you.

Suddenly something seemed to make Keith turn, something stronger even than instinct. Major Keithrowl had stuck his face in the sand and wasn't moving. With two masterful lateral rolls, he found himself beside him, his fingers frantically searching the carotid artery to check his battle companion's pulse. He also checked his wrists, just in case. There was no doubt! Even the short time of a minute or two that Keith had focused on the enemy had proved more than enough for the Major's demise. It looked like a heart attack. His face had still retained its ruddiness, but had for the first time assumed a serious expression. His fingers, however, were clenched into fists; even in his eternal sleep he refused to surrender.

- 'Rest in peace,' he murmured softly, retrieving his Zirault 400.

The Major's plasma pistol was a bit of an old model, but it was hard to find a weapon, even of the most advanced in its class, that could rival it in firepower. It certainly would have been useful. The wind had changed its direction of blowing, and the sand had slowly begun to overwhelm the wretch. Keith tore off his identifying patches and took up residence behind the dune again. None of the camp had felt anything. ‘I have to leave soon.’ was his last thought before he jumped off and began to descend unnoticed on the other side. He was entering the enemy camp...

^^^

Keith had descended on the windward side, so no one had sensed him. This was practically a welcome sight for him. But the groandus had an excellent sense of smell and couldn't be easily fooled. They had almost sniffed him out, but the sudden change of wind saved him from being detected.

He tried to find the royal tent. But it wasn't so easy, not because he didn't see it, but because it was just barely sneaking between the others. In a little while he was before her. The guards weren't on duty for some reason. He walked in.

On the throne in front of him was Zarag Tu.

- 'Who are you?,' he called out.

- I am the parliamentarian of Elmbaum.

- 'Ah,' means Gordon, still acting like that, from a distance.

- 'He told me about your secret,' Keith said, somewhat calmly.

- And did he tell you that he is not a little guilty of a number of crimes in connection with the origin of our race.

- 'Don't worry, I know that too. That the war at Xanderar was like child's play with the Last War for Au Kaktir. I'm aware of something else too. Out there somewhere.,' he regrets it.

- 'Really?,' Zarag Tu gave him a questioning look. 'The human experiments were his idea. I'm Jacob Wallace, my boy. Of flesh and blood. But I look ridiculous don't I?'

Keith dropped his eyes. He realized that despite his recruitment, he had no moral right to anything. It was just a thread to pick up the crumbling pieces of this planet. No more, no less.

- 'If what you're telling me is true, then my role is a very sad one,' Keith said convulsively, shaking.

- I agree with you completely. But there is one condition, you must tell me where Gordon intends to run off to. I know him too well. His personal survival interests him far more than money and power. He dreamed of becoming sole ruler of this planet, did, however briefly.

- But you are so old. Keith was slightly confused, 'How is that even possible?'

- Gordon is over a thousand years old and I'm only a hundred and sixty. That's because of the accumulation of so-called subjective time in the many colossal leaps he took to build his empire. The citizens of Elohy were happy, but unaware of his illegal trade with various other civilizations and galaxies.

- 'I thought we were alone in this part of the galaxy,' Keith spoke somewhat awkwardly.

- 'Completely untrue,' Zarag Tu or Jacob Wallace interrupted him. 'He wanted to maintain the illusion of exclusivity that worked in his eyes. He wanted to win at all costs. He wanted to be number one. Run over everyone and everything. And stayed alone with his own exceptionalism. The lab in the Ninth Quadrant had been created with his very knowledge, but it was not on this planet, as Gordon lied, but in the true cosmic Ninth Quadrant. Gordon didn't want to risk anyone finding out what was bothering them. His plan for domination was in too early a stage. Pretty prosaic right? But still completely true. Gordon couldn't have friends. At least not real ones. He lives only with himself and for himself. He's completely selfish. But he had to bring the whole planet to this state and do such great havoc.'

Keith listened in silence. He was really convincing himself that the war hadn't been started over some Kevlarite or Interron fuel, nor was it racially based, even though the Guarron were artificially genetically engineered lizard-men. And all because of the whims of one man. Too bad!

Keith, however, had decided to go all the way.

- 'How can I help you, Your Majesty?,' he asked.

