THE PLANET THAT LOVED PEOPLE (standard:science fiction, 1534 words) [4/18] show all parts
Author: Danny Raven	Added: Mar 04 2016	Views/Reads: 1839/1309	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
PART 1 - CH 3

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“Prisoner 4 – Corthan Yanu, from Ordana. Human-mutant. Guilty of mass
murder.” He waited for the objections but the Councillors remained 
quiet. Tyler glanced round their faces in the reflected light and 
smiled to himself. ‘You must be more desperate than I realised,' he 
thought then looked back up at the screen. “Corthan Yanu,” he went on, 
“possesses an unusual talent which could be extremely useful when they 
encounter any trouble – he can emit radiation at will.” 

The figure of Corthan flicked off to be replaced by a head and shoulder
shot. The man's dark hair had been razored close to the scalp. His 
features were thick. His eyes menacing. He had a dark moustache with a 
beard underneath it. Lightning bolt tattoos ran diagonally across his 
cheekbones. His neck and shoulders were tremendously muscular. 

“Prisoner 5 – Sinto Ad, from Doran. Human-mutant. Guilty of
inter-planetary armed robberies and murders. We were after him for a 
long time until we finally caught him with Miller on the Dreamtabs 
offences. Being from Doran he's a first class fighting machine and also 
a weapons expert. 

Sinto's coarse face disappeared and a youthful one replaced it. Dark
eyes peering curiously into the camera. Long, straight black hair to 
his shoulders. Half grinning. 

“A bit young looking, Commander,” said the President. “How old is he?” 

“Fourteen,” replied Tyler, “but he has a unique talent as I'll explain.”


“This had better be good,” muttered the Judge. 

“Prisoner 6 – Blaze 14, from Birth Colony Unton. Guilty of escaping
repeatedly from the Colony and visiting other Colonies. Wiped out Birth 
Colony Rouse by the introduction of the common cold virus before the 
Colony was vaccinated against it.” 

“How the hell did he escape from a Birth Colony!?” asked an astonished
Treasury Director. 

“Because of his unique talent,” Tyler replied calmly. 

“Which is?” 

Tyler smiled. “He's capable of dematerializing at will and appearing
again at distances of up to half a mile.” 

In the reflected light from the screen the Councillors glanced at each
other. Tyler smiled again as he saw the raised eyebrows and the looks 
they were exchanging. He strode over to the screen, retrieved the film 
capsule and flicked the lights back on. When he returned to his table 
The Inner Council was having another low discussion. 

‘Now for the questions,' Tyler thought as he collected his papers and
replaced them in the slim folder. 

The Judge cleared his throat. “We have a few questions about one or two
of the prisoners, Commander,” he began apologetically. “Do you mind?” 

“Not at all, Councillor,” Tyler replied. 

“The youngest member of the group,” began the President. 

“Blaze 14,” Tyler supplied. 

The President nodded. “You said he can dematerialize at will. In that
case why isn't he being studied in one of our labs to find out how he 
can do it?” 

“He would be, Councillor, if you can suggest a way for us to keep him in
one place for any length of time,” replied Tyler. 

The other Councillors laughed and the President, seeing the difficulty,
joined in. 

“Joking aside,” said the Judge when the laughter subsided, “couldn't he
be sedated and studied?” 

Tyler shook his head. “He's doing it with his mind somehow. We needed
him awake to study him but he just kept vanishing.” 

“What does the ‘14' mean in his name?” asked the Fleet Marshal. 

“Everyone bred artificially on a Birth Colony has their age displayed in
a small circle on the back of their neck,” Tyler explained. “It changes 
every year and when they reach the age of 15 they're transported from 
the Colony to begin work as slaves on other planets.” 

The Fleet Marshal nodded. 

“The mass murderer, Corthan Yanu,” the Judge said. “If I remember
correctly he wiped out an entire small planet, didn't he?” 

The planet Konev,” Tyler said, nodding. “A tenth the size of Earth.” 

“Does he really have to go?” 

“Under normal circumstances we wouldn't have any of them, would we?”
asked Tyler. “These aren't normal circumstances though, are they?” 

The Judge reluctantly agreed. 

“This man Miller, the drug trafficker,” said the Treasury Director, “is
he an addict?” 

“Not exactly,” replied Tyler, “although he would swallow all the
Dreamtabs he could get his hands on if he could get away with it. If 
you recall however that Dreamtabs were produced bearing the 
possibilities of addiction in mind so only one Dreamtab a month can be 
taken. Any more than that and the body totally rejects them. Miller 
would probably wind up an addict but it's physically impossible due to 
the chemical make-up of the drugs.” 

The Treasury Director seemed satisfied with that. 

“The leader of the group, Frank Kane,” said the Fleet Marshal. “I well
remember him. Guilty of high treason against the Fleet, the bastard. 
Can we trust him on a mission like this?” 

Tyler smiled. “We can't really trust any of them can we? However if you
remember our insurance, gentlemen?” 

The Councillors glanced at each other and nodded at this reminder of the
watertight scheme he had outlined earlier to them. 

“In which case we can trust them all,” Tyler went on. “because they'll
have no choice but to carry out my commands to the letter.” 

“Yes, your plan is very well thought out and prepared,” agreed the
Judge. “You seem to have every possibility covered. I'm sure I speak 
for the other Councillors when I say that normally we wouldn't even 
entertain using such a group for a legitimate Earth venture however 
given the circumstances...,” he said and shrugged. “Well Councillors, 
any further questions?” 

The others shook their heads. 

“In that case, Commander,” went on the Judge, “you have our permission
to pick up the prisoners. For the crimes they've committed they must 
all be in the same place?” 

“Correct Councillor,” Tyler said, smiling. “The garbage can of the known
Universe – Sirene.” 


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