THE PLANET THAT LOVED PEOPLE (standard:science fiction, 3108 words) [8/12] show all parts
Author: Danny Raven	Added: Mar 12 2016	Views/Reads: 1824/1379	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
PART 3 - CH 8

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


“I need convincing.” 

“Convincing about what?” 

Kane stared at her. “This planet. About whether it really likes us.” 

“So how are you going to do that?” 

He grinned. “I'll tell you later,” he replied. “If it works.” 

***** 

Sarah and Blaze tidied up around the hut then after admiring it decided
to have a look around the planet while Kane was away. 

“Remember I can dematerialize and hold people as well,” he told her. 

“How could I forget, you idiot!? You saved me from the pirates!” 

“Oh yeah,” said a grinning Blaze. “Were shall we go then?” 

“Out to that little island first,” said Sarah, pointing at it. 

“Okay,” said Blaze. He pulled on his jumpsuit and boots. “Take my hand,”
he told her. 

They took hands, Blaze closed his eyes and concentrated and seconds
later, the two of them were standing on the small island. 

“Jeeze, that really is incredible the way you can do that!” Sarah said,
stunned to find herself standing on the island. 

Blaze bowed to her. “I still don't know how I can do it,” he said. “How
d'you feel?” he asked her. 

“A little tingly all over,” she replied, “but it's starting to fade.” 

They turned and looked back inland. They could see the bay, the beach
hut and further along the coast, the Falcon. 

It was windier out on the island and Sarah drew her hair into a ponytail
with a clasp. “Shall I do yours?” she asked. 

Blaze nodded. 

She took out a spare clasp and tucked his long black hair into a
ponytail then stared at the back of his neck. 

Being from a Birth Colony, Blaze's age was displayed in a small circle
on the back of his neck. At present he was 14 years old and when the 
number changed to 15, he would've been shipped out as a slave labourer. 


“Hey, your age thing! Sarah said to him, touching it. 

“What about it?” Blaze asked. 

“It's sort of changing,” Sarah told him. 

“To what?” 

“Looks like the 4 is changing into a 5.” 

“That means I'll soon be 15,” Blaze told her. “Maybe tomorrow. I
would've been sent out as a slave to fu--, to who knows where.” 

“So it's your birthday tomorrow then!” Sarah said, hugging him. “That's
great!” 

“Thank buggery I'm not back on Birth Colony Unton,” he said. 

“What d'you want as a present then?” Sarah asked. 

Blaze frowned. “What d'you mean – a present?” 

“Well on Earth, when somebody has a birthday, they get presents from
their family. What d'you want?” 

As soon as she asked, she wished she hadn't. He'd probably ask for a
girlfriend. 

Blaze thought for a moment. “Know what I'd really really really like?” 

“What?” 

“A white pony!” 

Sarah laughed. “A white pony!” 

“Yeah, I saw some on movies I used to watch at night when we were having
those briefing sessions. I think they're really cool. I could ride it 
up and down the beaches.” 

Sarah laughed. “Don't think we'll be able to get you one of them. We'll
have to think of something else.” 

“Okay. You can make it a surprise. Let's go and see the cliffs where I
got you those shiny stones.” 

They held hands, Blaze closed his eyes and concentrated and they were
gone. 

Sarah screamed when they reappeared. They were on top of a tree in the
middle of a forest. Blaze laughed, closed his eyes and they vanished 
before the branch collapsed. She screamed again a few moments later as 
they appeared on top of another tree then another as Blaze whizzed them 
across the forest. 

They next appeared at the top of the high waterfall he'd been to a
couple of days ago and Sarah held her breath and peered over. It was 
about a hundred feet to the bottom and the rushing water cascaded down 
over some ledges to a pool far below. 

“Ready to jump?” Blaze asked. 

“Jump!?” 

“Yeah, jump!” He grabbed her hand and jumped. 

She screamed all the way down and he vanished just feet from the ground.
They appeared at the edge of another forest and stopped to catch their 
breath. 

“My God! I thought you were going to kill us both at the waterfall!” she
said, leaning against a tree. 

Blaze laughed. “It's fun, isn't it?” 

Sarah nodded and hugged him. “Where are the shiny stone cliffs, as you
call them?” 

He pointed off into the distance and she could see the cliffs rising
majestically. Half a minute later they were standing at the foot of 
them. 

“Wow!” said Sarah, staring up. “Have you been to the top?” 

Blaze nodded. “I'll take you.” He walked over to some rocks. “Look,
here's the shiny stones.” 

Sarah wandered over and was stunned by what she saw. There were several
hundred exquisite diamonds lying near a large boulder. They were all 
perfect and each was a different colour and shape. She picked up a 
handful and examined them. 

“You could buy a mansion and your own Ship with just a few of these back
on Earth,” she told Blaze. 

