A Man for Maura

A MAN FOR MAURA

By

Beth Sadler

Copyright Beth Sadler 2016

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, Licence Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is written in Australian English.

Cover Copyright Beth Sadler 2016

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Prologue

Midday on Detention Planet 3

The chill wind howled bitterly around the jagged snow-capped mountain peaks, before swooping down onto the high mountain valley far below. It’s frigid breath blew over the lush green grass that struggled to survive there, destroying the tender shoot with its icy touch. Rushing on the glacial fingers found a new target, in the sparsely clothed humans that had dared to trespass on its valley, gleefully cutting through their rags with its killing, cold breath.

The tall, dark haired figure of Prince Tarl felt its icy fingers stabbing into his strong body, he ignored the pain as he stood grim faced and defiant before his Ergan captors. The pitifully few remaining members of his Teeron tribe gathered their strength to stand resolutely at his back.

Tarl squared his heavily muscled shoulders as he straightened to his impressive six foot nine inches of height and glared down into the muddy-green eyes of the little Ergan shuttle captain. His uncompromising face reflected the determination in his next words.

You might have transported us here to die, Ergan dog, but, Hail Hera, we will survive and one day you will pay for this day’s work, he vowed.

Jull looked into Tarl’s determined, sapphire blue eyes, as he sneered in reply, You might be brother to the so called, Queen Hera, but she was eventually conquered too, along with the rest of your ignorant tribe.

He spat into the ground at Tarl’s feet to emphasise his disdain. His square, ugly face filled with hatred for the Teeron race. His short, hairy body vibrated with joy at being given the honour of ridding Orthan of the last of the foreign tribes. From now on only the Ergan would inhabit the home planet.

He had to concede that he was part of an incredibly ugly race but, by hell, they had vastly superior knowledge to any of the other races. Thanks be to the Lawmakers, that none of the five races of Orthan had ever intermarried, making the Ergan race pure and unpolluted by any of the others weaknesses.

The Teeronites had believed in living as one with nature, with keeping their lands unpolluted and healthy. Sadly, although nature had blessed the Teeron race with superb health, strength and good looks, it hadn’t instilled any interest in technology. That fact had made it easy for the Erganites to conquer them, as they’d conquered the other peaceful races of their shared planet.

Now the last members of the Teeron race were exiles on this desolate planet.

Tarl looked over at the shuttle that had brought them to this inhospitable place. It stood tantalisingly close to where they were being held, but escaping that way wasn’t possible, sadly he had none of the skills needed to fly it. He only hoped that he had learned enough of electronics from his sister Hera, to use the gift that she had smuggled to him. Hera had secretly instructed him in its use for long days and nights before she’d been captured.

He bent down until he was staring directly into Jull’s malevolent eyes before speaking.

You have my promise, little shuttle master, the vow of a Teeron Leader; one day Teeronites will once again live on Orthan. We will learn your secrets and use them to reclaim our birthright. The huddled mass of shivering survivors behind him, managed to send up a cheer of support at his words.

Jull roared with laughter at Tarl’s vow, his enemy’s helplessness pleasing him enormously.

You poor, uneducated fools, you won’t live to get off this planet, never mind returning to Orthan and taking it from us, he shouted jubilantly, as he turned to enter the shuttle.

Jull wasn’t worried about turning his back on Tarl; he only had five men with him, but knew that he still had the upper-hand. He had all the weapons and the technical knowledge to fly the shuttle that had brought them to this unmapped planet, escape was impossible for those without these skills. The shuttle was the only transportation that could reach the interplanetary space vessel that hovered just above the ocean. It waited like a huge, evil black cloud, ready to return the victors to Orthan.

Prince Tarl gritted his teeth, silently cursing his sparse knowledge—only Queen Hera had learned the Ergan ways. Her capture and exile, along with the majority of their tribe had been a terrible blow for the Teeronites. Tarl had learned that she and her followers were destined for Detention Planet 2. The tribe weren’t even to be allowed to live in exile together.

The Teeronites were the last of the tribes to be rounded up and shipped from Orthan. Over the last century all of the other races had been systematically captured before being dumped on other planets. Left to live or die on their new worlds. Whenever a fresh work force was needed, the Erganites simply returned to one of the detention planets and rounded up as many survivors as they could find, then worked them to death back on Orthan.

