Xalata Orbit and Melody Fret: The Hammer of Asttar Page 7

  Why's there a place like that on LunarBase? she mused. Everything was always clean and well kept whereas this place had seemed almost abandoned. Yet the home she was sitting in now was in good condition and had obviously been maintained. I don't get it.

  She went back to the airlock door and hammered on it, shouting, "Anybody out there?" There was silence so she hammered some more, "Get me out of here!" She thought she heard a small sound outside the door, but they were usually very soundproof so it may have been her imagination. Once more, she hammered, "Open this freakin' door!"

  Then, there suddenly was a sound - a voice reverberated around the lobby where she was standing, "Be quiet! If you won't be quiet, then we shall have to take steps to make you quiet. Now be a good girl, my dear. Sit down. Have something to eat. Watch a movie. You'll be here for a while."

  The voice finished - it had been the same guy as had captured her and he obviously had a sound feed into the rooms of the home. He was probably watching her too, she thought and she glanced around, looking for the telltale signs of small lenses, picking up her movements. No sign, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

  She walked back to the living space and flopped down on a chair. There was nothing for her to do. No sooner had she sat though, than she heard movement in the lobby and the door to the living space opened to reveal two people - one smaller and the other taller. Both were masked and wore uniformly black clothing.

  "Stay where you are," the taller person said. "Here's more food for your fridge. You will stay here and you'll keep quiet - no one is around to hear you. This place is deserted, but we don't want to disturb ...", he or, in fact possibly she, paused. "We don't want to be disturbed by you as we have important work to do."

  Xalata couldn't recognize the voice - it was either a light man's voice or a quite deep woman's. The clothing hid their body shapes so she really couldn't tell one way or another. The smaller person went to the refrigerator, opened the door and slid inside some parcels of food that had been carried in a black bag. The fridge door closed and the two people then moved out of the room backwards, watching Xalata for any sudden movement.

  What had the taller person been about to say - We don't want to disturb ... what? Xalata sat and thought back. What had the guy said when she had been captured and the bag was being pulled over her head? We don't want to wake the bogeyman now do we?

  The Hammer of Asttar

  It moves with unstoppable power. As big as a city block and, with the destructive power of many thousands of nuclear weapons, it hurtles towards Earth at thousands of miles per hour - a speed that will ensure that the destruction caused by its impact will be far-reaching, utterly wiping out the area around the target zone and throwing Earth into a "nuclear winter" from which it will not emerge for many years.

  The controlling hands on the Moon fine tune the override on the navigation and boost the engines to provide even more speed.

  The clock is ticking. Earth has only four days left.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The small room was stuffy and dark and Melody was constantly in fear that someone would open the door and discover her. The concert had obviously not yet begun, because there were still people moving about outside and the noises from the auditorium came faintly through the door. She had been in this confined space for nearly half an hour and her courage was beginning to fail her. What am I doing here? I must be mad! When Wiglet discovers I have used his ID to get access to the top level areas, there'll be hell to pay.

  Yet her fears were drowned out by thoughts of her friend Xalata and the fact that something - she didn't yet know what - had happened to her and she had disappeared. With that in her mind she screwed up her courage and cajoled herself to do what had to be done.

  As she thought about it, there were some louder noises from outside the door - the sound of a number of people coming up the corridor towards her hiding place. Probably they were going out of the exit that was nearby, past the guard. As she listened the footsteps came closer and then, horror, they stopped outside the door.

  "I'll see you back in the auditorium, Scott," said a voice, seeming almost next to her ear, "I just need to get some cleaning things to mop up the mess that Penny has made with the food."

  Penny! Bad Penny? Was she here - and who was it speaking? With a jolt she realized that the speaker was Rose Pretty and that, worse still, she was headed in through that very door. Melody grabbed the door handle with the idea of holding tight so that Rose couldn't pull open the door. As she did so, her finger caught on a small latch, just below the handle.

  "See you later then," came a man's voice and Melody felt a pressure on the handle as Penny tried to turn it to get into the room. She fumbled with the handle, pulled with all her might and, with her free hand, flipped the latch next to the handle. Rose, on the outside tried to turn it, but of course, it was locked. She rattled the door and twisted the handle back and forth but nothing moved. Rose swore quietly under her breath and then moved off, back down the way she had come.

  Melody, meanwhile, flopped back against the door, sweat from panic on her face and her heart pounding with adrenalin. What's Rose doing here? She's not musical. And worse still, what's Penny here for?

  As if in answer to her question, footsteps came up the corridor again and the sound of two voices arguing:

  "Of course I haven't seen 'er, I bin lookin' and there's no sign." Definitely Penny.

  "You stupid idiot, she must be here somewhere - Scott saw her come in with the band. You need to look harder. I've no time for this - I have to be in the audience."

  "Oh yeah, so everyone can look at you. Bloomin' lightweight. You wouldn't know how to look for an ice cube in a fridge - and don't go callin' me stupid. I'm as bright as you. I want that reward as much as you do ..." Their voices faded into the distance.

