Dream Planet. Book 1. Star Maze

Chapter 10. Marcius' Story

The Kata satellite. Fifteen Tulonian years ago.

This morning was special for young Marcius Appa-Laun. After 30 days of training on the satellite, he received all the necessary knowledge, studied the instructions and worked hard with the exercise machines. Thus, he finally received the pilot certification for Tulonian ferromagnetic capsules.

          According to tradition, young pilots made their first flight on their father's capsule. Being the first to wake up in the rookie bunker and sighing heavily with excitement, Marcius started to mentally prepare himself for the flight. Karii lay on the neighboring bunk, his hand dangling off the bed and mouth slightly open. He was fast asleep. Studying the carefree and peaceful face of his friend, who had a similar day ahead of him, Marcius gradually calmed down, imagining how he’ll be sitting to the right of his father as the secondary pilot, racing towards Onyx along the winding cliffs of Kata, ahead of all the other young pilots.

Without realizing, he drifted off to sleep again. In his dream, he saw his father smiling and looking at him proudly. Their capsule flew farther and farther, and Marcius began to notice that they were no longer on Kata. The scenery changed. Rivers flowed down below, and the sky turned blue instead of green-orange. The cliffs got covered in greenery, and the blood-red colour of Onyx turned into a pale yellow.  He then felt himself lose control of the capsule, and turning to where his father sat, he saw only emptiness. He was alone in the new world. The capsule was losing height, and Marcius hopped into the empty seat of the main pilot, trying to steer it straight. He was at the very surface of the water when the capsule finally listened to his command, spread itself out and flew along the current of the river. Marcius looked down and flinched in horror. He saw the deathly pale bodies of his parents in the water.

He jumped out of bed with a scream, waking the others. At the same time, the supervisor entered the sleeping quarters, calling the young pilots to rise and gather on the platform.  

"What happened?" Karii asked him fearfully.

"A bad dream."

"Is it the visions again?"

"The visions..." Marcius thought about it for a minute, "I wouldn't say. In the sense that when I see them, they seem real to me... I shouldn't fly today," he said all of a sudden.

Karii was dumbfounded.

"Why not?"

"A bad feeling," said Macius, holding his breath.

His friend looked at him with disapproval, but didn't bother arguing. Marcius was pale and agitated. It seemed as if he got no sleep at all that night. The upcoming flight couldn't scare him - it was all because of the inexplicable visions, and Karii wasn't going to take on the responsibility of giving his friend advice.

"If that's the case, you'll have to explain it to your father," said Karii, nodding his head.

"I know," Marcius whispered, turning away.

The spacious rectangular hall was flooded with artificial light from neon lamps where the youngsters lined themselves up in formation. Marcius looked collected and confident, but was disheveled and restless on the inside, wanting to fall through the many floors of the military training base if only to avoid today's flight. His attempt to play sick fell through. Having received an unflattering review from the local medical personnel, he started to think of a new way to avoid the flight, but nothing came to mind.  

"Disperse to your capsules!" came the order from a man in blue uniform.

The sound of running feet scattered throughout the room. Marcius rushed towards the capsule with the familiar number and his family's initials. After jumping inside, he could barely hold back a frightened sigh. Beside his smiling father was his mother as well. Madam Appa-Laun served in the Tulonian ranks as a second pilot, and making use of her professional title, she came to see her son's first flight in person. Karii's mother did the same, as well as many others whose children were graduating that day from the flying school.

Hopping into the seat beside his father and turning his piercing gaze towards him, Marcius quickly said:

"We're not flying anywhere!"

His father furrowed his brows in bewilderment, after which he exclaimed:

"What??!"

"I can't!" Marcius admitted.

"What do you mean you can't, haven't they taught you?" his father asked him sternly.

"They have."

"Then cut it out!" said his father, "Today you graduate! After three laps around Kata, you will receive the certification and the right to continue your education. To refuse means to chase yourself into a corner!"

"That's not the point," Marcius interrupted him,"I'm afraid it could be dangerous for you!"

