[Prologue]    [Chapter 1]   [Chapter 2]    [Chapter 3]    [Chapter 4]    [Chapter 5]    [Chapter 6]    [Chapter 7]    [Chapter 8]    [Chapter 9]    [Chapter 11]    [Chaper 12]    [Chapter 13]    [Chapter 14]    [Chapter 15]    [Chapter 16]    [Chapter 17]    [Chapter 18]    [Chapter 19]    [Chapter 20]    [Chapter 21]    [Chapter 22]    [Chapter 23]    [Chapter 24]    [Chapter 25]    [Chapter 26]    [Chapter 27]    [Chapter 28]    [Chapter 29]    [Chapter 30]    [Epilogue]
   

Chapter 10

    “Now for the main story,” the newsreader said. “Earlier today King Jaron, not yet crowned, gave to the Tyrons the speech of teamwork.”
    The screen that Kane was watching then showed Jaron on a platform outside the Sherran palace, talking through a rectangular microphone. On Jaron’s left and off the platform were Zana and the Tyron Deputy General, wearing his grand silver jacket to show his rank.
    Jaron was saying: “We need to work together to rebuild the lost buildings in our towns and cities. Once they’re finished, I assure you it will all be worth the hard work.”
    Kane switched off the screen. “Didn’t I tell you you’d one day be a great king Jaron?” Kane smiled to himself and leaned back in his Jacuzzi-bath, he put his hands behind his head-careful not to put them near the gadget attached to his head. He scanned the minds in his palace-and found himself surprised to pick up a particular one.
    “Loria? What are you doing here?”
    “Why didn’t you tell us you were going back?”
    “I needed my privacy-”
    “And why is it I feel your mind diseased? Dad, is there something wrong?”
     Loria then entered the door to the bathroom and stared at the gadget on her Dad’s head, her face was showing nothing but shock.

Jaron felt tired and his hands were burning. He peeled off his padded gloves, threw them to the floor and dipped his red hands into a sink of cold water. His hands steamed in the water and Jaron was loving the feeling.
    He got to his room and lay down on a luxurious, red, padded sofa. Rida was reading on his bed. Zana then came in.
    “Wavetown and Blue Quirra town have been taken back,” Zana reported. “The army for Electro City’s also growing.”
    “Good, good,” said Jaron in a bored way.
    “Building new walls?” asked Zana. Jaron nodded. “You’re lucky, I had to fiddle with the silver moult. Wodda ‘bout you Rida?”
    “I put in new windows,” answered Rida proudly.
    “Trust them to give you the easiest job, bye guys,” said Zana, then he went out of the bedroom.
    “He looks a bit like a Catlan with wings,” Rida said.
    “Yeah,” answered Jaron. “He now sounds more grown-up.” The tired King closed his eyes.
    “Shall I wake you up at dinner time?” asked his brother.
    Jaron smiled and said: “You do that.”
   
    “She’s sad about something,” said Rida.
    Zana, standing next to Rida outside Jaron’s room, said quietly: “Her Dad’s got Runzmo’s Disease.” Loria was crying very loudly.
    Rida quietly went into Jaron’s room. He saw Loria crying over his brother’s shoulder, Jaron was also looking quite sad.
    “What…?” “Wait, probably better to ask the computer instead,” thought Rida. He quietly walked over to Jaron’s computer while Loria was crying out.
    “Why didn’t he tell us? We’re family!!!” Loria carried on crying.
    Rida got to the computer while Jaron was quieting his girlfriend down. Rida typed in: ‘Runzmow’s Disease’, which the computer corrected to: ‘Runzmo’s Disease’.
    The computer scanned the files while Jaron said quietly: “Listen, Loria, we attack Electro City in a few days. Will you be alright by then?” Loria nodded. She was simply weeping now.
    Rida then read off the computer: “Discovered by Runzmo, a Wayan scientist, a few centuries ago. Mainly infects Tellens over 63 years old. Wait a minute, Kane’s only 40. How can this be possible?” Rida thought. He read on. Symptoms are frequent temper losses, distraction, a slight laziness and sharp, alerted, wild eyes. If not treated, the diseased Tellen loses intelligence, suffers memory loss and can accidentally send brainwaves so strong, that healthy Tellens will be plunged into comas lasting from as little as a few days to as long as 10 months.” Rida was shocked by this. “The rest of the Taklans can’t be affected at all. Treatment: a small electrical gadget attached to the head can keep the brainwaves under control and makes sure that memory and intelligence doesn’t fade. But the symptoms the diseased Tellen suffer earlier on still affect him/her and the Tellen goes a little faulty under pressure. I wonder what they mean by that? After some decades, the disease leads the Tellen to insanity.”

