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  ARGEL

  Book One

  PLANET OF REFUGE

  By B.B. Humphrey

  Copyright 2013

  Books written by B.B. Humphrey can be obtained through select,

  online book retailers.

  Storymill Publishing

  All characters and situations in this novel are entirely fictional and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © B.B. Humphrey 2013

  All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work.

 

  Chapter One

  _______________________

  Kyla clenched her fists and her stomach reached for her throat. “David! Stop! Don’t push against whatever is holding us back. If we go though, it might kill us.”

  He ignored her. The rover strained. Something gave in to David’s efforts. Following a shudder, the vessel shot through the resistance. For the first time, Kyla experienced free-fall.

  She stared out the window at the place where they would die. A green and blue planet floated beneath them. A large mass glittered to her right, appearing and then flickered from sight. Beyond that, mountains covered with snow blurred into the sky color. A quick glimpse toward the opposite side of the rover showed her, beyond massive forests, a lifeless panorama of beige followed the surface of the planet as it curved away into space.

  Despite all odds, the speed of the descent perceptibly slowed. However, David still fought the controls, cursing and crying out, as they dropped toward a green mass.

  The rover came to an abrupt stop and Kyla’s teeth smashed together. A gentle rock—the fall resumed. The vehicle jerked side to side with harsh banging against its sides. Her ears throbbed as they decompressed. They came to a gradual stop and she gasped. A loud crack reverberated down the hull. They fell again in continuous small jerks. Seconds later, movement stopped. A strange crash. No, not really a crash at all.

  “Dave . . . Troy?” She swallowed to relieve the tension in her throat. “Are you all right?”

  Rainbow colors flashed behind her eyelids. Fearing what she might face, her heart thundered. Commanding herself to relax, she struggled to inhale and squinted into golden light slanting through the windows. “Ugh, bright.”

  A silver protective cocoon surrounded her body in an iron grip. She couldn’t breathe. Panic bubbled through her body, and then she remembered. Calm yourself. It’s only claustrophobia. Arms pinned to her side, head throbbing, she fought against the restraint until it loosened enough to pull her right arm free. Reaching over her shoulder, she grabbed an orange lanyard. A quick jerk downward resulted in a muffled pop and a rush of air tossed her hair around. The flexible capsule fell away from her body with a hiss, spitting and groaning as it tucked itself into a neat fold beneath her seat. The pressure gone, she took a deep gasp of air.

  No one answered her call. Sweat ran down her face, and she groaned. Were they dead? Am I alone?

  A mumbled curse came from the cockpit. “You all right, Kyla?”

  David! She sighed, relieved to hear his baritone call—he’s safe.

  “I’m a little rattled, but otherwise, okay. A minute ago, I thought we were headed toward oblivion. Troy?”

  Across from her, Troy grunted, fighting with the safety equipment. “Stupid inertial arrest system. How do you get out of this contrivance?”

  David, now standing, gave him a disgusted look. “Don’t curse it too much—that stupid contraption saved your ass.”

  Kyla smiled as Troy’s lanky form emerge from his semi-deflated crash cocoon, long legs and arms flailing around like a mutated spider’s appendages. The mechanism gave a belated burst of air and folded itself away.

  He craned his head toward her. “Kyla, need help?” His dark, angular face creased with concern.

  A tangle of golden-red hair fell across her face as she struggled. “Yes, please. I can’t release these damn, confusing strap buckles.”

  David, being closer, rose from his seat and came to her. He released the belts and grasped her wrists. His damp hands trembled as he pulled her to her feet.

  “Are you all right, David?” Kyla had never seen his face so pallid.

  “Yeah, just a little shaky.”

  Troy joined them in the narrow space behind the cockpit. The vessel tilted in a precarious slant, making standing a challenge. Without warning, the rover bounced downward, and they fought for balance. Kyla stifled a cry and the men stared at one another in obvious alarm. The screech of the rover against some unknown objects outside gave her shivers, but the little ship settled upright.

  Troy brushed his hand over his tight black curls and muttered a curse worthy of a grisly bouncer in a pirate cove bar on the Scalleon Rim. “What an incredible predicament. We are in a world of trouble with the captain. David, what happened? I know you did not plan on landing this hard.”

  David’s brows crinkled and he rubbed his nose. “Nothing wrong with the instruments. Felt as though we were pulled down.”

  Kyla glanced from one to the other, trying not to be influenced by their worried expressions.

  Troy gave David a sharp look. “That’s a new one—untenable—one I doubt the captain will believe.”