"Aww," cooed Madam Appa-Laun endearingly from behind, "There's nothing to be afraid of! Everything is under control. This flight is a formality, half a day on Kata. And after that, when we get home, I'll make your favourite pie!"

"But mom, can't you at least stay here?" Marcius begged, trying to change the plot of his dream in any way he could.

"Oh, I'll definitely be flying," she smiled, but her tone was firm.

Marcius bit his lip. ‘Indeed, who would bother listening to a ten year old boy? Although maybe I am worrying too much, maybe everything will turn out fine?’ he thought.

"If not for this discussion, we would have been the first ones to take off," said his father reproachfully, watching the swarm of capsules ahead of him, "We'll have to put in some effort to be in the lead at the finish."

Marcius nodded silently. He was familiar with his father's ambition - the Launs always had to be first in everything. He adjusted the magnetic ceiling, balanced out the screens, weakened the gravity and proceeded to warily observe the flight. If not for the worrisome premonitions, this event would have filled him with delight: his first real flight, the two closest people in his life by his side, the anticipation of that evening's festivities, then the next training course, a new life... but he couldn't forget about the dream and give in to those emotions.    

"Surprisingly nice weather we're having here on Kata - wonderful visibility, minimal sediments, the pleasantly steady glow of Onyx!" said Madam Laun happily.  

"That's right, records will be set today," nodded his father.

His mother was right: the day was perfectly surreal.  

Their capsule broke out of the tail and into the middle of the ranks. It was easy to work in a team with his father. The experienced Tulonian pilot was in tune with his son's mannerisms and gave him his space without imposing his own style of flight. Marcius couldn't see his mother's face, but could feel her presence behind him and knew that she was smiling. Gradually he loosened up, got into his element and allowed himself to feel excited. Everything was going smoothly. Passing over the industrial mining sector and the rings of icy freshwater lakes, they flew along Kata's invisible hemisphere. This side of the satellite never turned to face Tulona and remained perpetually hidden from view. It was a mysterious place that opened up upon everything in the universe - everything except their home planet.    

According to legend, a lost race of desert people once lived on this hemisphere. They traveled to different worlds on a meteor from a different universe, and got captured by Tulona for eternity. Covered in long white fur, with symmetrical fangs on both sides, they yearned for home. They sought out their star in the sky, lifted their paws up to it and begged the gods for help. When the people from Tulona came to them and showed them the planet that held them captive, the creatures burst into tears, recognizing it as their home planet. Having traveled the whole universe, they looped back around to where they started. After spending millions of years on the satellite, they still failed to see that what they were after was right behind their backs the whole entire time.

For some reason, out of all the ancient Tulonian tales, Marcius remembered this one in particular. Shaking his head, trying to rid himself of the unnecessary thoughts, he began to focus on the trail of cliffs. This was the most difficult part of the journey - a wall of jagged mountains with valleys, gaps, steep edges and ravines; an old Tulonian climbing range. He would study here someday, in the distant future. The trick was to fly over the range without slowing down or getting stuck. The capsule's narrow, pointy tail could easily get caught on the rocks, or its bottom could skim the stone walls, leaving behind a dripping trace of ferromagnetic liquid. Or else, it might not fit through an uneven rift in the mountains that just happened to narrow towards the end.

They were flying through a series of vertical columns that reminded Marcius of a rusty old comb thrown off a cliff. Their capsule slithered through them like a snake - an animal altogether unfamiliar to the Tulonians. His father found the flight greatly entertaining. It was clear to see how much he enjoyed showing off his skills at every obstacle.   

"We're ahead of Ouba-Klauon," he said, "And he's graduating his third son already! He could have easily learned this route by now!"

"Do you see Karii's capsule?" Marcius asked, turning to his mother.

"They're slightly ahead of us," she said, smiling, pointing ahead.

Marcius tried to pin him down in the sea of silver capsules, but they all looked identical.

"We'll pass them any minute now!" said his father eagerly, guessing what his son was thinking.