  Reward? Melody's ears pricked up. A reward? For her? Suddenly there was the sound of music wafting through the door and she realized that the concert had started and now was her chance to make her way behind the stage and find the doorway. With a good deal of trepidation, she unlocked the latch and turned the handle slowly, not wanting to make any noise in case there was someone still in the corridor. The last thing she wanted was to be caught by Penny and Rose!

  With a quick look each way, she eased out into the deserted passageway and headed away from the direction she had come in. There didn't seem to be anyone around but she crept along silently, pausing at corners to peek around and check that the coast was clear. Peering round one corner a couple of moments later she realized that she was next to the entrance that led onto the stage. Through the door she could make out people standing in the wings, watching the performance and, beyond them were the musicians who were playing their hearts out. She couldn't see the audience, but sensed that the auditorium was full by the way that the sound didn't echo.

  Now she had her bearings because this door was to the side of the stage and therefore it was the same one that Xalata must have come through when she was about to be captured. Melody felt a thrill of excitement - or was it fear? She stepped forward and, as she did so, a hand fell upon her shoulder. She almost screamed and turned to see a guard looking at her: "Where are you going, Miss? The concert's in there and your colleagues are all in place."

  "Oh, sorry, yes. I, erm." She felt herself flush with fear. She suppressed it quickly. "I look after the music scores. I'm just going to key up the pages for the second half so that everyone has it on their pads. The master one is in the Green Room." Where did that come from?

  "OK, Miss. You know your way?"

  "Sure, er yes. Thanks for your help, sir." And with that she took off around the back of the stage towards the area where she felt certain Xalata had been captured. Phew! This is obviously the right direction for the Green Room or he would have come after me. I just need my luck to hold!

  As she moved further back behind the stage, the darkness hid the features of the area ahead of her. All lights were suppressed during
a performance so there was no distracting light filtering onto the stage. Off to her right, light was coming through a gap made by a door that was ajar - probably the Green Room. However, off to her left she couldn't see a thing and that was where she needed to go. She sneaked over to the Green Room and pushed the door gently to open it wider, in case there were other people still remaining. All clear! With more light coming into the area she could now see a doorway that was in about the right position for the one she had discovered on the plans.

  Taking the opportunity that there was still no one around, she darted over to the door and opened it. Nothing inside at all. It was completely empty and blank black walls looked back at her from what was ultimately a small, vacant cupboard. OK. Why would you have an empty cupboard in a place like this? Surely it would be used for something. Therefore, it's not a cupboard, I believe.

  She stepped into the cupboard and pulled the door to, behind her. It was inky black now, but it had been no better when the door was open so she might as well have the protection of the door in case anyone passed by. Using her hands instead of her eyes, she felt around the walls and the doorframe, trying to locate something that would give her access to the space that she knew lay beyond. She tapped on the back wall, but it sounded absolutely solid to her knocking - no sign of secret panels or doors.

  She could just reach the ceiling with her hands if she stood on tiptoe and she worked her way around the edge and then across it into the middle, scanning every square inch of space by touch alone. Still nothing, so she started on the door wall, working her way around the frame. It didn't seem a very logical place for a panel or a control, but nothing about this venture made much sense in any case.

  As she worked her hands around the frame of the door, she felt an irregularity in the otherwise totally smooth wall, just to the left of the doorframe and near the floor. There appeared to be some sort of panel there, perhaps made of glass? She knelt down and passed her hand across the surface. As she did so, the panel glowed blue-white and an ID screen appeared. She knew what to do - without a moment's hesitation, she typed on the upside-down virtual keyboard (she wouldn't have been able to read it the right way up), Wiglet's access and password.

  There was a moment's hesitation and then the back of the cupboard appeared to dissolve and the world went very bright indeed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  "You did WHAT?"

  Brett towered over Glitch, who cowered back against the door. He had come to see Brett after realizing that his actions might have cost Xalata her life.

  "I asked her to the lecture at The Outpost and ..."

  "What, to see that charlatan, Castrana Machin? You must be insane. Her views on bio-sciences are extreme and she's a danger to young minds."

  "Yes, but ..." Glitch tried to interject. "That's not the whole story, Mr Orbit sir. You see, the lecture ended early - but I knew it would - and ..."

  "How could you possibly know that would happen ..."

  "Please sir, let me finish. The lecture ended early and so I asked Xalata to go around the back of the auditorium, where Mrs Machin had gone, so that she could talk to her. I'd been told that I had to do that so that Xalata would come quietly."

  "Whatever do you mean? Where's Xalata now?"

  "Just coming to that bit sir. We went around the back and it was very dark, but I'd been told to go to a specific door and wait with her there. So we did that and suddenly, Xalata was grabbed and pulled into the room behind the door. Except it didn't look like a room. I didn't know what to do. She was shouting and kicking, but the door suddenly slammed shut and I couldn't open it again."

  "Who asked you to do this? Where are they and where's Xalata?"

  "Really, I don't know Mr Orbit, sir. I'm really sorry, but they threatened me if I didn't do it ..."

  "Who? Who threatened you?"

  "Well ... I don't know, you see, I received messages on my pad that said my younger sister, Florence, is being held captive back on Earth. If I didn't do what they said then they'd hurt her.

