figure turned his head to gaze upon the two men. The hood of the
robe completely obscured the face but in the shadow of the hoods slit two grey
eyes followed the movement of the Captain and the Administrator. The behaviour
of the Captain since the shuttle arrived with this ‘guest’ intrigued this black
robed figure. The fact the Captain had taken his guest back out of the atrium
and broke protocol was indeed worthy of investigation. The black robed figure
tapped the wall and a secret panel opened, he disappeared.
The Captain led the Administrator through the vast
Hall and into passageways leading to the heart of the Palace. Guards along the
passageways previously were numerous but now there were none. They entered a
corridor of unusual beauty and splendour compared to the others. “Wait there,”
the Captain said clearly annoyed but pointed at a chair against the wall. The
Captain disappeared through an ornately decorated door.
The Administrator sat and looked around him. He had
never before seen such grandeur. The floors were marble and onyx set in the
pattern of flowers. Inlaid stone of a darker colour representing stems and
branches snaked their way up the walls to the ceiling. The Administrator found
himself captivated by the design and almost failed to notice the statues of two
eighteen foot tall Chesapeake bears, the largest of all known bears. A little
down the corridor were a pair of hand carved ebony tigers guarding a large
wooden trunk. The trunk had inlaid stones of blue and green, the hinges and
border were made of gold and silver. Some of the stones were missing and the
trunk must have been thousands of years old. The Administrator suddenly stood
up and looked at the chair he was sitting on. It matched the trunk! He slowly
reached down toward the chair and ran his finger along the gold banding and one
of the inlaid green stones; it was cold to the touch. He lowered his head to
closely inspect it, he gasped - an emerald the size of his thumb!
He stood up and spun around slowly carefully observing
his surroundings. This was true power and wealth he realised. There was
probably more wealth in this corridor than in the vaults of many of the great
Houses. He slowly walked looking at the many artefacts, totally absorbed in
their beauty, daring to touch the edge of two crossed swords which must be
older than the Confederacy itself, not very sharp he thought.
The door behind him swung open and the Captain marched
out. The Administrator swung around and stood to attention, he noticed the
Captain’s mood had not improved. The Captain closed the door behind him and
marched directly past the Administrator neither saying anything nor even
looking at him. The Captain disappeared around the corner. His footfalls were
clearly heard but getting fainter as the distance increased. Then a door opened
and closed, silence.
The Administrator looked up and down the corridor.
There was no one but himself. He was a little perplexed but in true military
fashion, obeyed his last order. He went back to the chair, sat down and waited.
---------
Url couldn’t help himself. He noticed the leggings and
tuft in the hat of the second man making his way past him past him. He was from
an enemy tribe, the Beclin. There was only a short distance between his two
enemies. Url rose from his hiding place like a ghost
and lunged forward.
The man from the Beclin tribe never knew what
happened. He felt an impact and suddenly found himself in space over the cliff
falling. His arms and legs thrashed in the open air, his gun seemed to float
beside him as they both descended into the abyss. The howling wind quickly
drowned out his screams but not before being heard by his companion on the edge
of the cliff.
The falling man’s companion swung around when he heard
screaming. He saw a figure move toward him and didn’t have time to avoid the
blow. Url hit him a savage blow with the butt of his
gun.
robe completely obscured the face but in the shadow of the hoods slit two grey
eyes followed the movement of the Captain and the Administrator. The behaviour
of the Captain since the shuttle arrived with this ‘guest’ intrigued this black
robed figure. The fact the Captain had taken his guest back out of the atrium
and broke protocol was indeed worthy of investigation. The black robed figure
tapped the wall and a secret panel opened, he disappeared.
The Captain led the Administrator through the vast
Hall and into passageways leading to the heart of the Palace. Guards along the
passageways previously were numerous but now there were none. They entered a
corridor of unusual beauty and splendour compared to the others. “Wait there,”
the Captain said clearly annoyed but pointed at a chair against the wall. The
Captain disappeared through an ornately decorated door.
The Administrator sat and looked around him. He had
never before seen such grandeur. The floors were marble and onyx set in the
pattern of flowers. Inlaid stone of a darker colour representing stems and
branches snaked their way up the walls to the ceiling. The Administrator found
himself captivated by the design and almost failed to notice the statues of two
eighteen foot tall Chesapeake bears, the largest of all known bears. A little
down the corridor were a pair of hand carved ebony tigers guarding a large
wooden trunk. The trunk had inlaid stones of blue and green, the hinges and
border were made of gold and silver. Some of the stones were missing and the
trunk must have been thousands of years old. The Administrator suddenly stood
up and looked at the chair he was sitting on. It matched the trunk! He slowly
reached down toward the chair and ran his finger along the gold banding and one
of the inlaid green stones; it was cold to the touch. He lowered his head to
closely inspect it, he gasped - an emerald the size of his thumb!
He stood up and spun around slowly carefully observing
his surroundings. This was true power and wealth he realised. There was
probably more wealth in this corridor than in the vaults of many of the great
Houses. He slowly walked looking at the many artefacts, totally absorbed in
their beauty, daring to touch the edge of two crossed swords which must be
older than the Confederacy itself, not very sharp he thought.
The door behind him swung open and the Captain marched
out. The Administrator swung around and stood to attention, he noticed the
Captain’s mood had not improved. The Captain closed the door behind him and
marched directly past the Administrator neither saying anything nor even
looking at him. The Captain disappeared around the corner. His footfalls were
clearly heard but getting fainter as the distance increased. Then a door opened
and closed, silence.
The Administrator looked up and down the corridor.
There was no one but himself. He was a little perplexed but in true military
fashion, obeyed his last order. He went back to the chair, sat down and waited.
---------
Url couldn’t help himself. He noticed the leggings and
tuft in the hat of the second man making his way past him past him. He was from
an enemy tribe, the Beclin. There was only a short distance between his two
enemies. Url rose from his hiding place like a ghost
and lunged forward.
The man from the Beclin tribe never knew what
happened. He felt an impact and suddenly found himself in space over the cliff
falling. His arms and legs thrashed in the open air, his gun seemed to float
beside him as they both descended into the abyss. The howling wind quickly
drowned out his screams but not before being heard by his companion on the edge
of the cliff.
The falling man’s companion swung around when he heard
screaming. He saw a figure move toward him and didn’t have time to avoid the
blow. Url hit him a savage blow with the butt of his
gun.
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