Marcius nodded. The first lap around Kata went by quick and easy. Having gone through the darkness of night, the sunrise and the sunset, they flew over the military base and entered their second lap. Kata was a small satellite, but very rich in resources. This tiny red speck was more bountiful than Tulona in all its mass, so the satellite was greatly valued and heavily guarded, especially considering that it was on the very border of the planet's cosmic territory.  

During the second lap Marcius calmed down completely. He'd almost forgotten about his nightmare and already started to feel embarrassed that he wanted to put a stop to the flight. Flying around Kata a second time, already approaching the string of cliffs, they saw a blood-red spark in the sky. Their first guess was a meteor burning up in the orange atmosphere, but it soon became apparent that that's not what it was. A large meteor would have been immediately destroyed by the satellite's security system, and a smaller one would have disintegrated in the dense atmosphere. But this object didn't disappear. It went through the main gateway and landed on Kata. Right behind were eight just like it, and instead of disappearing, they grew in size and density with a shrill whistle. From the flames appearing all around, Marcius saw white spheres emerge, burst and release smoke.

Confusion was written all over his father's face. A small blue vein was pulsing at his temple. Sharply turning his head, he looked at his wife. She nodded cautiously.

"Krameans!" she hissed, "Don't slow down!"

"Krameans, here? Out of the question!" he yelled, but there was a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Of course, but as you see, they're here," said his wife ominously, carefully studying the enemy ships.

His father clenched his teeth and turned on the general communication. They heard static. His mother started unpacking the spacesuits in sharp, quick movements. Marcius watched his parents' actions in a daze.

"There's no signal from the orbiting station!"

"That's because there's no station," the woman replied curtly, looking at the blazing point up in the sky, "Go sit in the back, dear," she said, running her hand over her son's head.  

Marcius climbed over the seat without hesitation - he could no longer keep up with his father. The situation was out of control, and he was of no use now. Marcius heard a lot about the Krameans. Studying the red world would have been the next step in his education - mainly, studying the best ways to fight it. He could understand his father's indignation over seeing their enemies in a place like this. Kata was protected by Tulona's magnetic shield and was considered one of the most secure satellites. It harboured two military bases - one for education, the one Marcius was most familiar with, and also an active, fully functional one, located on the opposite hemisphere. Even the Krameans weren't capable of taking the satellite over with only a couple of ships.     

"Just one bomb of mass destruction is enough to wipe out everyone on the satellite, so what are they waiting for?" said his father angrily.

"Maybe they're looking for something specific, or they want to colonize the satellite without damaging the surroundings, and leave us here as slaves."

"They won't have the time, the troops from Aiax and from the planet will arrive any minute now. The Tulonians will never give up Kata!" said his father with confidence, guiding the ferromagnetic capsule towards the trail of cliffs - the only place that still held a chance of survival.

The elder Appa-Laun's decision was evident - the rest of the capsules did the same. It was an attempt of sorts to hide in the crevices of the ravine before the bombs start to rain down on them.

"We don't even have anything to defend ourselves with," said his father, discovering only a single short-range round inside the capsule.

"Don't even bother, it's useless! They've got us surrounded," said the woman, closely watching the enemy's every move.

"What do they even want with a base full of training capsules?" the general asked himself.

"It's a provocation! The Krameans crave to prove to us how vulnerable we still are, despite our strengthening of the magnetic shield. It wouldn't be as convincing without casualties, and today they just happened to choose us..."

"When they open fire, there will be no chance for survival," he said fatefully.

Silence ensued. Lowering themselves to the surface, looking for a place to hide, the capsule slowed down. Marcius could feel the cold black shadow of death falling over them. He saw the Kramean ships with his own eyes, felt the heat of their presence. A tense, doomed atmosphere hung in the air. Madam Appa-Laun gave her son a deeply emotional look, full of pain and hopelessness. Marcius could guess his mother's thoughts, and furrowing his brows in fear, he pressed his cheek against her shoulder.   

The first explosion erupted. A b****y silver rain of bursting capsules sprayed the orange cliffs of Kata. Flat black Kramean crystals circled up above, pouring streams of yellow electric lava onto the ground.  

"Lower!" exclaimed his mother, covering her face with her hands.