- 'Actually, there is something you can do,' Zarag Tu brightened. 'I am the only one who has a map, albeit a very, very old one, for the Unknown Quadrant. Gordon doesn't know about this little secret of mine. He doesn't know the quadrant either. Nor does almost anyone on this planet, except the fugitives who never returned.'

- 'So I have to find him,' Keith asked quickly.

Some footsteps of guards could be heard, but they were still far away.

- 'You must contact Mark and his friends,' Wallace told him confidentially. 'I am the Voice that guides them. After my transformation into this new life form, the archaneans gifted me with the Tear of Insight. Thanks to it, I guide both my sons, Nundrag and Kier Zoh, as well as Mark and his friends. You must find Gordon and put the Armor of Seva on him. That will restore the balance, or so I hope.'

Keith listened most intently.

- 'Your will be done, my lord,' he replied.

Zarag Tu merely waved him that he could go.

- 'I'll keep the guards away from you until you leave the camp. It's too soon for the whole truth to come out for all to see. Here's that ebon tiara for you. Put it on the head of the groandus and he will listen to you. You won't be able to cross the desert on foot.

- 'So I have to go back?,' asked Keith.

- No, go back home to Ubunder. They can still get you a flying machine there. Elohy must be completely wrecked by Gordon's ambitions to show that he's always right.

Keith bowed and stepped cautiously out of the tent. Two or three groands were grazing about. He flung himself with a start on one of them, almost lying on top of it. The animal would have torn him alive, but the chief's gift protected him, and he became meek as a lamb.

Keith spurred him on. So much depended on him now. None of the guaroons went after him, for none saw him either. They were in the other part of the camp, fully occupied in feeding their animals, and also playing at their favorite game of 'Orimo.'

The desert swallowed him up. He headed with all his might towards Ensarian. There was the right direction.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE POLIS

Mark and the others woke up in a brand new place. All around was bright and quiet, almost fleshless - so ethereal was the whole setting. Our adventurers felt as if they had been reborn, but in a new, better and far superior form. All the light around was exactly the same as the solid white cape Paul had seen in his dreams or whatever it was. There would hardly be a human word to describe such a thing.

Have we really crossed the boundary between the two worlds?’ the Rat barely spoke to his astonished-to-the-bone companions, who at this point weren't even fully able to comprehend what he was saying to them.

- 'Boys, I'm going to tell this thing to my grandchildren one day,' Grandpa Jack snapped in his typical cowboy style. 'I bet they won't believe a word of what my eyes see.'

After the euphoria died down, Mark gave brief and precise instructions to the group in order to coordinate their actions. They were in a new, completely unfamiliar place where other laws of time and space apparently ruled. And that sounded really frightening at first. There was simply nothing of what was going on around that defied description.

They wandered for a while longer in the dense veil of fog - no one, of course, could tell how long! - and gradually began to make out the doors barely emerging in the distance, like the ghostly ruins of a long-sunken ship. Intricate symbols were etched on them, but each of the companions vaguely guessed that whatever had carved them had hardly done so by accident. But its hidden meaning they were not yet able to fathom. Only Paul had some vague idea. The words of the unfamiliar voice still rumbled in his head, so near and yet so far.

The group continued to approach in a state of full battle readiness, and all were doing their best to expect the unexpected. Suddenly Paul, who was calling for the first time, softly proceeded:

- Boys, something is wrong here, don't you notice that it is too quiet around here, and the doors are slightly ajar?

Although they were all at the edge of their seats, they strained their hearing to pick up even the faintest vibration. In vain! The dead surroundings remained ever so listless and expressionless.

- 'Take position,' Mark commanded quietly.

- 'Let's just send one to check it out,' Rat interjected. 'I honestly don't particularly like this place. It dulls the senses and you don't know where something might pop out at you.'

- 'Mark let that someone be me,' Paul uttered in a low determined voice, 'remember what the voice said about me.'

- 'I'm not letting my best sniper go without having provided cover,' Mark objected. 'If it's going to be anyone, it better be one of the hostages.'

- 'They've already played their part with the minefield. But we're dealing with things of an entirely different nature here. Things they can't fathom. This time, I think they'll be powerless to help us,' Zolsky's voice had become simply unrecognizable.

- You don't know what's in there, that's true. But it's true that there's