The Joining: The Cycle of the Shards Book One

10: The Great Red Spot

     The great storm swirled across the gas giant, its color a brownish spot among the planet's bland cream colored hydrogen landscape. It was a rather large planet, its size larger than the rest of the local system's planets combined, yet still dwarfed by the local star. The storm had been going for hundreds of cycles and astronomers assumed that it would continue for hundreds more. From the stars above it was an oddity, one of the more unique things about the planets in this area of space but nothing that merited a closer look. To Critock, who was looking down at the planet after his hopper had emerged from the tear, it looked like nothing more than a spot of dried mud, even if it was slowly moving. He shuddered, marveling at how ugly space could be sometimes. He turned to Tomkari, who was peering out the window curiously.

"Ugh." The soul shuddered alongside Critock. "I've never seen a storm that big."

"Yeah, I'm sure the Qua'roti are real big on the beauty of the universe and the wonders that the Five have wrought. Then you get out here, and there it is! A great planetary pimple. You've got the coordinates for your favorite planet?"

"Yep! So much water on it I'm surprised we can't just pick out the blue light." The ship shuddered as it switched to mental controls, and Tomkari entered the solar address into the ships memory. He passed control back to Critock and a star map appeared on the view screen as it automatically plotted the quickest course to Earth.

"Looks like its only about an hour so if we speed. What's the plan when we get there?"

"What's an 'hour'?" Critock had been having a hard time acclimating to the new terms Tomkari had absorbed. The wisp had been talking nonstop ever since the journey had began about the different features of Earth, its people, and now its time. He hoped that once they arrived that the mission would take over Tomkari's mind, because right now it was driving him crazy.

"Oh! It's a period of time..." Tomkari began before being cut off.

"Never mind. Pretty simple." Critock tapped a couple of panels on the screen, and different images began loading up as the hopper began moving away from the planet. He pointed at a picture of a small forest, near a hill overlooking a building, which Tomkari realized was the school where their target likely was. "We land here. It's going to be around mid-day, we can get in without anyone seeing us, and with this planet if anyone does nobody will believe them anyway. I'll 'soul up', and head straight for the school. You take the sword, and meet up with me later. I'll be joining with this guy." A picture of an middle-aged man came on the screen, slightly graying, and wearing glasses. "He's a teacher. Science of all things, so he can probably help us get our bearings."

"If he works with us. Joinings are rough even if the joinee knows about it ahead of time. Essentially invading his body is going to be pretty traumatic."

"He gets the perks, after we're done he'll be able to run the world if he wants. He's a man of science, once he hears a 'Space Alien' needs him to save the world he'll be fully on board. We use him to access their systems, get some pictures, figure out which one of these kids is Pt'ron. Get him, get the shards, get out. Simple."

"Question. All the years you've been doing...well, everything. You've done something like this before?" Tomkari floated closer, his concern visible due to slightly changing to a more subdued shade of white.

Critock sat in the control chair. "Well...not exactly. I haven't done a lot of joining since the academy. Didn't take to it much. But it's easier on me than it will be on him."

"I know." Tomkari hovered next to him, looking at the images. "I won't join. It goes against everything I believe. I did as part of my training, but once I joined the Qua'roti, I felt...I don't know, free. Like this is how my life was supposed to be like. And what right do I have to take control of someone else's body and replace them?"