A chaotic hail of bullets scattered all around. The capsule dove into the ravine. A chunk of cliff fell right behind their backs, pinning the capsule's ferromagnetic tail. The mountains trembled. Their tops got torn down and fractured against the ground as they fell, the shards flying off in all directions. The falling rocks knocked down the capsules and roused the dust that accumulated on the satellite over the centuries.    

The capsule glided along the ravine dodging fiery fragments, its sides sticking to the cliffs. It was engulfed by the darkness of thick dust and smoke. Frequent bursts of light were still visible through the fog.  

"We've lost a lot of ferromagnetic liquid," said his mother, watching the critical mark on the display.

"The capsule can no longer carry our weight," said his father, defeated. He lowered it onto the ground and yelled, "Get out and run to the caves!"

Marcius heard that there are a number of underground caves under the cliffs. During their first lap around Kata, he noticed a tiny rock climbing station several kilometers from the mountains, and knew that somewhere below was a store of equipment. They could still save themselves.

Having put on the helmet of his spacesuit, he stepped through the cold viscous ferromagnetic liquid after his father, pressing himself against him. He could feel his mother's hand on his back. A silent vacuous explosion threw them back towards the capsule, almost drowning them in its liquid. Marcius' father tried to shield him. A cliff collapsed somewhere up ahead, and crumbled loudly down the trembling slope.   

A bright light flashed over their heads - another capsule gone. Its remnants splashed down beside them. Marcius was shaking, and could feel his mother shaking as well. She squeezed his hand so tightly it hurt. The most frightening part was being blind and deaf - he could only hear the jagged sound of his own breathing in the spacesuit. The ground began to vibrate. It felt like something deep beneath their feet was breaking and rumbling, which instilled a sense of panic. Their capsule rolled off to the side and slowly started to slide down the slope.  

‘Everything is going to collapse!’ Marcius thought.

 He continued to lie where he fell. His father tried to get up, but kept on losing his balance and falling back down. Another explosion came. His mother sat nearby, hunched over, trying to shield herself and her son from the falling rocks. Marcius saw his father gesture something to her through the fog. She nodded. His father lifted him up and started to push him back into the capsule. His mother helped, holding him by the legs. Marcius thought it was strange that his parents decided to return to the capsule, since it could no longer carry all three of them.

He reached the liquid-covered orifice and climbed inside, expecting his parents to follow, but his father's hands released him and slowly disappeared into the wall. He tried to grab onto them, but the capsule was already taking off. In that moment Marcius understood. His parents knew the capsule couldn't lift them all, and so remained to die outside. Marcius' heart was gripped by cold terror. He knew this would happen, but he wasn't ready. He burst into tears.

"Mom!" he screamed, stretching out his arms.

The capsule was shaking terribly. He could imagine what was happening on the outside, but couldn't see and was powerless to do anything. He flew over the seat with a somersault and collapsed onto the control panel with his whole body. Getting down, he grabbed onto the steering wheel, activating the system. He still hoped to somehow save his parents, but the capsule wouldn't budge. There wasn't enough ferromagnetic liquid left to start it. He tried, but his efforts were in vain. It was impossible to tear the capsule away from the cliff until the cliff itself tore away from the capsule and tumbled down into the abyss. The underground caves were collapsing. Feeling he was hanging over a seething current of rocks flowing down to the bottom of the ravine, Marcius tried to go higher. He thought he almost heard the bloodcurdling screams of his parents, saw them falling down, trying to hold onto each other, but choking with grief, through the tears, dust and gloom he could only see darkness and hear the hum of catastrophe.   

He spent several minutes in smooth movement that bordered on the edge of falling. The smoke was settling, and at a certain point it seemed like there was a Kramean ship right in front of him, face to face. The obscure black spot was frozen across from him with flashing green lights, studying him carefully and humming. Sinking into the seat, squinting, Marcius waited for the final shot that would finish it all. The seconds went by, his heart jumped out of his chest, his eyelids squeezed tighter and tighter, but the shot didn't come. Opening his eyes all of a sudden, he saw only emptiness.

