Sarah stood in front of the ship Ulquonar had organised. A grey, scratched, unassuming old transport that could have come from a scrap heap. It was pouring rain in Klendana like there was no tomorrow and Sarah was glad to be wearing a raincoat. Behind her, with heavy steps, Ulquonar approached.
“I know, it looks like scrap metal, but I made sure it can actually fly.”
“So why didn't we use one of mine, then?” Sarah asked, turning around to him.
“Those would be too glamorous. We need to look like out of luck traders of some sort. Where we’re going, no one must see an official ship.”
“Very well. Shall we board, then?”
Ulquonar walked past her and up the ramp. Sarah looked over to the edge of the landing pad. Ishaan stood there in silence, watching Sarah. She went to him and kissed him before letting go and saying: “I’ll be back. Stand fast for me”
Ishaan smiled and said, “Always, wife.”
Sarah suppressed a tear, then boarded the ship. She hated leaving him behind. There was no telling of when or how she would return. She would have liked this to be a vacation, but Ulquonar had made clear it wasn't. She took a seat in the cockpit next to the old Zephalan, who had already ignited the engines. Looking out of the starboard cockpit window, she saw Ishaan quietly watching the ship take off. He did not wave, nor did Sarah. In their minds they knew what they had to do, and they would do it. Sarah had secured a free, unobstructed way out of the system with aerospace traffic control directed not to contact them. This was nothing special, as it was used often by the military and intelligence services. Sarah listened to the rather loud, booming hum of the engines. Not what she was used to at all. They were in space now and the myriads of tiny lights zooming around in low orbit were clearly visible. Most of it were reflections off of spaceship hulls. A fast beeping sound caught Sarah’s attention and Ulquonar shut it down with two button pushes.
“What was that?” Sarah asked.
“Just a message from one of my people. Nothing to worry about.”
“Mhm, okay. You don't mind if I go hang out in the back for a while, right?”
“Do as you like.”
Sarah went to what she assumed were her quarters, a tiny room with a tiny bed and a locker. She sighed. Ulquonar didn’t come from here, that much was clear. A little less trash can and a little more spaceship would have been great. It smelled off, too. Old and musty.
For the next five hours, Sarah lay on her bed in every position imaginable, reading a book. Ulquonar hadn’t given her anything to do, nor did she feel like asking. Another four hours later, Ulquonar called her to the cockpit. On her way there, the ship shook. They had left FTL-Space. Walking into the cockpit, a dark planet, light bleeding around its edges, filled the windows.
“That’s it?” Sarah asked, sitting down and checking their coordinates. They were outside of Imperial Space near the border to the Tletan Kingdom.
“Yes, that’s it. A Forbidden World. A truly magnificent place. We are going to land on the other side. I need daylight.”
As Ulquonar circled the planet, Sarah was able to catch a better look as more and more of the planet’s illuminated side came into view. It looked dry and rocky, and the light seemed muted somehow. She wasn’t sure, but at times she wondered if there were atmospheric disturbances bending light around themselves. She had never seen anything like this before. Lowering the ship through the atmosphere was an unusually smooth ride. There were little vibrations and no shaking. This was not a normal planet.
When they had landed in a crevice large enough to contain the ship and protect it from heavy weather. Ulquonar gave Sarah a flashlight and opened the airlock. Immediately, a strange intoxicating smell crept up Sarah’s nose and the ground seemed to beam with energy. Somehow it just looked brighter than ground usually like. Not glowing, but almost. The light from the planet’s sun wasn’t strong enough, prompting Sarah to wonder how that could be. She looked at Ulquonar, but he just walked forward and off the ramp. Sarah followed. It was hard to see yet there was light. She felt as if something was trying to make her be disorientated.
“Ulquonar, what is this place?”
“As I said, a Forbidden World. A place of the Khal’Shelim which they closed off for anyone else and even themselves after their empire imploded from the End War. I don’t know what we’re going to find. No Zephalan has ever set foot here.”
“Why? You said you had discovered it.”
“We did not allow it. The war was more important and we had learned our lesson. No risks which such places in inopportune moments. Come on, let’s explore.”
Sarah and Ulquonar climbed out of the crevice and at its top, a breathtaking view of plants, sharp rock formations and gigantic trees in the far distance revealed itself. It was as if they had left reality. Then again, that smell might cloud one’s judgement.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
