Chapter 2
Coats Ren and Pleu Mas landed their ship at the Clar lagoon. Inside the shuttle they gathered up their necessary equipment. The shuttle itself is: black, smooth, and in the shape of a large mouth bass without the eyes. It has 3 windows in the front which are also tinted black. It also has a dorsal fin on top and in the rear of the ship. Inside everything is pale white-including the nuts and bolts. There are 12 Capt's chairs in a semi-circle and a control consul in the front of the ship. In the middle there are supply shelves and a cooking apparatus. In the rear there are sleeping quarters for 12 (they are modest to say the least but comfortable).
Outside the Clar lagoon there is an ocean blue oasis. It is surrounded by red rocks on 2 sides and a dense forest on the other. With a small patch of blue grass in between the forest and the red rocks (like the last piece of pie on a silver plate). The rocks stretch 150 feet in the air and there is a lone Pasil tree on top.
The Pasil tree has an almost human form to it. And if you didn't know better you could be fooled into thinking it was a person. Its bark is dark brown in color and has feet shaped roots.
"Alright then, it's Praem or our heads. God I hope we've got the luck with us tonight," Coats said anxiously as he attached his gun belt.
Coats pauses and looks at his Paniflu laser machine gun. The gun itself is red in color and resembles a Beretta-only slightly larger and with a scope.
"Well if we haven't got it, these babies will even the score," Pleu said as he showed Coats some Tridney sound grenades he had in each hand.
The Tridney can shatter the skull of anyone within 30 feet-it does this by rattling the inside of their skull with sound waves. It has a reddish hue and looks like a metal softball. It has a green grip that you held as you threw it and would detach releasing the firing pin.
"That looks like it could do a lot of damage. If we get cornered that may be our last resort," Coats said gleefully and then he took a chug of whiskey. Coats wondered if he was about to do something incredibly stupid.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that,” Plea replied nervously as he took in 3 quick breaths. He thought about ditching Coats and never looking back. “We need to be invisible and be smart enough not to get greedy," Pleu said sternly in a voice that seemed to almost convince both of them he was right. "Trust me seeing all that Praem in front of us will be a shocker. We load up our packs and we get out of there quick," Pleu said as he rubbed the back of his head to the point Coats stared at him.
"First things first, we've got to get inside, which means we've got a swim ahead of us," Coats explained as he stretched out his arms and then continued, "When we come out inside Dramkick's pool we have to be cautious. Before we surface we had better be deadly sure there's no one around," Coats said sternly as he put the Cous breathing device in his mouth.
The Cous is banana yellow in color and in the shape of a plunger-with the wide piece placed in the rear of the mouth. The Cous filters the oxygen out of the water and allows the user to breathe underwater indefinitely.
Pleu inserts his Cous and the 2 wade into the Clar lagoon. Coats nods at Pleu and they submerge. They felt dangerous and confident with a quicker breath. Under the surface there are several species of fish-none of which have a predatory nature. The Ustin fish are yellow in color and have see through stomachs. They have cat like faces and a long skinny neck that leads to a bowling ball size body-that is perfectly round. There is a small fin on their backs that moves back and forth at blinding speed. Near to them are the Rummon fish (which have black and red stripes like a tacky suit your odd uncle might wear). They resemble a pair of trousers that are being pulled through the water. They have one small eye and 2 large ones on their perfectly flat faces. As well as a large gaping mouth with a black hairy tongue that licks its own eyes every 2 seconds.
The walls lining of the lagoon are covered with a light green crystal. Its bottom has a thick red grass that has bubbles coming out of it every few feet. The bubbles are caused by Homly bugs which nest on the lagoon's sea bed-and are bright red specs no more than the size of a penny.
Coats and Pleu swim along and marvel at how beautiful it is. Coats can’t help but think too himself that he wishes he'd been here before (and under different circumstances). Why isn't this his favorite place to swim, he wonders. Pleu wishes his daughter Rouela could have come with him and seen this incredible sight.
They swim for a minute and then Coats abruptly stopped. He put his hand on Pleu's chest and pointed to the side of the lagoon. There lingers a pair of hairy tan legs standing in the shallow water. The 2 slowly swim away from the legs, but keep their eyes locked on them (just in case things get heavy). Their hearts are pumping through their chests and they try not to panic. Slowly but surely they continue onward (and thank God they weren't noticed).
They swim another hundred yards and enter Dramkick's swimming pool (nicknamed the master bedroom, because Dramkick brought hundreds of women there to have sex and ingest Praem). The floor of the pool has a portrait of Dramkick seared onto the marble. The pool itself is 40 feet by 40 feet and has an opening in the ceiling above it to let in sunshine. Lucky for them no one is using it Pleu thought. Pleu pops his head slightly above the surface. He can see a man in white shorts lying on a blue foldout chair poolside. The fat hairy man is fast asleep and snoring very loudly. Pleu looks around and sees no one else is there. He slowly climbs out of the pool with Coats close behind.
