THE PLANET THAT LOVED PEOPLE (standard:science fiction, 3675 words) [12/12] show all parts
Author: Danny Raven	Added: Mar 13 2016	Views/Reads: 1768/1433	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
PART 3 - LAST CHAPTER

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

that bastard Tyler. Christ, what he would give to even the score with 
him. Now he never would. 

He glanced at his watch. Two minutes to live. He finished the last of
his beer, stood up and walked out into the rain, waiting to die. 

***** 

Tyler looked immaculate in his black uniform and peaked cap as he
strolled confidently to the Suspended Animation Room next to the 
Cryogenics Lab. The usual arrogant smile was on his face and he was 
looking forward immensely to personally decapitating Kane's clone with 
a laser saw. 

All six clones had been kept partially frozen during the mission so that
clone-pain could be inflicted on the original subjects if needed and 
now, clone-death. 

The Guard outside the door snapped to attention as he approached then
pressed a wall button and the door slid open. Tyler strolled in and the 
door slid shut behind him. 

Two technicians were waiting at the far end of the room for him. They
were wearing protective clear plastic gowns over their uniforms and one 
of them had a gown ready for him and the other held a laser saw. 

Tyler walked slowly down the room looking with satisfaction at the five
tables where the beheaded clones of Sinto, Miller, Corthan, Muslik and 
Blaze lay. 

The clones had been kept in individual wall compartments and a
photograph of each was on the various doors. 

Tyler reached the last table which lay empty and glanced at Kane's
photograph on the compartment door. He stared at the rugged, handsome 
face and smiled. 

“Time to die, Kane,” he said. “I kill your clone and you die too! How
satisfying!” 

He took the protective gown from the technician and slipped it on over
his uniform. The other technician handed him the laser saw and Tyler 
held it up and pressed the button in the base. A blue beam immediately 
shot out and held steady. It was about a foot long and could slice 
though a man's neck in seconds. He pressed the button again and the 
beam disappeared. 

Tyler grinned. “Bring out the clone!” he instructed. 

The technicians walked over to Kane's clone's wall compartment and one
of them pressed a wall button and the door slid open. Clouds of whitish 
gas billowed lazily out and they waited for it to clear. 

The gas cleared and the technicians took an end each of the frame which
could be slid in and out and pulled. The frame slid out smoothly on its 
runners to its full extent. 

It was empty! 

They all stared at it, stunned. 

“Where's the clone!?” Tyler yelled. 

The technicians glanced nervously at each other. 

“Where's the fucking clone!?” Tyler yelled. 

The technicians jumped. 

“The clone's gone, sir,” one of them stammered. 

“I can see that! Gone fucking where!? When were they last inspected!?” 

“Yesterday, sir,” said the second technician. “We inspect them every
day.” 

“So it was here yesterday?” 

“Yes sir.” 

Tyler turned and peered into the compartment. It was empty then he
noticed a note taped to the wall. He grabbed it, turned and read it. 

‘SORRY TO HAVE RUSHED OFF!' it said. ‘WE'LL MEET AGAIN SOON! KANE.' 

Tyler paled and staggered back against the wall. Kane's clone gone!! How
could that be!? 

“Search the room!” he barked, tossing the laser saw aside and ripping
off his gown. With a shaking hand he drew his laser pistol and checked 
that it was set at ‘kill'. 

He waited nervously as the technicians searched the room including the
other compartments but there was nothing. 

“So you two were in charge of checking the clones?” he asked. 

The technicians glanced at each other then nodded. 

“Every day?” 

They nodded again. 

Tyler raised his laser pistol and shot both of them. They screamed and
dropped. 

Tyler managed to light one of his thin, black cigars and forced himself
to think calmly. Kane's clone was gone but at least it wasn't here in 
the room. He rushed over and locked the door button then raised his 
wrist radio and contacted the Captain of the Guards. 

“Yes sir?” he answered immediately. 

Tyler tried to keep his voice calm. “Go to my office and get me my
force-field belt. Bring six men with you and meet me in the Suspended 
Animation Room next to the Cryogenics Lab. Do it now!!” 