  "And you believed them?

  "Well, yes. There was a clip of Flo tied to a chair and she was obviously a captive."

  "And you believe this to be real?"

  "Erm, yes, well, I hadn't really thought about it, but now you say, I suppose it could have been RealLife animation. That hadn't crossed my mind ..."

  "Right," Brett picked up his pad and contacted Fark, "we'll deal with you later. The first priority is to find Xally and get her back. You'll need to take me to where you left her. You'd better ..." Fark responded on the pad. "Ah Adolf, we have a situation ..."

  * * * * *

  After a delay of about twenty minutes while Fark arrived, they set off and about another twenty minutes later, Glitch, Brett and Fark arrived at The Outpost. The journey on the TransTrak had been tense and silent. Brett was anxious and angry. Fark was calm but edgy, while Glitch simply stood by the door and worried about what had happened to Xalata.

  The concert was still playing when they arrived and the sound of the music greeted them as they walked into the building. The security guards immediately rose to their feet. "Sorry gentlemen, but you can't go in. The concert is ..."

  "My daughter has been abducted," said Brett, "and I need to get around the back of the auditorium right now."

  "Really sorry sir, but no unauthorised people are allowed back ..."

  "I'll take care of this, Brett," said Fark. "Now listen to me, I am head of security at the Academy for Hydroponics and I have a hot line, direct to your boss. We are going backstage and nothing you can do will stop us. Not if you value your job, that is. Do I make myself clear, my man?" and he flashed his security credentials.

  "Er, yes sir. I suppose so. I'll need to accompany you though."

  "That's not necessary. I shall take full responsibility. Now, let us pass." And with that Fark strode round the barrier and headed to the doors that led backstage. Brett and Glitch came along quickly behind him. The corridor was dark once again.

  "It was like this when we were here earlier," said Glitch. "You could hardly see where you were going."

  "Then you had better have a good memory for dark environments," said Fark, as they made their way further behind the performance on stage.

  "I think it's here," said Glitch, pointing to a door on the left, set back from the corridor. "It was difficult to see when we were here, but this is the one, I'm sure."

  "OK," said Brett, "Let's get inside and see what's happening." They turned the handle and revealed a simple, empty cupboard.

  "That's not how it looked when Xalata was pulled through," said Glitch. "There was light and I could see into the distance. There must be a panel in there that opens somehow."

  Fark stepped into the cupboard and made a great performance of tapping, pushing and listening. "There's absolutely nothing here, Justin. Nothing. I think you are either making up a story to put us off the track or you have brought us to the wrong place, either deliberately or accidentally. Either way, we are not making progress. Think again please."

  "I just don't know, Mr Fark. I'm really sorry. I'm sure it was this door. There's not another one along here that I can see and we were definitely down this corridor ..."

  "Then, I think you had better come with me and we will see what is to be done with you." And with that, Fark strode out of the cupboard and headed back to the main entrance. Brett and Glitch both took a look into the cupboard but, seeing nothing, followed after Fark.

  "Oh shoot, I'm really in trouble now", muttered Glitch.

  "Yes, indeed you are," replied Brett.

  Chapter Twenty

  The sudden change from the darkness of the cupboard to the light made Melody blink as she moved through the space where the wall had been, into the area beyond. It was Habitat 14 - no doubt about it. Just behind her, as she looked back to see where she had just come from, there was a sign embedded in the wall, "Unit 17, Habitat 14" and she realised, with horror, that she was looking at the wall through whi
ch she had passed. No turning back now - it was once again solid, but she was on the other side of it. She ran back and put her hands on the smooth white surface of the wall. There was no visible sign of a way to get back into The Outpost again. As she removed her hand, she saw that wall was actually covered in a light film of dirt that came off onto her hand, leaving a hand print where she had touched it.

  She brushed it off and then decided to explore. Jeeps, I'm not built for this sort of thing, she thought as butterflies in her stomach showed her that her brain was probably shouting out a warning. She decided that she would ignore it and find what had happened to Xalata - she had to be in this area. The evidence of the buckle and just the fact that this was all so strange made her certain that she would find her.

  But how am I suddenly in an area that's on Farside?

  The question refused to go away. She could not possibly have travelled right around the Moon from The Outpost to here without TransTrak or a vehicle that would travel on or above the Moon's surface. She had appeared here instantly - impossible! She decided to shelve that little problem for thinking about later. Right now, she was on a mission.

  She moved forward - the whole area of the Habitat seemed to be more dimly lit - maybe that was because of the layer of dust on everything. Parts of the atrium in which she stood looked as if they had been blasted by a powerful force. There were burn marks on the walls and some area had holes knocked through them, revealing spaces beyond. Most of all, there was no sign of people. It seemed unlikely that there would be because this part of the Habitat looked fairly unstable, although the pressure was holding up and there was no sign that this part had been breached. However, further along and into one of the corridors that went off the atrium, she found an airlock door that was firmly shut and locked with hazard warnings flashing upon it. Looking through the small window into the space beyond, she could see that it had been completely trashed and was open to the vacuum of space.