On Shalimar - X E-Book

Suzann Dodd

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

This is the final part of the series 'On Shalimar'  which describes the situation on a planet conquered by the ZerShaz among those who benefit.    Sharon, without memory, wanting to get away, takes a unihover and goes into the Engredi Preserve, the largest animal sanctuary in the galaxy.   If she had not...

Leseprobe

Suzann Dodd

On Shalimar - X

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

The Exo-Ans Report

THE EXO-ANS REPORT

TONY JOHNSONENGREVI PRESERVESHALIMA

I'm standing in the entrance circle to the Preserve. Just standing as if I was here to study; "The Reaction of King Zerk To His Amnesiac Mate's Foray into the Engredi Preserve"

That wasn't why I was here.

I'd been brought to Shalimar because they thought I had some use in helping Sharon regain her memory. After all, I'd 'found' her on Beta Mar.

When I check that scam....

Yeah, I contemplated that if she heard Reggae music, the music of her time and place she'd come out of hiding. I assumed she was hiding not certain how events had played.

Probably on Beta Mar they didn't give subtitles, simply said that the planet had been conquered by the ZerShaz. She couldn't know who was in control. It could be her beloved 'Daktoy' or it could be one who killed him.

My thought was that if she heard her music for her time she'd know Daktoy had triumphed. That was as far as my thoughts could go.

She didn't show up at Twentieth Century Park, so we'd take the show on the road. We went to Gamier, the Capitol. And she didn't show. And I was told to hold the next one in the town of Byro. And I did.  I held it, and she came.

I wouldn't have recognised her, but my 'Taxi man' did. That's because I was so brain dead I didn't note him... didn't realise he was a ZeSha, (okay he had darkers on to hid his eyes and a tam to hide his head..but still).  Wait, not just a ZeSha...the ZeSha, Ki-ZerShaz, the god/king of the conquerors.

He found her, took her, and I could roll on Beta Mar in my fame and wealth...But Sharon had no memory. And I was snatched and flown to Shalimar to find out why.

The why wasn't sweet; she'd be psi-probed. Everything that was discordant to being a 25th century millionaire was wiped. Sharon was wiped.

And now, in her latest escape attempt, she'd gone into the Preserve. Which had every kind of feral animal. 

She'd been with me an my boss, uPaychel on the gazebo, listening to music. She saw Jill and uReglimi, her step father approaching, claimed to need the sani, left, and despite all the spies, was able to escape.

And there stands Ki-ZerShaz. He'd screened without preps or haste, gave the rack of unihovers his eyeball. So that's how she went bye bye he must be groking.

Me, now, yeah, give me another two minutes and I'd have noticed. But he did it in picoseconds.

Now he scopes the crowd, plucks Debbie, asks; "The hovers are monitored?", in his impeccable diction.  

She stood stupidly as if she didn't catch speech, then into the shed, like she needed to be told to on the scan. As the board above the hoverrack lit, we saw Sharon's uni. It was a tiny blue light, moving away. I stood with them, with him, watching Sharon make her fly. Ki-Zee was prob doing a speedo trick to pen how fast how far how long and where.

I don't know why Debbie hadn't onned before he poked. Every agency has a screen, I mean, yeah, I didn't recall it til he output, but then I don't operate a rent-a-uni agency either.

Speaking of either; Debbie was sneaking or stupid, I think the latter because in this environment, stupid is a lot safer than sneaking, though both are good death buyers.  

I glommed the board, check Sharon moving like 80 k/p/h steady until now. I'd make it, sample tour. Then her speed dropped, she made a swing, circled, stopped.

I'd like to know why, and he asked: "What is before her?"

Debbie in pause then stammers; a large pond fed by underground pipes though a 'natural' river flowed from the hills.

"She is at an elevation, yes?" He asks, almost coaxing.

"Yes---about 100 meters--." Debbie trickled to silence.

He'd read contours; face flat, voice without hint of emotion. Yet, and here's where 'aura' comes in, I knew he feared for her safety. This was a preserve for wild beasts, all which need water.  He was making connections; the stopped hover, the panorama, her position on the rise; I wondered if he'd go after her, betting not.