Orthan was a small planet and although rich in the minerals needed to advance the Ergan technology; it was short on arable land and grazing pastures. So the Erganites adapted. Their first step was to ethnically cleanse the planet of all other races, and the next was to take control of their own birth rate. After all, they were superior technicians, they had machines to do their bidding; they didn’t need humans.

The Ergan race was totally unprepossessing in appearance. They were short, stocky and covered from head to toe in sandy-brown hair which almost obliterated their features. They looked nothing like the brilliant scientists that they were. But, their ugly bodies were certainly a true reflection of their cruel souls.

Jull reappeared from inside the vessel carrying two machetes and two shovels.

Here, oh great leader of the Teeron nation, a parting gift from me, dig a few graves while you still have the strength, he grinned evilly, as he threw the tools on the ground in front of Tarl. It looks like you’ve got a freezing night ahead of you and I doubt many of your children will survive.

Turning back to the shuttle he signalled for his men to follow him. Raucous laughter drifted back to the shivering crowd of men, women and children who were huddled close together for warmth.

The shuttle lifted off, skimming over the vast impenetrable jungle that ringed the rest of this tiny planet. The survivors were now effectively prisoners in this barren, high mountain valley.

Tarl quickly scrambled on top of a nearby rocky outcrop, his freezing fingers finding it hard to find a grip. Once he was safely balanced on top he held his arms up high, calling for attention from those assembled below him.

My friends the time has come to decide. Tarl paused as he looked around at the brave men and women who stood before him. They had been bruised and beaten, but courage still blazed from their eyes. Raise your hand if you still want to go ahead with our plan.

Tarl watched as one by one all of the adults raised their hands in the air, none abstained from the vote. He was humbled by the trust they were placing in him to keep them alive through the coming years.

Okay, we go ahead, he roared his approval as he urgently signalled to his life-mate to come forward. She cradled a tightly wrapped baby to her breast.

Mala, my love, bring our son close.

As she drew near the woman quickly unwrapped the infant’s nappy to reveal a small electronic device hidden inside its folds. She passed it carefully to Tarl. I used a double nappy to keep it dry, she reassured him, before hastily re-covering the infant’s bare legs against the cold wind.

Well done Mala, you did well hiding this device in our son’s clothing. Hail Hera that it works as well as my sister promised when she programmed it, he murmured, as he booted-up the small computer.

Hera-be-praised, if it frees us from the Ergan monsters, Mala fervently replied.

Those close enough to hear shouted their agreement.

The decision made, Tarl wasted no time in raising his arm and pointing the small device towards the fast vanishing shuttle. He pressed an icon on the screen and waited with held breath for what would happen next.

The last sixty-three members of the Teeron clan held their breaths with him and watched the sky to see if they were going to live or die. If the device failed, then the Ergan would return and slaughter them all in retribution. If it worked then they would be stranded here on D3, possibly forever.

Several seconds passed with nothing happening as the shuttle continued on its way, gliding over the jungle and heading up towards the interplanetary space ship. Suddenly it shuddered, sliding sideways, before losing altitude and quickly descending back towards the planet. The crash seconds later was muffled, but still loud enough to be heard by the watchers.

Hail Hera, that one is down my friends. Now it’s time to see just how brilliantly my sister designed this program for us, Tarl shouted. Everyone take shelter now. Get as low to the ground as you can and crawl under any available rocks, he added hurriedly.

Pointing the device into the sky and towards the mother-ship, Tarl pressed a large red icon that glowed a warning on the screen. Then, quickly jumping to the ground, he pushed Mala and their son under a rock and covered them protectively with his body.

What resulted in the next few seconds was like the end of all days.

An ear splitting roar filled the sky as the huge, black mother-ship erupted into a ball of fiery red gas. The force of the explosion was so violent that it shook the ground and started landslides all along the valley. The shockwave reached them seconds later. slamming their bodies harder into the ground and forcing the air from their lungs. Trees bent double under the force of the blast, while the snow capped peaks shuddered, tumbling a mixture of snow and boulders down the mountainside, threatening the defenceless humans huddled below.

Tarl fought to find enough breath to gasp out a warning, fearing that his people would be deafened by the increasing air pressure.

Cover your ears, my friends.

Everyone struggled to obey him, stuffing clothing around their children’s heads to try and lessen the effects of the increasing air pressure. They desperately tried to get deeper under the rocky outcrops, fear filling their hearts. Was this to be the end of their bid for freedom?

Families huddled together trying to protect their children, while violent orange and red fire roared across the heavens for what seemed like an eternity. The sky tore itself into pieces as it seemed to implode and then explode almost simultaneously. Flashes of lightening pierced the fire with blinding electric blue lights.

