Prophet and the Blood March (Prophet of ConFree) by Marshall S. Thomas Page A
Authors: Marshall S. Thomas
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of Delta, and maybe all of ConFree, too. And if Bees had anything to say about it, Delta Research was going to help Good Soul.
Δ
"It sure looks identical to me," the Professor said. He was at a table in his office, examining a detailed image of a pale slender reed, sprouting delicate little fronds all up and down its length. He was comparing that image with the fuzzy images of reeds sourced to brain scans from Prophet and Saka.
"It sure appears so," Doctor Dimension said from across the table. "A hit at last. You'll never guess what they call this species of reed."
"Surprise me," the Professor said.
"Delta Reed. That's what they call it. Because it grows in this great marshy delta area of a major river. Is that ironic or what?"
"Delta Reed. Perfect. Now this planet – Bliss." He looked over a printout. "Where is this, exactly?"
"It's in UMC vac. The Luyten Sector – but it's way out there – almost out of UMC vac. It's uninhabited. It's never been inhabited."
"It's obviously been explored," the Prof said, flipping through the pages of the planetary survey.
"Yes. The System sent an exploratory mission there once, when it was their space – almost a hundred years ago. They did a thorough scientific investigation – as you can see, and discovered about a million new species of flora and fauna. Including the reeds. They were evidently impressed with the place – hence the name. It was put on the list for colonization – but it never happened."
"And what is this planet to the UMC?" the Prof asked.
"It's nothing – as far as I can tell. The Galactic Info folks found this survey when searching for our reeds. The latest starcharts still show it as uninhabited."
"So. Saka and Prophet have had DX dreams about this planet, and have seen both UMC and Bright starcraft flying around there dropping ordnance. And Bees has been monitoring distress calls from someone, probably a Bright, from the vicinity of the Luyten Sector."
"Exactly," Doctor D said. "Now that we know about the reeds, I'm going to fine focus in on planet Bliss and see if Bees' frequency originates there. Did I tell you Bees kissed me?"
"Well, she's such a wonderful girl I'll have to overlook her strange taste in men. I'd advise you not to let that get around or Scout may hunt you down and kill you. He's got no sense of humor like I do."
Δ
It was a rosy dawn, so peaceful and still, the clouds on the horizon stained pink and gold, a ruddy sun peeking through the clouds to view the new day – to create it. The sky was slowly changing from black to deep cobalt to a pale blue, the stars slowly vanishing. I was above it all, floating like a bird, gliding on the air currents. It was incredibly relaxing. I didn't even think about what I was doing up there. It was pure sensory overload, and I didn't want to question it.
The dawn revealed the city, a wonderful city by the sea, now glowing pink in the rising sun. It was clearly a major city, built around a great bay that was dotted with bulk cargo ships, a whole commercial fleet at anchor in calm dark waters. The city seemed to be well planned. It had a reddish theme, many of the neatly interlocking buildings constructed of a ruddy stone. Down near the harbor a line of tall buildings sheathed in glass winked at the new day. It was early but the city was already humming with activity. Countless aircars were headed into town along invisible tracks in the sky. A great airship floated over the city, full of passengers lined up at open windows, taking in the view. Off in the suburbs there was a busy starport, and a liner lifted off as I watched.
I wondered what city this was. I had a vague feeling that I had seen it before. Now my body was tingling – something wrong, alert, Prophet, alert! My eyes were drawn to a point in the sky, past the bay, out over the dark ocean. A tiny speck was slowly cutting its way through the sky. Falling slowly, leisurely downwards. Glowing, growing against the dark blue sky.
Δ
"It sure looks identical to me," the Professor said. He was at a table in his office, examining a detailed image of a pale slender reed, sprouting delicate little fronds all up and down its length. He was comparing that image with the fuzzy images of reeds sourced to brain scans from Prophet and Saka.
"It sure appears so," Doctor Dimension said from across the table. "A hit at last. You'll never guess what they call this species of reed."
"Surprise me," the Professor said.
"Delta Reed. That's what they call it. Because it grows in this great marshy delta area of a major river. Is that ironic or what?"
"Delta Reed. Perfect. Now this planet – Bliss." He looked over a printout. "Where is this, exactly?"
"It's in UMC vac. The Luyten Sector – but it's way out there – almost out of UMC vac. It's uninhabited. It's never been inhabited."
"It's obviously been explored," the Prof said, flipping through the pages of the planetary survey.
"Yes. The System sent an exploratory mission there once, when it was their space – almost a hundred years ago. They did a thorough scientific investigation – as you can see, and discovered about a million new species of flora and fauna. Including the reeds. They were evidently impressed with the place – hence the name. It was put on the list for colonization – but it never happened."
"And what is this planet to the UMC?" the Prof asked.
"It's nothing – as far as I can tell. The Galactic Info folks found this survey when searching for our reeds. The latest starcharts still show it as uninhabited."
"So. Saka and Prophet have had DX dreams about this planet, and have seen both UMC and Bright starcraft flying around there dropping ordnance. And Bees has been monitoring distress calls from someone, probably a Bright, from the vicinity of the Luyten Sector."
"Exactly," Doctor D said. "Now that we know about the reeds, I'm going to fine focus in on planet Bliss and see if Bees' frequency originates there. Did I tell you Bees kissed me?"
"Well, she's such a wonderful girl I'll have to overlook her strange taste in men. I'd advise you not to let that get around or Scout may hunt you down and kill you. He's got no sense of humor like I do."
Δ
It was a rosy dawn, so peaceful and still, the clouds on the horizon stained pink and gold, a ruddy sun peeking through the clouds to view the new day – to create it. The sky was slowly changing from black to deep cobalt to a pale blue, the stars slowly vanishing. I was above it all, floating like a bird, gliding on the air currents. It was incredibly relaxing. I didn't even think about what I was doing up there. It was pure sensory overload, and I didn't want to question it.
The dawn revealed the city, a wonderful city by the sea, now glowing pink in the rising sun. It was clearly a major city, built around a great bay that was dotted with bulk cargo ships, a whole commercial fleet at anchor in calm dark waters. The city seemed to be well planned. It had a reddish theme, many of the neatly interlocking buildings constructed of a ruddy stone. Down near the harbor a line of tall buildings sheathed in glass winked at the new day. It was early but the city was already humming with activity. Countless aircars were headed into town along invisible tracks in the sky. A great airship floated over the city, full of passengers lined up at open windows, taking in the view. Off in the suburbs there was a busy starport, and a liner lifted off as I watched.
I wondered what city this was. I had a vague feeling that I had seen it before. Now my body was tingling – something wrong, alert, Prophet, alert! My eyes were drawn to a point in the sky, past the bay, out over the dark ocean. A tiny speck was slowly cutting its way through the sky. Falling slowly, leisurely downwards. Glowing, growing against the dark blue sky.
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