Blaze shrugged. “We're not on Earth,” he said. “So here they're just
shiny, pretty, stones.” 

“Yeah, I suppose you're right.” She picked a few dark blue and deep red
ones and put them in her pocket, laying the rest down. 

“Let's go to the top!” Blaze said, pointing up the cliffs. “The view's
brilliant!” 

“Okay,” agreed Sarah. “But no tricks. Don't think my heart could take
any more.” 

Blaze nodded and took her hand. He closed his eyes and they vanished,
appeared briefly on a few ledges then they were at the top. 

The view was stunning. They could see for miles and the planet looked
incredibly beautiful, even inland. There were rivers and hills and 
lakes and lush valleys stretching away as far as the eye could see in 
the afternoon sunshine. 

“Amazing, just amazing!” said Sarah. “It's such a beautiful planet!” 

“And it likes us!” added Blaze. 

Sarah nodded. “Yeah, it does. Let's just hope Frank gets convinced too.”


***** 

Kane had taken the Pod a few miles down the coast away from the Ship. He
drifted it out to sea a little, admiring the changing coast line of 
rolling hills then rocky coves then more sandy bays. 

He wasn't out to admire the scenery though. 

He took the Pod up higher then headed inland passing above some steep
cliffs with the waves crashing into the base, sending white water 
flying into the air. 

There were meadows and forests and valleys passing beneath him but he
was searching for a more rugged spot. 

Eventually he found an area he was looking for. It was a wide, rocky
valley with a river running through it. No grassy areas. No trees. No 
bushes or plants. 

He set the Pod down, collected his water bottle and laser rifle and
stepped out. He was on a flat area of the valley, stony and rocky, with 
dark soil underneath. 

He strolled over and sat on a flat boulder next to a very small stream
of crystal clear water which was trickling through the rocks to a 
meandering river below. 

The afternoon was pleasantly warm, the sun shining in a clear blue sky
and a slight breeze was blowing. He laid down his rifle and water 
bottle and looked round. A peaceful calm hung over the valley and 
despite its ruggedness, there was a certain beauty to it. 

“Yep, have to admit it,” he said, “you're certainly a mighty fine
planet!” 

He grinned. Sarah would have loved to have heard him say that. 

Then things started to happen. 

The area round about him was stony and rocky with rich, black soil
underneath. From nowhere and for no reason, flowers began springing up 
here and there. All different colours. All fully formed. He could smell 
their perfume on the breeze. 

He looked at them and nodded. “Thanks for the flowers, planet,” he said,
“but in case you hadn't noticed, I'm a guy. Not really into flowers.” 
So what did he want then? 

He thought about his situation. He already had a nice looking, very
affectionate woman. He had a family of sorts – Blaze. They had a fine 
planet to live on. They were away from Tyler. They had no enemies. The 
planet was providing plenty of food and water. The climate was good. So 
what was missing? He stroked his thick black moustache as he thought 
about it. What else did a man need? 

Of course! Booze! Their booze stock on the Falcon was reaching
dangerously low levels. Yeah, that's what he wanted. Booze. 

“Okay planet, “he said, looking round, glad there was nobody there to
hear him, “if you really like us as Sarah believes, prove it to me. 
Provide me with some good booze. Beer, yeah beer. We're just about out 
of it.” 

He glanced around again in case Sarah and Blaze had sneaked up on him,
knowing Blaze could dematerialize with her along but he was alone. 

He frowned. Even if the planet could produce beer, how the hell could it
do it? A beer tree!? With cans and bottles hanging from it instead of 
oranges or mangoes!? He grinned. Not a bad idea actually. 

Then he noticed something. The perfume from the flowers had died away
and was replaced by something else. What the hell was it? It was a 
smell he knew. Then it struck him. He could smell beer! He looked round 
about. Where the hell was it coming from? 

His eyes were drawn to the small, trickling stream a few feet away. The
crystal clear water had changed colour and was now a pale gold. It fell 
into a very small pool before trickling on downwards and the top of the 
pool had a white foam on top of it. 

“Fuck off!” Kane muttered, looking away. “This can't be for real!” 

He looked back at the stream and the golden flow continued. There was
only one way to find out. He picked up his clear water bottle, 
unscrewed the top and emptied it out. 

He strolled over to the stream and held the bottle under it, the pale
gold liquid slowly filling it with some foam at the top. 

“Fuck!” he muttered. “If that's not beer I'm a lesbian from Nefor!!” 

He smelled it – it smelled like beer. He held it up to the sky and
examined it – it looked like beer. 

He should really take it back to the small lab on the Falcon and test
it. He thought about it but then decided that if the planet had wanted 
to harm them they'd all be dead by now. 

He lifted the bottle to his lips and drank some. Jeeze! It tasted like
beer!! Really excellent beer!!! 