The Tron system - open space.

Marcius finished his story. Atla and Yonk looked at him sympathetically.

For some reason, they all began to trust each other more after that story.

Time went by. It was getting easier for them to work together. Their previous stiffness would at times disappear altogether. There were periods when they really did become a single consciousness, understanding each other without words or gestures. But as soon as they remembered that they belonged to different races, the harmony would crumble instantly.

They now had a lot of free time on their hands, and each one found their own way to make use of it. Yonk fiddled with his sphere. Marcius worked out, having convinced himself that their success in the new world will depend to a significant extent on his physical strength and endurance. He had never before reached such bodily perfection, not even in the training compound. Atla tried to teach him spiritual practices, but he resisted. He found all things Kramean to be despicable.   

"Just give it a try!" she insisted, "You have such potential, and you don't even use it. You can move mountains with your consciousness, but instead you're killing time to strengthen your already sturdy muscles!"

"No," Marcius would cut her off curtly.

Atla herself, on the other hand, had accomplished many things. Her meditations took her to a new level. Being in space helped - there was no hustle or needless noise. The only other consciousness that she was able to hear was Marcius', but it was unusually clear and didn't distract her. Deep inside Marcius wished for the salvation of all the worlds. Even though he was convinced that he was searching for the faraway world out of his own ambition and to prove to everyone that he was right, in reality he did it only for the sake of people. He had little concern for glory, as well as his own life.      

No matter how hard she tried, Atla wasn't able to hear Yonk. The Pacifian was impenetrable as a fortress. She could neither charm him nor win him over, nor understand him, nor get him to talk.

One day, she worked up the nerve to ask him a question:

"Do you have a family?"

But the Pacifian looked at her reproachfully, urging her to mind her own business. Only in a month did Yonk admit, half-asleep, that he had three kids, with a fourth one on the way.

After hearing that, Marcius fell deep into thought. Yonk had a very strong motivation to return home and save his planet and his family - this was probably why he was putting in the effort and was likely the only reason why he agreed to fly with them.  

"I feel sorry for his wife," Atla whispered to Marcius, "His personality is terrible."

Gradually, they approached the Delos tunnel.

"Delos is very dangerous!" Atla warned, "It's a parasitic tunnel and is especially ferocious when travelers use it to venture into interstellar space."

"That is, it connects Tron with interstellar space?" Yonk asked.

"Yes!" Atla replied.

"The interstellar space of which galaxy?" asked Marcius.

"That's exactly the point - it leads into the space between galaxies," Atla explained.

"Into the zone of endless dark matter," Yonk confirmed.

"You do understand how dangerous that is?" Marcius said warily.

"Yes, but it's the shortest way!" said Atla, and pulled up another possible route on the screen.

"That route takes fifteen years," Yonk grimaced.

"That's what I'm saying - we only have one option!" said Atla.

Marcius nodded.

"We're just about to go inside it. Will there be any special instructions?" he asked Atla.

"No matter what happens, don't let the tunnel get into your head!" Atla warned, "It will be most difficult for me, since my higher abilities are most developed. I'm not too worried about Yonk, since he's shut tight, but you," Atla looked at Marcius, "Your perception of the world is unique, and I don't know how you will react. And once we're inside the portal, we won't be able to talk."

"Whatever happens - happens," said Marcius and closed his eyes.

They flew through the tunnel with extraordinary speed. The sensations really were more aggressive than in the first one. It seemed that parts of their bodies flew off their skeletons one by one and disappeared into the void. It was hard to even think, because the exterior traveled faster than consciousness, and every new thought remained hopelessly behind. Emptiness ruled over the mind. They really couldn't talk or see each other in this tunnel. It was impossible to get entranced by this one.  

"People aren't meant to be in a place like this," a thought bounced off of Macius' head.

It felt like the tunnel was meant for more evolved creatures, more sturdy and enduring. This wasn't the first time that Marcius had found himself in an alien environment - any venture into space led to these sorts of thoughts. But this tunnel wasn't just any other alien zone - it was beyond the limits of life and death. It made a person forget they're a person. Marcius figured out its unfeeling nature - it absorbed all memories and emotions. He focused on his name, since he realized that he was starting to forget it. Everything that remained of him compressed into a tiny speck.