“Yes sir!” the Captain responded. 

Tyler leaned back against the wall nervously smoking. There was a thin
film of sweat on his forehead and he removed his cap and brushed it 
away. 

He couldn't believe it! The only man on the planet whom he feared was
free, well his clone was, which amounted to the same thing. And the 
clone would have one thing in mind – killing him. And it was here! 
Somewhere right in the heart of his own Fleet HQ! Jesus Christ! 

He paced up and down the room, laser pistol at the ready, smoking
anxiously and impatiently waiting for the Captain to arrive. 

A few minutes later he did so and Tyler checked him through the small
window before unlocking the wall button and pressing it. The door slid 
open and Tyler dropped his cigar and grabbed his force-field belt 
before the Captain could say a word. 

He fumbled it on round his waist, set it for two feet and activated it. 

“Check!” he ordered the Captain. 

The Captain reached out with his laser rifle and tapped the invisible
force-field. “It's on, sir,” he told him. 

Tyler closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe. For
now. Nothing could penetrate the moveable force-field. He holstered his 
laser pistol and beckoned the Captain to follow him. They walked down 
to Kane's clone's compartment and Tyler pointed at the photograph. 

“Take that with you and have it sent all round HQ!” he ordered. “Every
monitor, every computer terminal, every screen! I want this bastard 
found!” 

The Captain removed Kane's photograph. “Yes sir!” 

“Mobilise all the Fleet Guards! Seal off the entire grounds!” Tyler
ordered him. “Nothing in or out! Ground all flights! Nothing leaves or 
lands! I want him found! Start searching! Move!! Now!!!” 

**** 

Kane glanced at his watch. The two minutes were well and truly up. What
the fuck was Tyler playing at? Prolonging his agony by keeping him 
waiting? 

The rain was still hammering down and his black hair was plastered to
his head and face, his t-shirt and shorts sticking to him. 

“Come on, come on, get it over with you bastard!” he muttered. 

Then he felt something on his face. His left side. As if he'd been
slapped. He looked round quickly but there was no-one. Then he felt a 
slap on his right side. Harder this time. Again he looked round but 
again there was no-one. 

Then he winced. He had felt a sudden sharp pain in the tip of his left
index finger. He peered closely at it. Through the rain he could see a 
small red mark appearing on his skin. As if he'd been burned. 

What the fuck was going on? 

He winced again as the same thing happened to the tip of his right index
finger and the same small red mark appeared. 

Could Tyler be torturing him before killing him? 

No. If Tyler was torturing him he'd be writhing about on the wet sand,
having been slammed on the face or ribs or knees with a metal baton. 
Tyler wasn't the type for soft torture. 

So who the hell was it then? 

He wiped the rain from his face and pushed his hair back and thought
about it. 

Then he knew! 

It had to be his clone! 

His clone was contacting him by clone-pain to tell him something! 

What? 

The rain continued to hammer down but he didn't notice it anymore. He
paced along the sodden, wind-whipped beach, deep in thought. 

Suddenly he understood! 

His clone had escaped somehow and was telling him! His clone had escaped
from Tyler! He wasn't going to be killed! 

He felt another slap on the left side of his face again and it was as if
his clone had given him time to think about it and work things out. It 
was telling him he was correct. 

If his clone was alive he would have to find it somehow then get
de-cloned. That meant leaving Kasabla. He began walking briskly through 
the rain back to the Falcon. 

***** 

The search for Kane's clone proved negative. 

Tyler was waiting in his locked office where he'd extended his
force-field to cover the entire inside of the room, allowing him to 
pace up and down and smoke whilst he waited, dropping the force-field 
now and again to let the haze of smoke clear. 

The Guard Captain had reported to him after the first sweep and Tyler
had sent him back out to conduct the search again. 

An agonising hour later for Tyler, the Guard Captain returned. The news
was the same. There was no sign of Kane's clone. 

“I've got two hundred Guards searching for him,” the Captain said.
“We've looked everywhere. He's disappeared.” 

“He can't have disappeared!” Tyler snapped. “He must be somewhere!” 

“Shall we search again?” the tired Captain asked. 

