(Author’s Note: While preparing these current entries for my book, I was rewarded by an unexpected visit from the debonair Mr. Jebbson Garlock. Little has the man changed since his arrival in these realms so long ago, and little has his memory faded concerning those exciting times of which I am writing. It was not far into the course of conversation before attention was turned to a dear companion of ours – Darla - or ‘Adaya’ as she is known today. Below are some of Mr. Garlock’s comments from our conversation concerning the woman and one of his earlier adventures he shared with her.
“I’ve never seen anything like her, not here or where we come from! She’s the most magnificent creature in the universe - a whole bunch of different people rolled into one very desirable package...” He laughed... “that is, unless you rub her fur the wrong way.”
“About three years before the Prisoner Exchange, I was invited to join the crew of a small cutter planning a routine excursion into the Trizentine. After a two-month patrol, we held over in a small colony on Sustrepho to take on provisions and make a few minor repairs. Just prior to departing, we received a request from Command to make accommodations for some guests and set course for Avery. Somewhere near that planet, we were to rendezvous with the Oruomai and deliver our passengers. Hitching a ride with the others was Darla, who was a Marine leftenant at the time. Well, you never saw such a bubbly, happy person in your whole life as she was on that day. Her boyfriend, Euroaquilo, was admiral of the fleet to which the Oruomai was attached, and that Oruomai was his flagship. I was fortunate enough to fall into her company, or should I say, she singled me out. You see, there seemed – seems to be a special fondness in her for people from the Second Realm. I’m not sure just why, but it’s real and warm, almost passionate. I must tell you, she lavished her attention on me in every way for the rest our time together.”
“Adaya - Darla - can be the most loving and caring person in the world...was then, too. We spent hours just talking together. She’s the one who took time to fill me in on much of the history of this strange new place we’re in. I never saw anyone more patient and polite, not just with me, but also with all the others on the ship. She allowed nothing to ruffle her feathers. Even my silly jokes and stories didn’t dampen her humor.”
Jebbson’s face clouded. “I saw the other side of her, too.” A shudder ran down his back. “About three days out from Sustrepho, our captain received a request to search for a missing drone that had disappeared in our vicinity. Picking up its tracks, we followed its trail to some supposedly uninhabited planet. I don’t remember its name, but there was an acceptable atmosphere on it and, with the help of our suits, we could manage quite well. Darla volunteered to go down with a scouting party and, after I had sufficiently begged enough, they allowed me to go with them.”
“We came in low and silent, fearing the possibility there might be some undesirables in the locality, and we landed about a mile from the drone. From there, we walked. Darla told me to stay close and be alert. I could feel some kind of energy, excitement, if I may say, growing in her. It was in her eyes and the way she walked. It was as if the woman were sensing something the rest of us couldn’t detect.”
“There was thick undergrowth, so we were walking blind, hafting to follow the coordinates transmitted to us. Darla and I were to the left of our party, she about two paces ahead of me. She crouched forward like a cat on a hunt, slinking through the heavy brush like some ghostly apparition. Without pausing, she would push away some branch, all the while resting a hand on her derker blade or lanner. Her pace was rapid, and soon we had out-distanced the others.”
“When the drone crashed, it created a small clearing. I stepped into it about four paces behind Darla. Her hand flew out to motion me silent. I looked up to see half a dozen barbaric-looking wild creatures scavenging the little ship.”
“That was my first experience with the Stasis pirates, a group of degenerates who joined the insurrection but refused to bow to Asotos. They were the most violent and dangerous of all the rebels, calling no one their ‘master’. Asotos used them as mercenaries and raiders, trading goods for loot or information, but he didn’t trust them. The minds of many have deteriorated mentally, so that a large number act like little more than animals.”
“Back to my account... I stood only inches from Darla. The Stasis had still not noticed us. Suddenly I heard a funny noise, a staccato-like hum coming from deep within the girl’s throat... You know the sound I mean.” I acknowledged hearing that same sound. “Looking into her eyes, I saw two growing, icy-hot flames of fire. That heat erupted into her face, causing it to flush red.”
“Without warning, she dove forward, her derker blade flying from its scabbard with the first step. The sound of that blade, as the blue-green energy raced up and down its edges, was the first warning those people had.”
“I’ve been in many battles, but I’ve never seen fear like I did in the faces of those creatures! They knew that death on wings was upon them. They screamed and squealed in terror. Dropping everything, and not even trying to pick up personal items, they went scurrying into the trees, howling and whooping long after they had disappeared from sight. Darla would have hunted them down had the captain not stopped her.”
“Yes sir! I never saw anything like it in my life. I didn’t see Darla’s face like they did, but the hair went up on the back of my neck when I heard that eerie sound coming from her. If her face matched the sound…no wonder they retreated in insane fear.”
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Section Eight: Of Trolls and Fated Roads