  “Didn’t lose power. The control panel registered nothing wrong. Just came down.” David rotated his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Stiff.” He smoothed his disheveled uniform and turned to Kyla, “Contact the ship.”

  Instead, she strode to the hatch. “You do it. They’ll want to talk with you anyway. I’m going outside. I saw a huge glittering construct I’m dying to see up close.”

  “Wait a damn minute. Might be unsafe outside.” David looked to Troy with raised brow. “How about oxygen? The teams determine this atmosphere safe?”

  “Yes, it is sufficient and purer than that on the Adventurer. If not, we would be dead by now.” He pointed to the back of the rover. “Look at that gash.” Troy shrugged. “There’s more to worry about—life forms we know nothing about.”

  David chuckled. “Okay, Troy, I’ll throw you out first. If you survive, we’ll know it’s safe.”

  Kyla frowned at him—they had just barely escaped with their lives. She looked from David to Troy. “What’s an adventure without a little danger? I’m going out. Well, I am as soon as my legs stop quivering. That fall scared the life out of me.”

  David’s shoulders straightened and he glared. “You are not putting one foot outside. Not until we check ourselves and the rover for damage. Before we do anything, I’ll try to communicate with Big Mama. Once we’re finished, we’ll all go outside.”

  With a down-turned mouth and a shrug, Kyla followed David back into the cockpit. He would usually be the officer in charge, responsible for the others, even if they were friends. However, they were on an unauthorized, reckless adventure, and Kyla wanted to rebel. “I’ll check for other damage within the controls,” she said, anxious to get through the standard crash procedures and go outside to explore.

  David tried the com, worry creasing his face. “Adventurer, Rover oh, oh, five reporting. Emergency, this is Lt. David Kilgour. We’re crashed on Javet 111 and need assistance.” He ground his teeth and tried again. “Adventurer, respond.” Static filled the cockpit. Fifteen minutes passed without any luck and he slammed his fist against the console. “Can’t get through.” Shrugging, he said, “Okay, mates, let’s go. I’ll give it a try later.”

  Kyla shot a look at him, grinned, and headed fo
r the hatch.

  Troy glared from one to the other. “You are excruciatingly insane. Why expose ourselves to potential dangers?”

  David ignored Troy, holstered a multi-powered laser rod, and pushed the bent, creaking door open. He called out, “Only a few feet from the ground. Come on.” He levered himself out.

  Kyla leapt to the ground after David. Troy peered outside the hatch for a second and then followed. They stared around in slack-jawed amazement. A dense, fragrant curtain of green difficult to see through surrounded the rover.

  “All this green stuff feels ominous.” Kyla shuddered.

  “Seems we came straight down, smashed branches, and wedged between these trees.” David pushed branches aside and walked forward. “Saved our butts.” The other two followed.

  “Ohhh, they’re trees?” Kyla spun around and stared, wide-eyed. “I’ve never seen a real tree before. Look! They go up forever. How can they stand on one leg like that?”

  Troy peered up into the towering foliage. “They appear to be a species of pine.”

  Kyla sniffed. “Is that what I smell?”

  He pulled off a bit of resin from the closest tree trunk, sniffed it, and then held it out to her. “Yes. It is indubitably a pine fragrance.”

  She rolled the resin between her fingers and smelled it. “How do you know? Have you ever seen one?” She tried to wipe the goo back onto the tree. “Yuck. It’s sticky.”

  Troy laughed. “The arboretum on Calgor contains a sample of most trees from many planets for study and pharmaceutical use. Most habitable planets have trees that fall into the Pinaceae family of coniferous evergreen trees. The lumber is suitable for building purposes, and the resin contains many beneficial uses such as: in paint, sealants, soap and many other things.”

  Kyla smirked and glanced at David. “Very—um—edifying, Troy.”

  David’s lips twisted and he nodded in acknowledgement of Troy’s inclination to lecture. “Now we’ve been taught a botany lesson, let’s see what lies beyond these trees.”

  She stood still, eyes unfocused, absorbing all the smells and sounds of the forest. Stepping into soft and spongy earth, she gasped at the odd sensation. For the first time, she experienced the cool moisture of a natural atmosphere against her face. The dampness emitted from the greenery caressed her skin, always dry from the ship’s artificial air. This feels good. A chorus of creaking, cracking, chirping, and twitters filled her ears. What makes those sounds?

  David’s voice intruded. “Wake up. Let’s get a move on.”

  The sky was almost obscured by the trees, but they followed a band of light filtering through the branches. Kyla realized Troy had dropped back. She turned and motioned him forward. “Where’s your sense of adventure? Come on.”

  David chuckled. “Yeah, come on. In a spirit of friendship, we’ll live together or die together.”