"I'm Marcius, I'm Marcius," he kept on repeating hundreds of times. He didn't stop until the very end.

The Delos tunnel spit them out in the midst of an endless void. Everyone immediately felt an immense rush of energy. If inside the tunnel a person was concentrated into a tiny seed, then their essence expanded to the size of the universe in the newfound space.  

"Get yourself together!" Yonk screamed at him.

Suddenly, Marcius opened his eyes. He was lying spread-eagle on the ground, and Yonk was towering over him. He recognized him with difficulty.

"We have a problem!!!" the Pacifian yelled.

Marcius lifted himself up with some effort. Yonk pointed towards Atla.

She was seized by convulsions, ripping open the suit at her neck, as if it was hard for her to breathe. The magic tunnel wouldn't let her go. Yonk ran up to her and grabbed her hands. She was a lot stronger now and threw him off to the side.

Marcius rushed to help. Yonk quickly recovered and ran over to her once more. Her hails were scratching up her chest.

"No!" she howled, "Don't touch me, I won't give it up!!!"

She was trying to cover her solar plexus, twisting her whole body.

"They're mine," she continued to scream. "These feelings are mine!!!"

Marcius and Yonk looked at each other. She still thought they were in the tunnel.

"Atla! Wake up!" Marcius begged.

But she wouldn't open her eyes.

"The damned red souls, the damned red souls!" she wailed, scratching and biting.

"It's us, it's Yonk and Marcius!" Yonk shouted at her.

"I'll still destroy you all," she kept on, her voice straining. Yonk's appeal fell on deaf ears, "You'll vanish, and I'll continue to live!" she was choking with rage, "I'll destroy you!!!"

"Atla!" Yonk slapped her across the face.

She opened her eyes with a start. Her distant gaze betrayed that she was still not fully there, but her aggression suddenly dissipated. She calmed down and muttered quietly:

"Wash the blood off my hands, I beg you, wash the blood off my hands!"

Marcius took her worlds literally. He brought some water and wiped her hands.

"Wash the blood off my hands," she repeated.

"They're clean, your hands are clean," Marcius showed her, not knowing what she wants. He put some ice to her forehead, and Yonk held it to her temples. She drifted off to sleep.

She slept for several hours, and the ship flew on with the force of inertia. There was no friction or obstacles in the interstellar space. Neither Yonk nor Marcius bothered her until she came to on her own.

"How are you?" Marcius asked her, seeing her enter the pavilion.

"Better," she said hoarsely, "And please just ignore whatever I was saying before."

"Everything's okay," Yonk confirmed, "But you were threatening to destroy us."

Atla shook her head.

"I was talking to someone else."

"Who are the red souls?" Marcius asked.

"The damned red souls," Yonk corrected him.

Atla looked away.

"I said that as well?" she asked with guilt in her voice.

"Did you see something in the tunnel?" Marcius asked.

"No, but I experienced a deja vu."

"There is no human sensation more unpleasant than that tunnel, and you mean to say that you've already experienced something like that before?" Yonk asked doubtfully.

Atla nodded. She looked very lost and unsure of herself. This was the first time Marcius had seen her like this.

"What could have possibly happened in your past that's comparable to this?!" he asked in disbelief.

Yonk agreed, and stated his opinion:

"What do you know about pain? You're a spoiled princess, the only daughter of a shaman, a rich, arrogant Kramean priestess!"

"Yes," she agreed, "And also, I'm... I'm a monster," she said timidly, "And I'll prove it to you."

Atla came up to the frozen droplets, put her hands against them and her memories appeared inside.

Marcius' heart skipped a beat. He always saw a deeply wounded character behind her smiling façade, and he felt an inexplicable fear and need to hear the truth about her. He carefully looked at the screen, and it was insanely painful for him to see what it showed. He was no longer indifferent towards Atla. Without noticing or realizing when exactly, but somehow he'd started to see her pain as his own.