He shook his head, amazed. “Now that is impressive, planet!” he said.
“Cheers!!” 

He took a deep pull on the beer and damn if it didn't taste good! 

“Christ! Free beer!” he muttered. 

He nodded and looked round. “Okay, I admit it,” he said loudly. “This
planet likes us! It really likes us!” 

Then he caught sight of something moving at the top of some nearby rocks
and soon changed his mind. 

***** 

Sarah and Blaze were waiting impatiently for him to return. 

Sarah was in the Galley keeping herself busy making some thin screens
for the beach hut windows then preparing dinner. Blaze was on the 
Bridge, tracking round on the ObservationScreen with the remote 
control, searching for the white Pod. 

Fifteen minutes later, Kane arrived. 

Blaze rushed along to the Galley. “He's back!” he announced then rushed
back to the Bridge to help dock the Pod. 

The two of them waited nervously and shortly afterwards Kane strolled
in. He was carrying his water bottle which was full of the golden beer. 


He grinned at them. “Get three glasses, Mr Barman!” he said to Blaze. 

Blaze laughed and quickly brought them out. Kane filled the three of
them with the beer which had a slight foam on top. 

He picked up his own. “To the planet!” he said and drank some. 

Sarah sipped some of hers. “Beer!” she said, amazed. 

Blaze's eyes widened. He emptied half his glass. “Wow!” he said. “It's
brilliant!” 

“Where the hell did you get that!?” Sarah asked. 

“From the planet,” Kane said, grinning. “I'll explain later but there's
something more important I have to tell you.” 

Sarah and Blaze glanced at each other. 

“It's the planet,” he said, staring at them. 

“What about it?” Sarah asked. 

Kane glanced at each of them before answering. “I've discovered that
this planet doesn't just like us,” he said. “It fucking well loves 
us!!” 

He reached into his pocket and brought a few items out and laid them on
the table. “Gold!” he said. “Solid gold! Just appeared between some 
cracks in a nearby rock where I was standing. Flowed out then 
solidified into these nuggets.” He looked at them. “Food! Diamonds! 
Beer! Gold! We've landed on a planet that loves people!!!” 

***** 

Sarah and Kane were once again lying on the Bridge couch. This time they
were drinking beer. Kane had quickly tested it in the small lab and it 
proved non-harmful, which didn't mean it wouldn't give you a hangover 
as he'd pointed out to Blaze. 

Blaze was sleeping at the beach hut again. He and his two bird
companions and one water bottle filled with beer. He had been promised 
as much as he wanted tomorrow since it was his birthday. 

The two of them had returned to ‘the golden stream' as Kane called it
and stocked up with a dozen bottles of beer. They noticed that the beer 
changed back to crystal clear water again when they'd finished. 

On the ObservationScreen on the Bridge the pale yellow moon was high in
the dark night sky. It was starting to wane but its shimmering 
reflection on the sea below was exquisite. 

“Nice moon,” said Sarah. 

“Yeah, even nicer beer!” Kane remarked, drinking some. 

Sarah snuggled closer. “The planet that loves people!” she murmured.
“How magical is that!?” 

“Yeah, we've been damned lucky,” Kane admitted. 

“Imagine if Tyler found out about all this?” Sarah said. “All the gold
you want. All the diamonds you want.” 

“Christ, he'd have half a dozen Falcons here filling their cargo bays.” 

Sarah looked at him. “D'you think there's any chance he'll send another
Ship through?” 

“I was thinking about that,” Kane admitted, “but I can't see it. He
won't get any of the Fleet to go and I'm pretty sure The Inner Council 
won't sanction another expedition. They've lost too many Ships.” 

“So you don't think he'll send one?” 

Kane shook his head. “Nope.” He hesitated. “But we might have to go back
through at some point.” 

Sarah sat up. “Back through the Corridor!? Why!?” 

Kane looked at her. “Blaze.” 

“Blaze!? Enlighten me.” 

“He's 15 tomorrow. He's a teenager. What are teenage guys interested
in?” 

“White ponies!?” 

Kane laughed. “Apart from that.” 

Then it dawned on Sarah. “Teenage guys are interested in teenage girls.
Yeah, you're right.” 

“So we'll have to go back at some point. See what we can do for him.” 

Kane refilled their glasses. 

“Frank?” 

“Yeah?” 

“If we do go back...is there anybody else you'd like to bring here?” 

“Hmmm. We'd have to be very careful about that one. I mean the three of
us are getting along fine. If we managed to get Blaze a girlfriend, we 
could just leave it at that for a while. Just the four of us.” 

“Agreed!” Sarah said and they clinked glasses. 

“Right, we'll finish these beers then we have to move,” Kane told her. 

Sarah frowned. “Move? What the hell for?” 

“To get changed into that outfit.” 

“What outfit?” 

“The one we can put on that makes us look like a white pony!” 


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