The 2 of them cautiously moved past the snoring man and peek out into the next room. There they see 2 guards on the far end of this enormous Peneme gym.
Peneme is a game between 2 teams of 2 involving the capture of a Quwoo-a Quwoo being a furry animal that looks like a flashlight, but with 3 legs and a wing on one side. It darts in every direction and is terrified by all living things. The Quwoo are known for their uncontrollable flatulence. In Peneme obstacles are placed around the gym and the first team to catch the Quwoo twice is the victor. The winning team usually takes great pride in dining on the Quwoo after the match.
"We're gonna have to find a way past those guards," Pleu said as he looked around and then continued, "There are no other doorways anywhere that I can see."
"I've got an idea, see that cage over there with that Quwoo?" Coats asked quickly as he pointed with both hands.
"I see it, wow what a great idea. It will take some doing to get over there but-"
"But it's our only shot. Let's break for it!" Coats interrupted as he started moving towards the Quwoo cage in a bent over walk.
Pleu was just behind and keeping a close eye on the guards as he and Coats moved from obstacle to obstacle.
"So does she still say she loves you every single day or has she grown up yet?" Henrit asked-the thinner of the 2 guards-as he smoked a long cigarette.
"Oh yeah she's grown up, she knows I love her and she knows that I know she loves me, everything's great," answered Pictick-the auburn haired guard-as he stretches out his arms.
Coats and Pleu carefully work their way over to the Quwoo cage. Once there, they take a look at the guards and Coats whispered as he unlocked the cage, "Let's hope those two are sporting fools 'cause it's about to get interesting."
Coats and Pleu hid behind a barricade and waited. The Quwoo shot out of the cage like a bullet out of a gun. It darted all over the gym. It just missed hitting Pictick in the head.
"How in the…," Pictick said suspiciously as he ducked the Quwoo and then said frantically, "If we don't catch him, we're in serious trouble!"
"Let's get after him then, quick!" Henrit said nervously as he ran after the Quwoo.
The 2 guards chased after the Quwoo, while Pleu and Coats hurried to the door. They opened it, moved inside, and their jaws dropped as they saw the Rala fountains in front of them.
"Can you believe it, Pleu, we found it!" Coats said in utter disbelief and shock as his shoulders dropped.
"They're immense, what a miracle," Pleu responded as his eyes opened as wide as they possibly could. Wider than any birthday gift he had ever opened.
There before them are three 500 foot tall fountains in a 2 mile long cave. The fountains have geysers of bright yellow Praem gushing from them. The cave is filled with that all too familiar smell. Each fountain is unique. The first has a black marble statue of Dramkick holding a man's head-with the Praem gushing from the severed head's mouth. The 2nd is of a small child-the boy Prince Mailk Hillgo who perished only days into his reign. The Praem gushes from his ear as his head tilts towards the ground.
The Mailk Hillgo fountain shows what a muscular child he was, with large calves and forearms. He is only wearing a loin cloth in this depiction. His face is handsome and belies his actual age. This gives him the appearance of being much older and wiser than his years would suggest. The 3rd fountain is of Emasip Teas Reign-Dramkick's father and the former emperor of the Talz system. Emasip has an almost square head with a round peak in the center. His eyes are far too large for his face and are looking in different directions. This caused his enemies to call him crazy eye (but never to his face for fear of his fury). His nose is also nonexistent like Dramkick’s. His mouth is wide and filled with 2 rows of circular teeth. In life he was a head shorter than Dramkick, but he is the only man he was ever afraid of. He had long fat fingers that could squeeze the life out of anyone. And he has 7 toes on each foot. He ruled over Talz for 2,671 years before he was assassinated at a gala at his home-by the next in line Leach Culle. Leach was subsequently beaten to death by Dramkick shortly after he heard the news. It was done right in the middle the Barnes Hall-which is where Leach and his friends were celebrating the death of Emasip. Dramkick always loved a party.
Pleu and Coats gazed at the Rala fountains in bewilderment and walked over to them gleefully. There was a certain uncanny spring in their step they couldn't explain. Coats looked at his reflection in the Praem and ran his hand through it slowly and said, "We found the fuel for an entire civilization. It's so beautiful it defies description."
"It's what our lives are about,” Pleu said and as he drank from the Praem-he fashioned his hands into a cup.
"I've waited a long time for exactly this," Coats said in disbelief and then he quickly dunked his face under the surface. Ingesting the Praem like this made his body feel as if it were made of warm Wams. Coats knew this was the greatest moment of his life.