The tumult overhead descended to the planet, bathing the landscape with an eerie, electric blue light. The sky was now a blazing inferno and to the pitiful humans exposed to its force, it seemed impossible that they would survive.

But, slowly, after what seemed eons, the thunder overhead began to diminish and blue sky started to appear between the flashes of orange fire. The pressure on their lungs eased and they were able to breathe deeply of the pure mountain air.

Tarl eased his life-mate out from under the rock where he had pushed her to safety. His brave Mala had kept their baby son securely wrapped in her arms and his ears protected.

Standing, he quickly looked around at his people to make sure there were no serious injuries.

Report my friends. Are there any needing medical aid? Tarl prayed that there would be no requests, because there was no medicine. The most he could do was to set a broken bone with a few strips of clothing. He looked around with trepidation, holding his breath as he waited to hear the bad news. After what seemed like eons, when no one answered, he drew a long breath of relief.

Okay, so far Queen Hera’s plan has worked as she hoped. The Interplanetary space ship that we just blew to hell was the last in the Ergan fleet. Hera swore that she would cripple the ship that she was on and that means that the Ergan are now as stranded as we are. They won’t know yet that Hera has sabotaged her ship, but when they do, they are going to get one hell of a shock, he finished with a grin that lit up his whole face.

Mala hugged him close with shining eyes. Does that mean we are free of them for good?

Tarl shook his head as he answered, It’s not a certainty, my love. But it does mean that we should have several years of peace. Without slave labour it will take the Ergan twenty years to build an interplanetary ship. Hera predicted that they would turn on each other once they had lost power over the other races. We can only hope that she is correct.

Tarl turned to the others and spoke loudly enough that all could hear him. As you know, Queen Hera has promised that if she survives then she will find us. Her plan is simple. We must survive and plan for the future when our tribes can be one again. She swore that she would teach her tribe about the Ergan technology and use it to reunite us, if not in her lifetime, then in a future generation.

Looking around at his people he spoke reassuringly of the months and years ahead.

Our job is to obey our Queen and learn as much as possible of Ergan technology. From now on, every man, women and child will be taught from this device. Tarl waved the small computer in the air. This technology is solar powered. So, for as long as it lasts we will study the secrets that it holds.

A young man with his arm wrapped tightly around his life-mate’s shoulders came forward and spoke. What of Jull and the others? They are here on the planet with us and they have weapons.

Tarl nodded his understanding of the man’s concerns and spoke up so everyone could hear his answer.

Queen Hera’s plan was to lethally gas the crew and thus force it to land. It should be only slightly damaged and therefore at our disposal, once we learn how to control it. We must use this device to learn all we can about how the shuttle radio works and try to contact her.

But what if the crew aren’t dead? asked the worried young man.

Queen Hera showed me how to check for life-signs on the planet. If any of the Erganites are alive, then we will fight to protect our women and children. But for right now, our first task is to survive this coming night, he stated with determination. "We have to find a way to keep warm.

Tarl pointed across the valley to where vast, dark shadows could be seen. The explosion had revealed what he hoped were ancient lava tubes. If they were what he hoped, then they would be deep and provide respite from the bitter wind.

I need you to break up into three groups. Each group will check-out one of those openings across the valley and with luck we will find shelter for the night.

**********

The first morning after the explosion found Tarl and his people warm and cosy inside their new homes. The dark shadows had indeed proven to be caverns formed by ancient lava tubes. But, best of all were the hot springs that they found deep in the tunnels. The numerous springs produced steam that heated the whole cave system. Added to that bit of good fortune was the finding of fresh spring water in the valley close to the cave system. They now had protection from the elements, heat and water, all the necessities for their immediate survival. And soon they would explore the edges of the jungle below, a forest as dense and green as that one appeared to be was bound to grow fruits and root vegetables. Hail the mighty Hera, they were going to survive.

But the best news of all, was that when Tarl had checked the computer, he’d found no Ergan life signs. So, for now they were also safe from their enemy.

Life would be hard in the years ahead but, Hail Hera, they were safe and finally free to live life according to their own traditions.

However, it had been decided in their first meeting here on this new planet, that one new law was to supersede all others--- Erganite technology was to be learned by all. They were never going to be controlled by the technical superiority of their enemies again.

Finally a solemn vow was taken, by these, the founders of this new planet they had named Tarlon, in honour of their