Tyler ignored him and strolled over to the window and stared out.
Darkness was falling. The area around the main building was well lit 
and was a hive of activity but it was impossible to illuminate the 
entire grounds. They were just too large and sprawling. Kane's clone 
could be holed up anywhere, waiting for the fuss to die down, picking 
his moment to strike. 

There was something else though that had occurred to him. Kane himself.
He must have realised by now that perhaps his clone had escaped so he'd 
be heading back to Earth to look for him as well. 

Tyler contacted the Fleet Major and ordered him to put all available
troops under the command of the Guard Captain. He smiled. They'd find 
the clone eventually. He'd kill it and that would be the end of Kane. 

He turned back to the Guard Captain. “Change of plan,” he told him. “Get
me a crew together fast and get my Falcon prepared for lift. Load 
enough stores for a few days. I'll take a Platoon of Guards with me.” 

“Certainly sir. Where are you going?” 

“None of your damned business!” Tyler snapped. “I'll keep in contact
with you. You now have several hundred extra Fleet troops to help you. 
Continue the search till he's found. I'm leaving you in charge of it. 
Now move and muster that crew!” 

The Guard Captain saluted and left. 

Tyler lit another thin, black cigar and strolled back to the window. He
smiled. Where would he be? Why the last place Kane or his clone would 
think of looking for him. Sirene! 

It was a day's journey and the co-ordinates were a closely guarded
secret. Even if Kane or his clone thought of going, they wouldn't be 
able to locate the planet. He would wait there a few days till the 
bastard clone was found. 

He finished his cigar then lowered his moveable force-field to a few
inches and left his office for his villa. He quickly packed some extra 
clothes and a few other items for the trip, making sure to include 
several boxes of his favourite cigars. 

“Don't think they'll sell them on Sirene!” he muttered to himself,
grinning. 

Under tight security he boarded his personal Falcon and shortly
afterwards it lifted. He would programme the co-ordinates for Sirene 
into the Computer himself after they cleared Earth's atmosphere. 

In a room high in the Fleet HQ main building, the elderly, grey haired
Surgeon General watched the Falcon depart. He grinned and raised his 
glass to it. 

***** 

“Power up the Drive,” Kane ordered the Computer. 

“Certainly,” it replied. 

Kane sat back in his chair and heard the familiar high pitched whine as
the Drive powered up then it settled to a low hum. 

When he'd come back from the beach hut through the rain and wind he
hadn't bothered to change. Instead he'd quickly collected everything 
from Blaze's cabin, everything from Sarah's, stuffed them into bags and 
then piled them into the Pod. He then headed back to the beach hut and 
took the bags in. 

Tenderly he carried Blaze's body and head into the hut then Sarah's
body. He had brought his knife and he slit the skin on her lower spine 
and found the real Android disc, skilfully concealed under some 
excellent tissue grafting. Her head had been disintegrated by the laser 
shot but he searched amongst the wet sand and found her diamond pendant 
and then Blaze's and pocketed them both. 

Inside the hut, he stood for a few minutes saying goodbye to them then
scattered some powerful burning fuel stix around which burst into 
flames shortly afterwards. 

Standing outside in the rain, he watched the fire take hold, happy
memories of the three of them together flickering across his mind as 
the flames flickered across the hut. 

He returned to the Falcon, docked the Pod then made his way to his cabin
where he showered and changed into a clean, black jumpsuit. Then he 
tied the two pendants round his neck. 

Next he searched in a drawer and found the small memory stik Muslik had
given him. It held the co-ordinates to and from Sirene, not that he'd 
ever need them and the co-ordinates to the Corridor entrance, both 
ways, having added the co-ordinates from Kasabla back to the Corridor 
himself. 

As he was leaving he caught sight of three large boxes lying on the
floor in a corner, one full of diamonds, one full of gold nuggets and 
one full of pearls. Blaze had collected them all for him. Just for fun. 
Which was just like Blaze. Christ, he'd miss him. 

He'd informed the Computer on his return that Blaze and Sarah were gone
and that he'd now be on his own. The Computer had tactfully offered its 
sympathies. 

