Xiantha (The Ammonite Galaxy Series, Book 3)

Chapter 8

AS SIX MANOEVRED the shuttle carefully down onto Xianthan soil, they got their first chance to see the rich colours of the planet. The area they were landing in was semi-desert, which reflected the sun and Cian off its sandy surface and so was brighter than even Coriolis. The Xianthes were clearly visible, towering off into the sky to the north of the spaceport.

Six’s eyes slid over to them and brightened. “It’s almost worth coming here just to travel the Xianthes,” he said. “When are we going up there?”

“Just remember that is not why we came,” said Diva.

“It might not be why you came, but—”

“Six!” Grace’s soft voice broke in reproachfully, “you know we have to sort things out first.”

“Err . . . I was just thinking that you won’t really need me for all that, and since I’m here anyway, I might just as well go on up there and wait for you at the cages.” Six tried to look innocent. “You know, so as not to get in the way.” He stared out of the porthole at the two huge fingers of metallic rock which jutted a staggering 25 miles up into the sky. Even at this distance, they were awesome. He could see that the left-hand side Xianthe was half in sunlight, half in shadow, although the one to the right of the Lost Valley was in full sunlight. That meant that it was nearly the perfect time of year to travel the Dark Xianthe, he knew. The elves, sprites and blue rays against the night sky were supposed to be the most spectacular sight in the whole binary system, and there was no way he was going to miss out on a visit.

“I might need you, Six,” Diva snapped, “so you needn’t think you are going to oozle out of it and take off for a ride up to the stratosphere. Not yet, anyway.”

Six took umbrage at that. “Excuse me? Oozle? I was only trying to stay out of your way. Of course, if you feel you need back-up, I’ll be happy to come.”

Diva muttered something under her breath, but then let it drop.

“Do you think we should stay together?” asked Grace. “I mean, I have to check out on the donor program, and you want to try to discover what happened to all your oocytes, Diva. Maybe we should split up?”

Diva shook her head. “I think we should all stay together. We know very little about Xiantha, and although Arcan left us bracelets I don’t think we should risk anything.”

“Fine. Then let’s head off to the Donor Headquarters. They should be able to tell us what happened to your genetic material, and I might get an idea of just how they are planning to get new material in the future.”

“Ladies. . .” Six bowed exaggeratedly, and ushered them towards a waiting cart. “This way . . .”

Diva looked in horror at the wooden wheels lined with metal, and at the two vaniven attached to the front of the cart. “Surely we aren’t expected to travel in THAT?” she demanded. “It will shake our spines out of their sockets. I’d rather travel by foot!”

Six shook his head. “It looks as if it doesn’t work like that over here,” he informed her, indicating with a sweep of his hands the total lack of any other form of transport. “I guess everybody uses these carts to get around on Xiantha.”

“No wonder they haven’t invented anything in centuries! It probably takes them all day to get to work!”

“Yes. But, ‘when in Lumina, follow the light’, you know.”

“Oh, very well.” Diva made a great show of clambering up into the waiting cart. “But this is going to be a short visit, for sure.”

“As long as you include a cage over the Xianthes, I don’t care,” said Six. “But I absolutely refuse to go anywhere until we have seen them. They say they are breathtaking at this time of the year.”