Free Lethal Planet by Rob May

risen around one ancient temple to Zaal—a stone pyramid, down the steps of which the blood of sacrifices flowed. As the city grew in size and power, the temple was raised up to into the sky. Now it perched on top of the highest building: the Tower of the Moons. Jason looked up; he could just about make out the temple glowing above them.
    The zelf captain noticed him looking. ‘Don’t worry, alien scum , you’ll be seeing the pyramid a whole lot closer soon. The Arch Predicant wants to see you right away.’
    The zelf’s voice was civilised, like a lot of upper class poshos Jason had known in London, and it dripped with cruel superiority. And this guy was just a soldier! Were they all like this? Talem and Paran—Brandon’s mother—had fled the planet twenty years to escape this self-righteous zealotry, and Jason imagined things must be a lot, lot worse now.
    He wiped the blood away from his nose. It was bleeding from where one of the guards had hit him with the butt his laser rifle. That was after Jason had punched Brandon in the face. Jason looked across to where Brandon was walking, also closely surrounded by soldiers. His nose was bleeding too. Jason didn’t understand why he didn’t use the bionoids to fix it, but then he didn’t understand anything that Brandon did or said anymore.
    It started to rain. Up above, another storm was raging outside the protective force field, but only a light drizzle managed to make it through to the city. They try to keep the real world out , Jason thought, but it still creeps in . He wondered if he would have chance to get a message out to the balaks, telling them about his rubber blanket brainwave. There was no way he was letting that idea go to waste!
    The party entered a wide concourse, where a spaceship was waiting for them. It was ugly and dangerous-looking. The zelfs themselves might have been quite elegant and handsome by human standards, but their vehicles were brutal. This one crouched like an insect, and it was loaded with guns and cannons where an insect might bristle with hairs. It glistened black in the rain.
    Jason, Doo and Brandon were pushed up a ramp at the side, and locked in a cramped compartment with only two narrow windows for decoration: one that looked out, and one opposite that was blacked out. Jason guessed that this was an observation panel, seeing that this was clearly a prisoner transport ship. They were unlikely to get a chance to speak privately in the city.
    Well, the fact that they were probably watching wasn’t going to stop him having it out with Brandon. ‘What the hell were you thinking?’ he said angrily. ‘Surrendering? Of all the cowardly things to do!’
    Brandon shook his head sadly. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I’m not a coward. You didn’t see what happened at the stronghold.’
    All Jason and Doo had seen was the smoke. ‘Where’s Kat?’ he suddenly said. ‘Don’t tell me you abandoned her when you ran here crying for mercy!’
    ‘No,’ Brandon said again. ‘I didn’t. I …’
    ‘Brandon,’ Doo said. The ship was obviously equipped with translators. ‘Just tell us what happened after the wedding.’
    Brandon looked dejectedly out of the window as the ship began to rise. Jason had never seen him look so miserable.
    ‘It was a massacre,’ he said. ‘There were hundreds of dragons stampeding through the jungle. The zelfs were flying low over the canopy, using electron beams to antagonise the dragons and herd them towards the stronghold. The balaks who tried to divert the dragons just got trampled or burned alive. I saved as many as I could; at one point I had the bionoids treating over a hundred injured balaks at the same time.’
    Doo put her hand on Brandon’s shoulder in silent thanks.
    ‘But that was when the second attack came. The balaks were fleeing the stronghold and heading for the safety of some ancient caves. But it was a trap; I used the bionoids to read the zelfs’ minds, and found that they had found out