Before he returned to the Bridge for lift off he wandered down to the
Exit Bay and strolled out into the rain. It was probably the last time 
he'd ever stand on the planet. 

He stood in silence and thanked Kasabla for everything it had given them
and apologised for the deaths and for leaving. The rain grew heavier. 
The planet was going to be lonely again. 

Damp once again from the rain but not bothered, he secured the Exit Bay
doors and made his way back to the Bridge. He took the Pilot's seat and 
panned the view on the Observation Screen round for a last look. 

The moor looked like it did when they'd first landed – bleak, wind-swept
and rain lashed. In the distance he could see black smoke still rising 
from the burning beach hut. The sea was wild, full of angry waves and 
white caps crashing on to the shore. 

He sighed and returned the view to straight ahead. 

“May I ask where we're going?” the Computer asked. 

It jolted Kane back. He took the memory stik from his pocket and fed it
into the Pilot's terminal. 

“We're heading back to the Corridor entrance,” he told the Computer.
“I'm feeding the co-ordinates in now.” 

“So presumably we're going back through the Corridor?” 

“Yeah, I'll pilot from the Safety Cabin.” 

“Understood.” 

And after that, Kane wondered? Well he had to find his clone then get
de-cloned. Christ knows how he was going to do that. Where would he 
start looking? Earth probably. The only problem with that was that 
Tyler would probably be out searching for his clone right now and he 
wouldn't, no couldn't give up until he found it and killed it and thus 
killed him. Jesus, he was living on borrowed time as of now. 

“Co-ordinates for the Corridor entrance received and programmed into the
Pilot's console,” the Computer told him. “Ready for lift off.” 

“Okay. As soon as we clear the planet's atmosphere, set the shortest
course for the Corridor then take us up to maximum speed and keep it 
like that.” 

“Very well,” the Computer said crisply. 

Just as Kane was about to lock himself into the Pilot's seat for lift
off he felt a jagged sensation in his left arm, just below the elbow. 
It continued and he winced and pulled up the sleeve of his jumpsuit to 
see what it was. 

A semi-circular scratch had appeared on the outer part of his lower arm
and was oozing blood. Puzzled, he examined the arm-rest on his seat to 
see if he had caught himself on anything jagged but there was nothing. 

He winced again as the scratching on his skin continued, droplets of
blood running from it. He found a small cloth in a drawer and dabbed 
away the blood. 

The scratching on his outer arm looked like a crude letter ‘S'. 

What the fuck? 

The scratching continued next to the letter and more blood oozed from
it. This time when he dabbed it clean, it looked like a crude letter 
‘I'. 

Kane leaned back in his seat and laughed. He knew what was happening!
His clone was sending him a message! A message telling him where it was 
going. It was using clone-pain again. His clone must be scratching the 
letters into his own arm. 

The scratching continued and he knew what the next letter would be. He
dabbed away the droplets of blood and he was correct. It was a crude 
letter ‘R'. 

‘S-I-R'. 

He knew the next letter would be an ‘E'. 

It was! 

His clone was somehow going to Sirene! 

The letters on his skin confirmed it. When he dabbed the last of the
blood away, ‘SIRENE' had been crudely scratched into his arm. 

Kane grinned. “Thanks!” he said. “Thanks a lot!” 

Just to confirm the message was completed, he felt a sharp pin prick in
the tip of his thumb. 

He winced then grinned again. “Yeah, I've received the message!” he
yelled. 

Then something else occurred to him. The co-ordinates for Sirene were a
closely guarded secret so the only reason his clone would be going 
there meant he had somehow gotten on board a Ship with Tyler. Tyler was 
going to Sirene! 

“Yes!” he yelled. “This just gets better!” 

“Er, sorry to interrupt,” said the Computer, “but are you alright?” 

“Sure,” Kane replied. “I now know where we're heading after we get
through the Corridor.” 

“Where?” 

“The penal colony of Sirene. Where all this shit started in the first
place.” He pulled down his jumpsuit sleeve, locked his seat and took a 
final look round at Kasabla. 

“Lift off!” he ordered the Computer. 


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