The 2 of them looked around the cave and Coats said excitedly, "Its beyond comprehension, the pure Praem gives you infinite faculties! I can see that ant eating a seed in the crack on the far wall, Pleu."
"I can see it too, how is this possible?" Pleu asked as he looked at Coats.
"I don't know…but we mustn't be careless. Let's fill our packs with Praem and find a way out of here. Someone will be along before too long," Coats said calmly as he pulled a hose from his pack and dropped it into the fountain. The Praem didn't splash or shift very much at all as it devoured the hose.
Pleu put his own hose into the fountain and said boldly, "Just wait 'til people hear, they won't believe it."
"They will and everything will change because of it," Coats said sternly as his eyes filled with Praem. "We've been duped by Dramkick for the last time. I knew he was diluting the Praem, I knew it!" Coats said angrily as his eyes met Pleu's. A second later he put his hose back into his pack and scanned the outer reaches of the cave.
Pleu did the same and then took another sip from the fountain. Coats pulled him out by the shoulder and they started looking for a way out. They walked around the back of the Emasip fountain and discovered a staircase leading up into the walls.
"This will do," Coats said happily as he smiled to himself.
"It's better than dealing with those guards, that's for sure," Pleu replied as he glanced over at Coats.
"Anything's better than that," Coats said as he started up the staircase with Pleu a few steps behind.
They ascended the staircase and it led to a darkened stone hallway. There was an opening on the right side 20 feet ahead of them. They could see a doorway at the end of the hallway. It smelled of old clothes and burnt pancakes.
"This looks promising," Coats said as he walked down the hallway.
Coats slowed and peeked around the corner only to see a Vor Me battalion doing training exercises 30 feet below.
"Wow that's bad luck, from 2 guards to two thousand," Coats said sadly as he looked down at the Vor Me. Where's my luck, he thought.
"Well we came this far, that door is only 20 feet away. If we were careful enough they might not notice us," Pleu explained as he looked down at the Vor Me.
"Granted, but with our luck Dramkick himself could be waiting for us behind that door," Coats answered as his right hand noticeably shook and then continued, "What we know…behind us there are 2 soldiers who will kill us on sight. There is a chance we could overpower them, but it's a slim chance. That door could be certain doom or a viable escape route," Coats said sternly as he looked over at Pleu.
"Are you asking me?" Pleu asked as he smirked at Coats.
"Yes!"
"The door, chances are for the taking. Let's be ready and agile for anything we face on the other side of that door," Pleu said as he pulled out a Tridney.
"Agreed," Coats answered as he raised his Paniflu and started slowly walking towards the door.
They each took a few steps as they keenly watched the Vor Me below. One of the Vor Me looked up and saw them. He reached for his weapon and as he did Coats blasted him with his Paniflu. Suddenly Coats and Pleu were making a mad dash for the door. The Vor Me soldiers below started firing at Coats and Pleu. One shot grazed Pleu's calf causing him to shout, "Whoa Vevin, that was close!"
Vevin Be was a man who narrowly escaped the gallows 47 times before his eventual demise (hence the expression Whoa Vevin).
Coats grabbed the door handle and flung the door open violently. It revealed the Jarret marketplace (it had everything and was constantly buzzing with activity). It consisted of a large cluster of store fronts. And all the store fronts had the identical tan clay walls and round windows. Store clusters were in identical sections that met at Uvaly fountain-it is a 60 foot pair of pyramids with water running down the sides.
Coats and Pleu waded into the crowd of people and Coats said stunned, "If they only knew what was beneath them, they'd lose it."
"If these people knew the Rala fountains were so close there'd be a riot in seconds," Pleu said gleefully as he looked behind him for the Vor Me and continued, "And they'd all be killed."
Coats looked around for transportation and said firmly, "Let's rent an Airso and get some distance between us and here."
The Airso is a simple blue and red crotch rocket motorcycle that can hover above the ground using reverse magnetic force. It is ideal for the titanium rich soil of Membra.
"My wage stick is almost empty," Pleu admitted sadly as he pulled out his red wage stick.
A wage stick is a red plastic cigar shaped device. It can be used to access all of your available money and credit, even advance wages.
"Don't worry about it, I've got plenty. Let's take those 2 and speed out of here," Coats said sternly as he swiped his wage stick over the 2 locks holding the Airsos in place.
They mounted the Airsos and raced at full speed away from Jarret marketplace. Coats glanced over his shoulder and saw the place where they had just been get swarmed with Vor Me soldiers. Coats was relieved that they had escaped, but he knew they'd be looking for him and Pleu before long. He knew Dramkick would never let this stand.