Jaron looked out of the window, to see the technologically advanced city. The buildings were all metal cuboids. All around were mostly  Catlans not even knowing that there’s an army creeping around and waiting for a sneak attack. A Tyron slave looked as if he saw them but didn’t say anything.
    Jaron looked left and right in the corridor they were in. There was a Tyron standing next to each window, phaser rifles in hand. Many of them were slaves themselves and were happy to be free. The ceiling panels would usually be lighting up to give the corridor light, but not tonight.
    “Ready?” Jaron loudly  whispered along the corridor. The Tyrons nodded. He took a hand-held speaker out of his pocket and switched it on. It was black with buttons under the speaker-the on/off button and numbered buttons. He pressed ‘1’. “Ready?”
    “Ready as I’ll ever be.” (Zana’s voice.) He then pressed ‘2’.
    “Ready?”
    “Yes sir.” Then Jaron pressed ‘3’.
    “Ready?”
    “All in position.” Then he pressed ‘4’.
    “Ready?”
    “Waiting for your signal sir.” He pressed ‘5’.
    “Ready?”
    “Ready.” Now he pressed ‘6’.
    “Ready?”
    “Yes Jaron.” (Loria’s voice.)
    “Be careful, okay Loria?” said Jaron with care.
    “I will,” she told him, a bit angrily.
     Jaron sighed. He switched off the speaker and armed his laser rifle. He opened a window, other Tyrons near him started doing the same.
    “NOW!” he shouted and all the Tyrons on that level flew out and started shooting. Many Tyrons invaded the biggest buildings while more Tyrons were flying in from behind the buildings. Meanwhile, Tellens, Bannons and Wayans were raiding the streets to keep the ground Catlans occupied. They too, started to raid buildings.
    Jaron ignored all of this and headed for the huge power-house in front of him-followed behind by Zana and a small group of Tyrons. They flew there fast and flew in through an open window. They gathered in the corridor they found themselves in and Jaron spoke first.
    “The turbo that we need to switch off is one level above us,” told Jaron.
    “You’ll also need to keep quiet after we come out of the elevator over there,” Zana pointed to the lift near them. “Unfortunately for us Jaron’s Grandpa made this place have hiding places around the works. They were supposed to be for our advantage.”
    The Tyrons went into the lift and went up one floor. When the lift doors opened, the Tyron nearest the front crept out a little way and snooped around a bit. There were no Catlans about, so he looked back to the lift and nodded. The rest of the Tyrons crept out and carefully, silently crept in two’s-except the first Tyron who got out of the lift-and surrounded some of the entrances to the Engineering Room. The first Tyron who got out  crept along further and was hit by a laser that came out of what looked like a black window. The nearest Tyron heard the laser and ran to check if the Tyron who was hit was dead, then she got  shot. She yelled out in pain and held her arm.
    The next Tyron kept shooting at the window until a knocked–out Catlan fell out and dangled. He spotted 2 more Catlans walking towards him in the corridor and he shot one while the other Catlan ran back and yelled: “Help! Attackers! Get help!” The Tyron looked at Jaron for orders.
    “ATTACK AND SWITCH OFF THE TURBO!!!” shouted Jaron and all the Tyrons ran into the room. As soon as they were in, an electronic voice boomed “Intruder” and the alarm went off. Zana was flying over all the machinery and quickly got to the turbo-with no one around to stop him switching it off.
    Tyrons were fighting Catlans in different parts of the room and gave up trying to get to the turbo, even though none of them-except Jaron who saw him fly over the machines-knew Zana was already starting to shut it down. Zana pressed many buttons until ‘useless’ appeared on the computer screen with a computer voice saying: “All command codes in control of Catlan X Elite”.
    “Even the emergency Tyron codes?” Zana asked and shouted (the room was noisy with the loud alarm and working machines and all). Zana pressed more buttons.
    “Negative,” said the computer and a thin, red rectangle appeared on the screen.
    Meanwhile, a Tyron was edging nearer to his King. He had Jaron in sight  and noticed that Jaron had a lot of Catlans fighting him-and that he needed help. A Catlan got in his way so he shoved him aside and ran to Jaron. A few Catlans turned around and kept him back.
    “My King!” he shouted. “I can’t get to the turbo!” He then punched a Catlan in the shoulder.
    Jaron gave a hard kick to another Catlan. “Don’t worry!” He blocked an attack and hit the Catlan with the end of the handle of his Air Blade. “Zana’s there shutting it off now!” He deflected laser blasts with his Air Blade.
    The shoved Catlan stood in the middle of the chaos, shocked. He turned around and started running. “I’ve got to keep the turbo running!” he thought  while running.
    Zana had finished typing in a code. “Tyron : Zana” it showed on the screen and was said by the computer voice. “Enter the emergency shutdown sequence,” ordered the computer. Zana gladly typed in the code. “Shutdown sequence commencing!” The computer voice boomed.
    Just then, the Catlan who was running had heard the computer and then saw Zana. He shouted “NO!”. The Catlan threw a dagger. Zana quickly turned around and tried to catch it, but it stabbed his right forearm. Zana clutched at the forearm and lowered to the floor.
    “It was meant to KILL YOU!!” shouted the Catlan and ran forward. A huge gust of wind blew the Catlan forward so his head hit the computer. It knocked him out. The second gust of wind blew the Catlan to a far side of the room. Jaron flew down and landed, the machines shut off but fighting was still heard.
    Zana was lying on the floor, curled up and still clutching his stabbed arm. Jaron bent down next to him. “Zana, you alright?”
    “I think so.”
    The blonde held Zana’s arm and carefully pulled out the dagger.
    “Aah, ah,” Zana quietly cried out.
    “Sh.” Jaron tore off a bit of his sleeve and wiped Zana’s blood. “He just happened to wear short sleeves today.” Jaron thought to himself. Then cheering could be heard.

©Ruth Amy Louise Hüneke 2008