  Although excited by the adventure, Kyla quivered inside. David’s joke could turn into truth. She determined to hide her fear and darted ahead.

  Troy joined them, flinching at every sound from the woods. From the corner of her eye, Kyla watched him jerk and move about to check what manner of evil followed. She choked back laughter. David snickered, Troy glared at him saying, “Your jocularity is not appreciated.”

  Troy looked at the bottom of his boot and growled, “Disgusting. Animal feces. I do not like this. It is imprudent and obscenely asinine to endanger ourselves. It is unmitigated stupidity. Did you know a great number of animals on discovered planets prove dangerous to humans—carnivores and herbivores?”

  David grinned. “You’d make a damn dry meal.”

  Kyla slapped David on the back. “That’s uncalled for. Shame on you.”

  “Thank you for your concern, my friend, but it is okay,” Troy said, “I’m accustomed to his pernicious vernacular.”

  Another chuckle came from David and Kyla joined in.

  Despite hidden fears of the unknown, Kyla enjoyed the open air and all the new things she experienced. She hoped Troy’s dire anticipations wouldn’t become realities. Nothing stood in her line of vision that spoke of danger. “All this space makes me feel like a speck of nothing. Odd.”

  They came to a clearing through which a gentle aqua river meandered through a valley. Kyla caught her breath. Delicate trees, arms lifted toward the sky, were scattered throughout a carpet of ruby red flowers. Fragile fingered branches curved gracefully downward and into curtains of mint green. Kyla struggled to hold tears behind her lids.

  Troy stepped back toward the forest. “We should not allow ourselves to be seen. I am feeling increasingly vulnerable.”

  “Damn,” David said, “don’t be such a limp noodle.”

  Kyla took another step, her head spun and she felt as if she might fall over. She threw out her arms for balance. “Wow, I’m dizzy. What’s happening?”

  “Ground’s moving!” David grasped her arm and lurched forward.

  Troy smirked. “Who is the noodle now? Look up, you will understand the dilemma. We are not acclimated to the constant movement overhead—focus on the ground until you adapt. The clouds blowing about cause an illusion of motion.”

  “Creation’s sake, don’t start lecturing about clouds, weather, and the captain’s underwear.”

  “Please, David, do you have to be so blasted rude?” Kyla avoided looking up and absorbed the view. “Why Javet III? This planet should be called Heaven.”

  As they stood mesmerized by the scenery, a gentle breeze tasting like honey kissed her face.

  “All this space is unnatural—I don’t like it.” Troy shuddered.

  “Unnatural? You’re nuts. This is the most natural thing you’ve ever seen.” David pointed at the nearest mountain. “Look!”

  Kyla looked beyond the valley to lavender mountains, their tips covered in snow, glittering in the sun. “What’s that?”

  “Where?” Troy turned to stare into the distance.

  “See the hills beyond the river?” David jabbed his finger toward the spectacle. “Behind them, in front of the mountains, is something strange.”

  “Another mountain, most assuredly,” replied Troy.

  Kyla punched his arm. “Look again. That’s what I saw as we came down. Maybe the planet’s name should be Crystal III.”

  In front of the misty mountains, a majestic monument pierced the sky, first appearing to be clear glass. Upon scrutiny, various towers rearing into the sky evolved. One instant, it seemed transparent, and the next, it shimmered into a solid mass. The castle followed the elevation of the mountain and appeared to grow out from it instead of having been built upon the monolith.

  Kyla spread her arms wide. “Think. What manner of people could construct such a monument in a non-industrial world?”

  Troy lifted his arms in a gesture Kyla thought to be worship.

  “Awesome.” David’s voice trembled with emotion.

  “Let’s get closer.” Kyla moved forward with long strides. “It’s what I saw as we came down. I intend to see it up close.”

  She saw Troy frown, start to open his mouth, and she stopped him. “Not a word, we’re going.”

  They followed Kyla down the gentle slope toward the river. She threw her head back and spun around. “I can look up now without getting dizzy, and it’s easier to walk here than on ship.”

  “Gravity is a little less, but close to that of the ship's living quarters.” David jumped away from a fat insect tumbling around his face. “Damn! Look at the size of that bug.”

  “For Creation’s sake, it’s just a little thing,” Kyla said. “What’s wrong with you?”

  David shrugged off her remark, and the men continued toward the river. But an enticing fragrance caught Kyla’s attention. She leaned over, plucked one of the red flowers, and lifted it to her nose. Something slapped it from her hand. Don’t touch!

  She screamed.r />
  Chapter Two

  _______________________